Joyce Owens: Artist On Art

How Much is Art Worth?

Making money was not an impetus for my art making.

I have to accept that things are valued, in our society, by how much someone will pay for them.

Carlos Cortez had other ideas. Carlos, who lived and worked in Chicago,  left in his will that the National Mexican Museum keep his prices in check by pulling more of his linocuts and wood cuts if need be to keep the market level.

I am between Cortez and those I call "artist-entrepreneurs", the artists who chose art and their "styles"  because they believe art making is a money maker. Maybe they also look to the New York market as their role model. Carlos believed art is for the masses and should be affordable.

"Old Rhythms,  New Beats"
Joyce Owens painting,  DanceAfrica Chicago signature artwork, Columbia College 2005

How do you price your art work? 

I know a seasoned artist who sells her work very inexpensively, starting at maybe $10.00-$20.00 for a small matted ink drawing. She wraps it in clear acetate so you can hang it without  a frame.

I know a less experienced  artist  whose small framed collages are priced  at $500.00-$750.00 last I looked. 

The 4 or 5 year old wunderkinds   are selling art for thousands, along with the monkeys, elephants, etc.

Outsider artists  are doing well, pricing their work well (if they get the money or not is still a concern).   I have been to the homes of three different well-to-do women who own  Outsider Art, exclusively. I always related to that work. I went to school because I knew nothing except I loved to draw. If I had lived in another time and another place and not been able to get an education I would have done what I do now, make art from anything handy, as well as fine art materials. Only difference between me and the guys on the side of the road is I can make choices based on what I decide to do, rather than based on my limitations.

So we read about record breaking auction prices, mostly for dead artists that sets the value of their work at this time. In an  earlier post I mentioned Lucien Freud, still ALIVE to appreciate how his work is valued. I have been in local and national auctions that helped me establish a price point for some work I do. 

Does it matter how other artists price work in a show you are in? Found a helpful website you might like on the business of art. Here's is an excerpt:

In order to price your art realistically, you must understand and respect how the art business works and how collectors shop and buy.  You must step back and objectively evaluate the significance and quality of your art in relation to all other art.  You must also objectively assess your art world accomplishments and determine how they position you in relation to all other artists.  These are difficult tasks and not necessarily pleasant, but they're absolutely essential to achieving the goals of making a go of it as an artist and of selling art.

...pretend the art listed below are the same size; should these all have the same price ?

a.  a portrait painting by  a recent B.F.A. college grad

b. a painting by an outsider artist who is completely self-taught

c. a landscape painting by a Chicago artist with a ten-year exhibition history

d. a landscape painting by a New York artist showing in Chicago

e. a still life painting by a newly rediscovered WPA era  artist

f. a metal cast sculpture/portrait

g. a collage portrait using found paper 

h. a black and white portrait printed in the darkroom by the artist

i. a giclee portrait on archival paper

j. a digital print portrait using Photoshop on archival paper

Is it size, it is process, is it how much you like it? You get my point. Reputation counts but not if people don't know the history.

There seems to be no universal standard for pricing that all artists adhere to....should there be?

What do you think?

detail: Joyce Owens, "Survivor Spirits" Installation 2004

Art Show Business: Gallery? Art Fair? Studio?

I support the gallery system.

For one, I can spend my time where I really want to be, producing my work while the gallerist promotes my work.

Second, I suspect that you will not get a critical review from your home studio.  (Now I did get a spread in the Chicago Tribune of me in my studio, but a feature is not a review.)

Pictured is the crowd at MadArt Gallery in St. Louis. The exhibition,  "Venus Envy" with Jewel Castro, San Diego, and Mary Dritschel,  Chicago-based, AND ME.

Reputable and knowledgeable dealers will know who to match your work with, making connections you and I might never have.

So the gallery gets 50% of the value of your work, but to paraphrase Nancy Charak  who said in the comments, you can choose to sell your own work but 50% of zero equals zero.

