[Leica] Does the process matter?

[drodgers at casefarms.com (David Rodgers)]

Brian,

>>... what he showed me made me realize that the very best inkjet prints
were now on an aesthetic par with the very best silver halide prints,
and that I didn't *need* to conquer Xtol.<<

I was in a gallery the other day. There were two large framed paintings.
They looked identical to me. One was priced $850. The other $5,000. One
was the original oil painting. The other was an inkjet copy. The copy
was on textured paper that made it look like an oil painting. 

I studied the original and copy closely. Again, I couldn't tell a
difference, though granted know nothing about oil painting. But there
obviously was a difference in value. I'm not sure how, or even if this
relates to silver vs an inkjet printing. But it does remind me value
isn't always based on aesthetics. Methods and materials are important.  

I also recall being in a gallery in Carmel years ago. There was a large
bw print. It was a "giclee" print, somewhat rare at the time. The
gallery was hyping that and it was expensive. Now silver prints are
becoming the rarity. I don't want to read too much into that. But is
aesthetics the only thing that's important, or does the process matter? 

DaveR