No Means No

Hi everyone:

Well, after some turmoil at "work" and some chaos at home, I though it was time to escape for a while and cozy-up with a nice, hot cup of Blog. Blogging music today is...nothing... unless you count the extremely annoying sound of the vacuum cleaner at the coffee shop I'm at. That's what I get for leaving my headphones at home.

Anyway, I still haven't gotten to another printing session yet - but I do know which image I plan to try out first. Lots of business-related day trips recently and I just need a night when things are calm to give this one a shot. We'll see.

So, in my last blog, I kinda lambasted the idea of making something out of my scrap prints. And in general, I still do feel that way, but I'm starting to think about keeping the first couple prints that aren't quite there (but close) and labeling them as artist's proofs. The ones that clearly suck are getting ditched- but maybe an artist's proof or two wouldn't be a terrible idea. Sometimes they have an interesting look and there could be some inherent value there, since they'll look very different from the rest of the edition. We'll see - gotta think about it some more.

On the gallery/exhibition front, I had something happen recently that I thought could be good to discuss tonight. A while ago, a friend of mine hooked me up with a gallery director in TN - and we talked about my participation in an upcoming show. I was booked for other shows at the time and the gallery's schedule hadn't been finalized, but the discussion went on for a few months. Then, the director contacted me again and indicated that the gallery was changing its business model from a traditional artist/gallery relationship (with a standard commission percentage) to one where the artist pays a flat fee, in essence "renting" the space, with a significantly lower commission. Basically, I said thanks, but no thanks - indicating that I wasn't interested in a "pay to show" arrangement at this point in my career. But I told them to keep me posted on developments at the gallery, etc.

Well, the gallery closed (big surprise) and the director became a partner in another space. That space then contacted me 2 weeks ago, indicating that they "received my submission" (which of course they didn't - I never sent them one), and that they had space available for a show...in NOVEMBER! And of course, the agreement asked for a flat fee to cover promotion, postcards, etc. And I literally copied the response I sent the last go-around and sent it again.

This goes back to something I touched on in an earlier post: I didn't want to come off as a snob here - but I wanted to be honest. Everyone gets to a point in their career (whatever career i may be) where there are things they simply will no longer agree to. Mine are the following, and have been for quite some time:

-Paying someone to show my work. I know lots of galleries, especially new ones, have trouble making ends meet- but a 50% commission on artwork sold should be good enough. And besides, with an upfront fee and lower commission, where's the incentive for a gallery or rep to sell work?

-Install my own work. It's a good thing to know how to do when you're first starting out, but the days of me taking time off of work to paint gallery walls, light and hang my own work are long over. Some might argue that you have more control over how your work is shown when you hang it yourself, but honestly, I don't have the time or energy for it.

-No coffee shop shows. I enacted this policy many years ago - and I'm glad I did. Some work looks, shows and sells very well in that setting - but mine doesn't, and besides, you generally have to hang it yourself. Historically for me - a lot of effort for very little gain.

I may not be ready for my retrospective at MOMA, but I know what my goals are and I've been showing long enough where I feel I can say no to some things. And, better that than to agree to something and be sorry you did later - which has happened to me many times over the years.

Quick business note: The PACA "Art Buyer's" panel I mentioned in a previous blog entry happened on Saturday, and overall, it was a very positive experience. Met some cool people and saw some folks I hadn't seen in a while. Myself and the other members of the panel seemed to have a good chemistry and the audience was very complimentary afterwards. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday. Heading back to NYC tomorrow for the annual Picturehouse conference. That makes 3 NYC trips in 3 weeks. Makes for some long days, but I always manage to squeeze in a good meal.

That's all I've got for now. Hopefully the next time we chat I'll have some work to share.

-Marc

And The Days Turn Into Weeks

So, in my last post I think I foolishly said something about having more prints in "the next few days" (or something stupid like that). Well, obviously that didn't happen. Life gets in the way sometimes - what can I tell ya? I'm hoping for next week, but we'll see.



Blogging music selection tonight: Monaco - a band founded by Peter Hook (bassist from New Order - one of my all-time favorite bands), and David Potts (from the band Revenge). The band only lasted 2 albums, but I really enjoy them. Probably because they sound like New Order.



Anyway, art-wise, I've found myself becoming more interested in art books. I've always had some lying around, but I started thinking - how cool would it be to have a library full of all kinds of art books? With a nice leather chair. And a posh mini-bar - maybe with a carafe of something in it. Excellent Smithers! Anyway, I've read about some new small presses focusing on art books - I'll send along some links and examples when I can. But, great stuff on the horizon in the art publishing market.

Well, I've been fighting a fever the last 48-hours or so, and as a result, my brain has become incapable of sharing anything else. More soon - just checking in to say hello.

Good weekend to all!

-Marc

I once was lost, but now am....

....still lost. More on that in a bit. As for the camera shown above, more about that at the end of this post (can't get the image to post in the right place for some reason).

So, after a crappy workout and a "challenging" dinner with the kids, I got to Starbucks about 45 minutes before close. Should be enough time to catch everyone up.

Quick day-job comment - I was reading an article from the August issue of PDN, and ran across something that hit a little too close to home. And before you comment: I know, I'm a little behind on my reading - if I read every magazine that routed to me at work, I'd never get a thing done!

Anyway, this issue had an article called "Life In The Faster Lane" - which basically talks about online photo editors, and how they have to be faster and more versatile (the article uses the word "hybrid", among others) than print Photo Editors. Well, I'm primarily a print photo editor, but I have done both - and agree with the "faster" part. Those of us in print have an actual production schedule- while a lot of online photo editors actually have to post in "real time", or at the very least, a much tighter turnaround. I have a lot of respect for my online counterparts - it's a different mindset and the ones I know are quite talented.

But as far as being busier or more of a "hybrid", I'll just ask PDN to spend a day in my shoes as the only photo editor for a book publisher that puts out 150 titles per year. I'm thinking (or at least hoping) they'd see things a little differently.

Ok, enough of that stuff - this isn't a work bitch-session.

Blogging music today - Pete Yorn. Great singer/songwriter in my opinion - my sister-in-law Lindsay deserves props for helping me discover Pete so many years ago. Lindsay was my concert buddy before I moved to PA - very similar tastes, etc. Of course, since I left, she saw some of my favorite bands without me, and then rubbed it in my face - very uncool. I still love her though...

Ok, onto art, and the title of tonight's blog entry. So, my boss at work saw some of my stuff a month or two ago and said something that really stuck with me: that she saw a real sense of "loss" in my work. Nobody has ever said that before, and I actually never really thought about it. I always thought I worked through the themes of childhood, memory and human recollection by hinting at what's there, or giving an essence of something - not accentuating what was gone.

But then, I looked back through my work and saw exactly what she was talking about. Knowing her, I'm sure she was primarily referring to the mood of my work, rather than strictly content - and I totally see where she's coming from. It just goes to show that no matter how much you think you understand your own work, another opinion is always waiting out there to enlighten you.

So, the above picture is a new Diana camera that I am seriously thinking about buying. Super-cool looking, (right down to the retro-looking flash) - it has a 75 mm. lens that detaches for conversion to a pinhole camera. Mr. Carlton is still first-string, but I may be looking at Miss Diana for a first-round draft pick. She might have to sit on the bench for a while, but I'd

definitely get her some playing time.

Funny final note: I was in a show once called "Carlton, Diana, Holga." Obviously, this is because all the work was created with one of those 3 cameras. But, one critic actually called the gallery to find out more about these "people" and to get their last names. At that moment, the gallery director knew she chose the perfect name for the show...

Ok, they're kicking me out - my how time flies...

-Marc