Dealing With Frustration, As An Artist.

Before I start, for those who haven't seen this piece before, it's called Coulrophilia (Love of/attraction to Clowns) it is 16x20", acrylic on canvas.

And here we go, with something that was running through my mind all of yesterday, something I, and many other artists have to contend with in our market. On the business side, we have to show every now and again to increase familiarity with our work - there is only so much online exposure can do for viewer interaction. In-person gives a much better detail for your potential clients, increases your access to clients, and helps create a relationship between yourself and the art market.

So I do advertise online as much as possible, because it doesn't cost me more than my internet connection and the electricity I'm already running my laptop on. Occasionally, a curator reaches out to me with interest in showing my work. Unfortunately, 9 times out of 10, it's with a business model that doesn't work for me.

This happened yesterday. I received a message through Facebook from a curator in Prague, trying to put together an international show for artists they discover online. I was sent a link to the application page, and best wishes from the organizer.

My first thoughts were optimistic, but cautious. I thought to myself, that it's an odd curatorial practice, to 'invite' people to apply, based on the quality of work you see, but I understand how important paperwork is for legal reasons. Then I opened the link, and read the criteria.

It said nothing about what sort of work they were looking for, only that the basic hanging fee was 550 Euros, which covered you for two pieces into the show. Premium was closer to 900 Euros, I think. I didn't see anything about any of that fee covering shipping or flight costs, either.

I'm still hesitant to throw the word 'scam' around, because I honestly have no idea, and never will, most likely, what goes into whatever sort of show it is that they're trying to produce, but I feel increasingly frustrated how often it seems that these institutions prey on the desperation to be seen. Or how often they're only available to artists with trust funds, or those who ALREADY have a great client base for financial success.

The fact is, I know gallery owners who operate on a hanging fee system. The ones I know work very very hard to make a system that is affordable for artists, and it does work for many artists I know, which is great. Small hanging fee and small commission, and often when they don't receive sales, they at least receive interest and the occasional commission. The cons of this system are that most of the time, to make the events successful, artists are expected to invite as many people as they can, which ends up usually with a beautifully packed... party. People come to look, enjoy, laugh and hang out with friends, but sales end up being a hope rather than the focus.

There's nothing wrong with parties, and it's not to say that I've never sold any work at this type of show before, but over the years, the amount of money I've paid in hanging fees and commissions is much greater than the amount I've made. I work full-time as an artist, so my income is largely dependent on the sales of my work. Shows will never guarantee sales. Not in a commission-based show, not in a hanging fee-based show. At least for me, if I don't sell work where the gallery takes commission instead of a hanging fee, I don't lose money.

I also, have sold much more work through commission-based galleries than I have through hanging-fee based galleries, which is likely better attributed to luck than anything, but it is what it is.

My frustration goes deeper, into the human social system. We talk. Our communicative abilities are part of what make us what we are, but we also have to be SO careful what we say. Many careers have been ruined by offhand comments. It takes two seconds to say the wrong thing, and a lifetime to rebuild yourself.

So when I get these messages inviting me to pay 550+ Euros to send my work away, I can only decline politely. I don't know that this system won't work for other people, and I don't know who these curators know. Hell, someone added me to a list called 'unfollow' on twitter yesterday, because I've been slowly paring down my follow list to see more of my friends' posts. Who knows what else people do because they feel slighted.

So I funnel it all back into my craft. It's the only safe place for frustration to go, because diplomacy is so integral to the survival of my business.

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