For their 50% the gallery should provide you with certain services besides a place to exhibit your work, providing a contract outlining everyone's responsibilities. Theirs will include:
*creating and sending out a press release
*creating and sending invitations to the artist's mailing list and the gallery's list
* perhaps arranging to pick up the work
* probably installing it (exceptions include site specific installations)
* creating labels and making artist bio info available
* producing an opening reception
*selling the work, placing it in collections, etc.

All that done, you sell well, right?

Who now owns the artwork?

Do you know who owns your work? What about galleries selling your work to collectors and refusing to identify the buyers?

For the major retrospectives, in my dreams, I need to be able to track down my work. I would like to know when work goes from one collection to another owner.

The provenance of one's work is  important. And, did you know, in some cases if your work is resold you may be in line for a cut of the profit?

So can you send in your answers to these questions?
Or ask some of your own.

1. Is it important to show in a gallery?

2. Are art fairs, studio sales,  auctions for charitable orgs good for sales and/or reputations of fine artists?

3. Should your dealer tell you who buys your work?

4. What can you do if your dealer will not share who has purchased your work with you?

5. Do you allow folks to "come to your studio after an exhibition" to buy work they saw in a commercial gallery?

6. Should your gallery get a percentage of that money made after a show?

These questions come up over and over. What do you think?

The Business of Art: 2 Million Living artists are making a living

You gotta read this New York Times article. Here's an excerpt:

“It’s easy to talk about artists in lofty and spiritual terms,” said Dana Gioia, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. “Without denying the higher purposes of the artistic vocation, it’s also important to remember that artists play an important role in America’s cultural vitality and economic prosperity. Artists have immense financial and social impact as well as cultural impact.”

It triggered this memory for me.

It was my idea to have the Artists at Work theme for the 2002 Chicago Artists Month, the yearly tribute to Chicago artists produced by the Chicago Department of Cultural  Affairs under the dynamic Lois Weisburg, and the  exquisite maestro of public events, Cynthia Quick, along with many others, Janet Carl Smith, Greg Knight, Greg Cameron, many outside and inside the department who are too numerous to name but do an incredible job coordinating everything!

I had been invited to join the committee the year after I was a featured artist, representing Sapphire and Crystals, a collective of African American professional women artists.  12 programs out of around 220 submitted are selected to be featured each year. Representatives of the programs are  photographed and shown on the widely distributed poster and brochure, etc.  The photographer in  2002 was Marc Hauser (that's the photo he took; I hold a rose).  I was excited. I knew nothing about this event, except I had gone to the CAC's Art Open and felt it was a noble idea. It's a lot of art, but I have learned to filter what I look at. The Chicago Artists Coalition spawned CAM.  The city expanded it into it's present state.

I was excited about CAM. When I told my artist friends who live and work on the South Side of Chicago about it, they said they did not know about it. I made it my mission to let people know about the theme, the deadlines, etc, and encouraged people to prepare for the month. Well, they got involved.  And now CAM really does include the entire city and not just the north side and downtown  areas...

Artists at Work was my working theme. I just wanted to emphasize, during the month-long event, that what people witnessed at art shows was the result of hours and hours of artists' labor and thought. Yes, it's  creativity, yes,  it's special talent and skill, but every artist who is honest has had periods of struggle, everyone has had to learn, if they produce anything worth seeing. All together this boils down to work. Not magic, not just a gift from God, not just "genes".  W.O.R.K.!

Artists  at Work turned out to be the title for the month since the committee could not come up with a better way to describe what I intended. The city continues to present Artists at Work forums. 

The New York Times article also recognizes that artists work. And this piece tells you the facts and figures. Do you make the money the average artist does? (If you are a dancer,  you might want to take a painting class.)  Any artist considering architecture may want to go ahead with that.

And hey, M.F.A. (Master of Fine Arts) is a terminal degree. That means that's as good as it gets for studio artists, that it is our PhD.

Though the article says equivalent degrees in other fields may mean more money, more money, more money!

But hey! We do this stuff for love, right!

The Art of Fatherhood: Ed Gordon's initiative

I sent award winning journalist,  Ed Gordon a Happy Father's Day message.

He responded with a message about this initiative he is spear-heading called Daddy's Promise.

