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
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