Eric Deis

Art enthusiasts and Internet pirates will have the opportunity to own a rare view of Lower Mainland, British Columbia, with the click of a button—for free.

Shot high above the Fraser river, Skybridge is the latest work of Vancouver photographer Eric Deis.

From October 15 to November 15, during Vancouver’s first city-wide photography festival, Capture, Elissa Cristall Gallery presents a unique online exhibition of Deis’s work that modernizes art collecting within our culture of the mobile Web.

“Our creative industries are making radical transformations in the wake of the internet and mobile technologies. Music, publishing, and television have had to reinvent themselves in a world of Netflix, eBooks, and MP3s. Visual art is one of the last holdouts.” says Deis.

Deis hopes to change this. In stark contrast to the traditional practice of selling limited-edition prints, of which his images fetch between $5,000 and $8,000 he is doing something unusual: letting anyone download and print Skybridge for their personal collection.

“I’ve always struggled with the fact that many people love my photographs, but not everyone can afford them. This is my attempt to make art accessible.” says Deis. The Digital Collector’s Edition of Skybridge is available for free download at print size of 16” (40 cm) and available for purchase in multiple sizes up to 518” x 142” (1315 x 360 cm). Each download is accompanied with a personal-use license that allows the owner to print “Skybridge” on any material, including canvas and giclée. The image can be downloaded directly from Elissa Cristall Gallery’s special projects website: http://projects.cristallgallery.com

Designed specifically for mobile, the online exhibition of Skybridge is built using the same technologies as Google Maps, allowing visitors to zoom into the 360 degree ultra-high resolution image and enjoy the panoptic view encompassing New Westminster, Surrey, Burnaby, Richmond, and Coquitlam.

By allowing people to download his work, Deis believes it will increase appreciation for fine-art photography. “My partner had no exposure to art before we moved in together. Now she can’t imagine living without it. You can’t really understand the effect it can have unless you’ve had the opportunity to own a significant work of art. Here’s your chance.”