I am reminded, today, of the limited relationship I had with my father. That resulted  in a limited relationship with his side of my family. I tried, for years, to see him after we moved out of the house he shared with my mother and siblings, until I got a card that was machine signed from him for my Christmas card when I was away at college. That hurt.

So I finally had to accept that when my parents divorced, my father seemingly divorced me, too. I had taken my young sons to see him in Philadelphia, but when he died I was cut off from any inheritance by his relatives who surmised that I deserved nothing. I was the one who had had to reach out to him from when I was 5 years old. He never reciprocated, but to their eyes, since they found some thank-you notes for small cash gifts he had given me (My mother insisted on notes for gifts), he had done his job.

I can tell you, he did not. But I overcame his negligence because my mother stepped up. She paid for piano lessons, for dance classes, for art classes, for college. I earned honors and grants and scholarships and worked as soon as I could get a job. She took care of me when I was ill.  My dear sister, Yvonne, took up the slack my mother could not handle, feeding me, taking me places, singing songs with me and reading me books. And my brother, Reggie, took me to college and picked me up. He met me at the train station or airport when I came home for visits.  He intimidated my few boyfriends. Chores my dad could have done, but never did.

A father must always be a parent to his child, no matter what happens between him and his daughter's mother!

So, Ed Gordon, a helluva man, talented, passionate, very good looking, an art lover and collector, is also a great dad! (had a tough time with ordering of the list...started with good-looking and then art lover, but did not want to insult his intelligence or artists' bread and butter....)

HAPPY FATHER"S DAY to my husband, the father of two sons who possesses all the attributes Ed does.

From Ed Gordon's website. Please read.

Award-winning broadcast journalist, Ed  Gordon created Daddy’s Promise, an initiative designed to focus the attention of the African-American community on the positive relationship that can and should exist between fathers and daughters. Through a national campaign and a series of community engagements, including a father/daughter dance that will take place during Father's Day weekend 2009, the initiative will encourage fathers to be actively involved in their daughters’ lives. The movement gives this relationship a voice and creates a nationwide conversation with African-American families, ultimately celebrating fathers and father figures.

 

Daddy’s Promise includes a symbolic component that will encourage men to sign a pledge and make a public acknowledgment of love and support for their daughters.  It also consists of principles and guidelines to assist in fostering positive relationships between fathers and daughters.
   
The Father/Daughter relationship has a significant impact on the many ways social and familial bonds are formed and the way girls grow up to be strong, confident women. To that end, Daddy’s  Promise is a sustainable program that:

   

1. Encourages African-American  fathers to take greater interest in their daughters’ lives,
2. Builds  self-esteem in young girls and teaches them to be productive citizens,
3. Salutes the importance of the father’s role in the full development in his daughter’s life and the tremendous impact he has in shaping her,
4. Creates dialogue among families as a first step in establishing healthy relationships between girls and the men who help raise them—fathers, grandfathers, father figures and mentors, thereby strengthening African-American families as a whole.

          

Daddy's Promise | About Ed Gordon | Contact us at admin@daddyspromise.com

Black and White on Black Art

Race, politics and art have converged.

This is not new. Think  James A. Porter, who published a 1943 book on Modern Negro art explaining what presidential  candidate Barack Obama allows,  "Yes we Can!" when it comes to the ability of Black people to think about and create fine art.

His classic book, Modern Negro Art (1943, Howard University Press 1992, cover art left, "Woman with Jug") proved to be one of the most informative sources to date on the productivity of the Negro artist in the United States since the 18th century. It is a standard reference work on Black Art in America. It is said that "Porter's book placed African American artists in the context of modern art history, which was both novel and profound.

Porter's book served to dispel contrary information concerning the motivation and abilities of black people who produce art works.

It seems we are still trying to prove Porter's point. In the last week I attended two panels on Black Art, addressing exhibitions in Chicago at the Hyde Park Art Center and the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago. Saturday I revisited the exhibitions.

