Art Marketing Secrets

We have been watching you. We are artist also. At least that’s what they call us. You may even know us. We’d like to invite you to a member of our very Private Club. We’re very selective and only an elite few are welcome on our hallowed grounds. We pick you.

One winter I was on a painting trip in Oahu, when I went for a drive to the pipeline to watch some of the big wave surfers catch some big ones…. Scores of surfers and tourists sat on the shore and watched in awe at these tiny specks, dwarfed by massive crashing waves as high as buildings, and marveled at the courage of man. Last week was the Mavericks Surf contest in Half Moon Bay and today the elite of the world surfers wait on call, for the go ahead for Eddie Aikau invitational big wave surf event at the Pipeline in Hawaii, for the waves to meet the 40 foot requirement…. As well as being superb athletes they spend hours studying weather patterns, ocean currents and whatever it takes to understand the movement of the ocean…. The first thing I do when I arrive in a beautiful place such as Hawaii is spend a few days just looking at the ocean. Studying it’s waves, it’s light, it’s energy until I feel I have reached an understanding of the special gifts that the location has to offer…. You have to love it and be willing to do whatever it takes to master your craft. You have to have a big vision and you have to have a big passion for the vision that you want to share with the world.

Andrea and her friends who live at Joshua Tree talked about their influences and experiences on building community in the context of art. Here’s what the Whitney had to say about the event: “Well known for her research and design of domestic and external environments, Andrea Zittel creates experimental models for contemporary life, or what she calls “systems for living.” Her current project, the desert studio and home A-Z West in Joshua Tree, California, explores all aspects of the everyday, from home furniture and house guests to food and clothing, as part of her investigation into the contours of human nature and human needs. One such A-Z project, Wagon Stations, comprises mobile living stations customized by individuals invited to join Zittel’s desert community; several will be on view beginning February 9 at the Whitney Museum at Altria.”… As Andrea herself has to say of the desert: “After living in the desert for six years, I have come to believe that most of us are drawn here because each of us is looking for some version of personal freedom.”… A Wagon in It’s Native Environment A Wagon Station from the installation at the Whitney, Altria The panel itself meandered across a lot of different territories, from activist 60s art to camping out in a large tent in the middle of the Freize Art Fair, in London…. This is what it must be like to live fully in the artist archetype, not an small pokey garret, starving but noble, but in a world of childlike wonder, innocence, creating magnificent worlds of your own choosing, without regard to whether of not anyone else gets it…. Further thoughts from “The Artist’s Mentor”: “In one of his letters from Tahiti, Gaugin had written that he felt he had to go back beyond the horses of the Parthenon, back to the rocking-horse of his childhood…. Many artists feel that the museums and exhibitions are full of works of such amazing facility and skill that nothing is gained by continuing along those lines; that they are in danger of losing their souls and becoming slick manufacturers of paintings or sculptures unless they become as little children.

I came across a post dissecting some gallery designs at AFC’s Best Dressed List which I think is worth reading. Personally Bitforms has one of my favorite gallery designs. The AFC grand prix goes to Sikkema Jenkins & Co whose site design by Kyung Jeon is virtually flawless. The design is simple, elegant and versatile, (meaning, you could upload the picture you took of the floor by accident and it would still look artful). Straight forward and easy to navigate this sight sets itself apart from a great many gallery sites.

E Y E B E A M an atelier styled organization that explores the intersection of arts and sciences has set up a three day program to work with emerging artists, particularly artists exiting graduate programs. Read more about the selection process here. Eyebeam has developed Circuit in response to the need for emerging artists, particularly those exiting graduate-level programs (ie artists who have not shown their work in a professional setting or outside of university) to exhibit work and receive professional critique and exposure to networks within the art and technology community. This three-day intensive program offers a particular group of artists working and experimenting with new tools and practices, the opportunity to: – meet fellow artists working with similar media; – have the experience of exhibiting work at an art and technology center in New York City – receive critique from peers and professional curators, gallerists, artists, academics, writers, theorists, etc. – publicly present work during a public event at Eyebeam to gain feedback from peers, professionals and the public The program will run three times per year, with a maximum of 6 artist participants per Circuit program. Please see the information below regarding the selection process and application timeline. Selected artists will exhibit their work in Eyebeam’s exhibition space for three days, during which time they will take part in a critique organized by Eyebeam’s Education and Curatorial staff, and present and/or perform their projects during a public event at Eyebeam at the end of the three days. Artists interested in applying to take part in Circuit should view this program as a way to publicly prototype work under development (ie thesis projects that are ready for the next level of presentation), and take part in a rare structured critical discourse outside of the academic setting. Eyebeam is interested in projects ranging from moving image, sound and physical computing works, to software, websites, technical prototypes, performances, workshops and other forms of public interventions.

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