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Instead of strolling the galleries of New York, London and Paris, you can now discover hot new artists on blogging site Tumblr.

 

Online art dealer Artspace has launched a four-week art contest on blogging site Tumblr, in which artists will not only have to post eye-catching art, but spur followers to "like" their work as well. Talent may not  be enough. Social networking will count, too.

 

Artists upload their entries to Tumblr using the #NEXTArtspaceArtist tag. Each week, three semifinalists are selected based on the number of times their entry is reblogged on Tumblr (in which a user reposts the entry on their own blog), liked on Tumblr, shared to another social media  site or emailed to a friend. The top 12 will face off in another who-can-get-the-most-votes competition to whittle the group to the final three. However, the winner will be chosen by a panel of professionals.

 

Photography  appears to be a favorite medium among Tumblrs. Week one winners were photographs showing a mountain of abandoned books, a jumping dog and a woman's sneering face. Week two of the contest has just begun. Cast your vote at Next Artspace Artist on Tumblr.

 

Artspace is one of several sites that sell fine art online — a movement to bring art to the Internet masses. The art dealer offers a large selection of photography and prints to keep prices accessible to first-time buyers.

 

"We are the only website where you can put your credit card in and a buy work from world-renowned artists of this caliber from across the globe," co-founder Catherine Levene said in an interview with Tumblr. But you may need a black card from American Express — Artspace has a selection of original work starting $500,000. A piece by Cy Twombly, known throughout the world for his large-scale graffiti-esque paintings, is available for $2.5 million.

 

With Tumblr's younger user base, about 20 percent are between the ages of 12 and 18, will the best work rise to the top or might we end up with a Justin Bieber lithograph?

 

 

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This story was originally written for TechNewsMedia and is reprinted with permission here. Copyright 2012 TechNewsDaily, a TechMediaNetwork company.