I left both exhibitions puzzled. I left with the, seemingly, persistent questions "what is art" and "what is Black art?" All the artists in these shows are not, what we consider black. I don't mean like Barack Obama is not black enough, I mean not black as in white or something else, not bi-racial, which by the way, has for centuries been black enuf when it came to denying  people their civil rights.

Both shows displayed images by prominent artists who have been shown  by major institutions including museums. So the pedigree was set, right?  OK, I accept that.   

A couple of artists even overlapped, being in both exhibitions.

The exhibitions  included racially charged images that are now called "black memorabilia" and that Fred Wilson has used in  innovative ways. They include mammy figures, black face, racial epithets  in text, and portraits showing black families and black female portraits intimating, I think, that the black woman is seen differently in various situations and depending on the person who views her. Surprised?

The black memorabilia photos by David Levinthal  (photo left) brought to mind the blackface minstrels in the early movies produced by Metro Goldwyn Mayer and other film houses exploiting and denigrating black culture for financial gain and notoriety.
Levinthal photographs other characters including Barbie. Black or not The Renaissance show isn't visible on his website.

One show confused me because the installation of the objects seemed uncertain.   The  other exhibition was pristine as far as that goes, just  a bit confusing about why we need others to define black or not art.  I agree that they were both thought-provoking.   See for yourself by clicking on the links I provide.

If you saw either of these exhibitions or attended the panel discussions I would love your feedback.

Answering the question  during a Village  Voice interview, "so, what is black art?" Lowery Stokes Sims, of  the Studio Museum in Harlem said:

It isn't the racist collectibles Henry Louis Gates Jr. calls "Sambo Art." Nor is it Romare Bearden, David Hammons, or Kara Walker. According to Lowery Stokes Sims, the savvy director of the Studio Museum, it's "painted by, collected by, and exhibited within African American communities." In the catalog, writer Melvin Dixon asserts, "Black art seeks to step beyond the white Western framework of American art which has enclosed and smothered any previous expression of Blackness." 

Thelma Golden was the curator for the exhibition, "Black Romantic" in 2002".

(above: African American artist Joshua Johnston,  created "The Westwood Children" in 1807.)

Also on the topic, below is from an  artist who attended the panels.  Lowell Thompson wrote this email to me:

Joyce,
Good. It's about time AfrAmerican artists started to think about the State of American Art and to figure out ways to "colorize" and Americanize it. I just hope our individual egos don't get in the way. I've got two blogs you might want to check out:

http://www.originaals.com

and

http://www.askraceman.com

Here's hoping Barack Obama's presidential bid isn't the beginning and end of so much new found interest in the subject of racism in general or in the fine art world in particular. The problem will be here whether he wins, loses or draws.

Stay strong. It won't be long.
Lowell

Murry DePillars Update

There has been  lots of traffic on the internet about Murry  De Pillar's  passing.

He touched a lot of people.
Frank Smith said he was moved to tears reading tributes to Murry.  Gallerist David Lusenhop  is avidly spreading the information about Murry's Chicago and Virginia services and is clearly saddened by this tremendous loss as well as other's.  D.C. photographer Jeffrey Fearing has sent me information. Tritobia Hayes-Benjamin of the Howard University College of Fine Arts, photographer Dawoud Bey  and others have been emailing,  calling  and demonstrating their  sense-of-loss in many ways. That time and energy spent by many tells me how much people care.

Everyone is protective of the family, especially Murry's devoted wife, Mary. You can send a donation to the family (see below)

An  obit  and slide show showing  Murry in the earlier days is on line.  Please  click to take a look.

The services and a request for donations:

Murry N. DePillars

                                                   1938-2008

Memorial Services Scheduled

Richmond, Virginia :  Saturday, June 21, 2008
   12 Noon
  Allix B. James Chapel
   Virginia Union University
   1500   North Lombardy Street
   Richmond , VA  23220

Chicago, Illinois :  Saturday, June 28, 2008
   11:00 a.m.
  ETA Theater
  ETA Creative Arts Foundation
   7558   S. South Chicago Avenue
   Chicago , IL  60619

Memorial/Charitable Contributions in Dr. DePillars’ name should be made to:
  Virginia Union University
  c/o Mrs. E. J. White, President’s Office
   1500   North Lombardy Street
   Richmond , VA  23220

Pine Camp Arts & Community Center
  Arts Advisory Council
   4901   Old Brook Road
   Richmond , VA  23227

   ETA Creative Arts Foundation
   7558   S. South Chicago Avenue
   Chicago , IL  60619

   Third World Press Foundation
   P.   O. Box 19730
   7822   S. Dobson Avenue
   Chicago , IL  60619

Here is a famous photo of the AfriCobra  members.   Murry is standing in the dark shirt on the right.

Napoleon Henderson,       Wadsworth

All members are not pictured:
Napoleon Henderson, Wadsworth and Jay Jarrell, Michael Harris, Nelson Stevens, Ron Anderson, Jeff Donaldson, Frank Smith, Barbara Jones-Hogu, Carol Lawrence, Murray       DePillars, Omar Lama, and Sherman Beck were key members of Africobra. Ameer  Nour, Lester Lashley, and Robert E. Paige along with Bill Walker were important  artists who made considerable contributions to the development of this innovative movement in art.

Click on photo to enlarge.

Following is a poem dedicated to Murry DePillars by Napoleon Jones-Henderson:

Dr. Murry DePillars

Member of AfriCobra

******************************

An E-Eulogy

by fellow AfriCOBRA member

Napoleon Jones-Henderson 

AfriCOBRA 2008

"A riff for my Brother:
To those I love,                                                                                                         
The Creator has a master plan!!

The message I sent the other morning (maybe I sent it to you) was all I could get myself to do.                                                                                                                         
The Creator has a master plan!!
That's why it was so short.                                                                                        
The Creator has a master plan!!
I just needed to let some special people know as I know they would have wanted to know
The Creator has a master plan!!
The Creator has a master plan!!
The Creator has a master plan!!

It is really difficult (sometimes) to gather my senses around a certain thing. You DIG!!   
The Creator has a master plan!!

Murry was one Brother I was so proud of and thankful for our friendship. It is said that good friends are hard to come by and impossible to replace!!!   The Creator has a working plan!! There was a time…we go way back to Chicago,                                                      

When peace was on the earth…sharing a studio and just hanging and growing as men and joy and happiness did reign…concerned about our women, children, family and community. Spending many hours and days just rapping about everything in the world that   in any way affected African People, Worldwide. Immersed in the aura of our music and caressed by the ever present spirits of our elders and ancestors.                                       
Each man knowing his worth…Drawing and giving strength to each other.                   
In my heart how I yearn for that spirit’s return…

As I think about my Brother, images/memories unfurl like as an unending reel of documentary film screening in my head...and I cry, as time flies!                                                                         
Oooomm, Oooomm
He is always in my thoughts when I am working, writing, reading or gazing upon one of his images. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah... Yeah… Yeah, Yeah,  His intellect was just extraordinary and as you have said he was so giving. He was an infectious person; he was a muse (with a small m). Murry gave and received-gave and received-gave and received-gave and received …. Now… he can just lay back in the cut!!  But no, he continues to give because he left so much for us to learn it will be a long time before his giving comes to…..                                                                                                                           
A Love Supreme!!  A Love Supreme!!  A Love Supremeeeee!! 

His works are lessons on how to scream and be ever so peaceful,   yet               
SCREAMINGGGGGG!!!!!!!!
I see red and orange and purple                                                                                                                
yellow and blue and green... we will only miss his physical presence, because he is in my/our hearts. Shine!!!! Baby shine                                                                            
As the African proverbial riff goes, you will never be forgotten, as long as someone speaks your name. MURRY!!!!! MURRY!!!!!! MURRY!!!!!!

Peace be still my Brother. Peace be still…. Peace be still.
There I go There I go There I go,
There I goooo…….."



Napoleon Jones-Henderson
AfriCOBRA 2008

****************************************

Post black and back to the future

The last major Euro-centric "post" art movement was  the Post-Impressionists, I think.

Oh yeah, and post- modern and post-autonomous count...though not exclusively white.

But in Chicago, and I assume nationally, African American artists are tackling the term: "Post-Black". In Chicago, during the last week I have attended two panels addressing the term.  The impetus for these discussions are two exhibitions: "Black Is/Black Ain't" curated by Hamza Walker at the University of Chicago's Renaissance Society and "Disinhibition: Black Art and Blue Humor", curated by Blake Bradford at the Hyde Park Art Center .

The term was coined by Thelma Golden of the Studio Museum in Harlem (Dawoud Bey wrote an extensive tribute you should read) and artist Glenn Ligon.

("A Girl Like Me in Green" construction  Joyce Owens)

Here is an excerpt from an interview including what Ligon had to say in 2003 when he was asked about Post-Black.

Wednesday, April 9, 2003

A moment with ... Glenn Ligon, artist

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF

Appearing tonight at 7 at the Seattle Art Museum, New York artist Glenn Ligon follows his friend, Studio Museum of Harlem curator Thelma Golden, who spoke there last week. During her talk, she credited him with the idea of post-black black art, and the sentence, "Post black is the new black," meaning the latest generation of black artists aren't as focused on race as those who preceded them.

Why is post-black the new black? I think I was kidding. At least there's some irony in there somewhere. Thelma's an art historian. She can find profundity where none was intended. I'd say it's her concept, not mine.

So are the endless debates based on a joke? That makes sense to me!

And yes, our state of blackness is complicated. There is no one black man in Africa and there is definitely no one black  in the world today.  We are all various degrees of African and the admixtures are extensive, so if it is about race,  we will all have to get those DNA kits to determine our individual heritages. If it's about identity, then most people know internally where they fit. Walter White, for example, could easily have been "white" but inside he was black.

Until racism is OVER  we have to waste time figuring out who is black  (I hope everyone knows  that Bill Clinton is not the first black president) or  black enough  or post-black, or not really black at all but not white, Asian or Latino!

I personally think is a conspiracy to keep us divided and in this color debate, therefore preventing us  from making meaningful progress.

Like Glenn, I am kind of kidding....

Murry DePillars

Murry DePillars - 1938-2008

Artist, educator, member of AfriCobra passed last week,
I met Murry several times and he was always friendly and engaging.

Details of the services are not yet available to the public. 











This drawing by Murry DePillars was provided by David Lusenhop Gallery in Chicago.

My source has asked that you please  not call the family. They would like to grieve alone for the moment:

I was told that his wife Mary and his family were not encouraging phone calls at this point as they grieve. Of course, many of you know Murry and his family well and should support them as you see fit.

Let us think about Murry and his family, and let us reflect on his enormous impact on our lives and the lives of so many who stood before his art and were challenged and changed. He was endlessly generous of his time and his wisdom. I found that out personally when he bothered to guide me and set me straight.  He was a compassionate, decent, and giving man.

Here  are two more   images  Dr. DePillars  produced, "€œFrom the Mississippi Delta"€, left
"About Time", right.

                                                                                        

It's your culture that could be lost!

What do we know about any culture?

What happened in 15th C. Italy? What happened during The Great Depression?  What happened during the Civil War?  What was up in ancient Greece?

"What Happened?" in history is often etched in our heads in pictures. Take a look at Michael D. Harris' book that deals with the manipulation of black images.

We learn about historic periods by the art and artifacts left behind.

The monuments
The buildings
The murals
The sculpture
The paintings
The photographs

The tangible and visual can tell the story of a civilized people and their lives.

Art work found in a special place will indicate a certain  status.  King Tut had that tomb, discovered finally in 1922,  intact because the looters had not removed and sold everything, although they had tried (then some other pharaoh built  housing for the workers building his tomb over Tut's, so the boy king's loot was hard to uncover). But Tut, a lesser, younger,  short-lived pharaoh has become the best known because of the booty found in his final resting place.

He can be studied. He can exemplify a period.

So, in what special place do we find art by African Americans, today? How will the future folks  understand our integral importance to and contributions within our culture? They can learn about our separate culture resulting from enslavement, Jim Crow, segregation, redlining, poverty and mis-education, etc. in separate institutions.

We may not seem  to have been that important to future observers. The museums and galleries not totally devoted to African American history and art will not show much. Go see for yourself. 

Maybe you don't have time to get to a museum. Pick up some books on "American Art". You will be hard pressed to find artists  of African heritage included.

No books? Check us out on line, then. Google "American Artists" or "famous Artists" and  see what you discover if  you play a favorite game of mine, " Find the black artist". Try it! You may be surprised.

I usually look for artists:  Elizabeth Catlett, Henry  O. Tanner, Joshua Johnston, Samella  Lewis,  Lois  Mailou Jones,  Richard  Mayhew,  Chakia Booker,  Robert Colescott,  Richard  Hunt,  William H. Johnson,  William  Carter, Philomena Williamson, Nannette Carter, Fred Wilson, Ed Clark, Sam Gilliam and some others. If you research "American artists", "American Art", etc. you may find Jacob Lawrence, Basquiat, Romare Bearden and Martin Puryear and a few others.

I own various books on American Art most dating from the 1960's to present, art textbooks, catalogs, books I find here and there at estate sales, etc. and notice we are usually not represented. At best, out of 100 famous American artists one or two might be African American.

And women, we tried for equal rights through a feminist movement and a Civil Rights movement and women are still sparsely represented  in the mainstream.

SO, What do you think? What can we do to change this?

image:
From the Crying Man series
by Joyce Owens

Check Out the Really Rich Artists!

In case you can't  tell, I am sharing my ideas and concerns with seriousness and a little tongue-in-cheek!

So here is important news!

Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, now Lucien Freud (related to the psychologist? Yes!) have made record-breaking money at auction!

Click here to learn about more.  And this Freud is not dead.

The art is big, too. What do you think?

Please read the comments, guys.

There is a wealth of knowledge and info coming at you for free! Thanks to Paul Klein, Dawoud Bey, Nathaniel McClin, Turtel Onli, Shahar Caren Weaver , Esther Charbit, Lowell Thompson,
Michael Wasniowski and others.

I appreciate the great input. Keep tuning in. And please add your  ideas, concerns and rants!!!!

Painting by Joyce Owens
from "Out of the Box series",
Man in Vest, acrylic on wood box.

Neo-Style, Post-Media, Neo-Aesthetics, Neo- Ethnic, Post-avante garde, Neo-modern, Post-classical, Neo-postmodern-black

S o does the passion, the personal experiences of the artist, the artists' idiosyncrasies, and her desire to create a personal mark or signature art form, the gender and race of the artist, the access to technology or lack of it,  his articulation of sexual preferences through his art, her sense of isolation,  his longing, his awe of nature, etc.   need to take a back seat until and unless the artist assesses his or her niche  (aka market)?

Maybe the art schools, the basic training platform for many artists,  should not prepare students to  make art, but to deal with the " Artworld", meaning  national and international art dealers, curators, historians and critics.  Teaching grant writing,  training students to complete successful applications for residencies, etc. should be priorities.  I'm suggesting that the art schools should go the opposite of what I experienced, and  teach the politics and business of art, exclusively.  Students can research current trends before making a first mark on a drawing pad. They can learn to network by taking field trips to art openings, and schmoozing with the clientèle present. Freshmen would go to local galleries to learn what the gallerists are looking for. What sells well could be a 3rd week assignment on the syllabus. Students would attend panels on current pricing practices,  meet with bankers, auction house personnel and art insurers.

Second Year students would be taken to contemporary art museums  where they get  the benefit of  behind-the-scenes tours featuring a talk on recent acquisitions to the collection and  current demands for it.

Art students would be taught to gear their artist statements to include  one of the  top 25  story lines  that  move  collectors and museums  to acquire   art works. And learn where movers and shakers have lunch.

I have become aware of a real-life class of artists I call "Artist-entrepreneurs".  I define this group of people as those who have no significant, inherent attachment to art, they are trying to determine the best way for them to make a lot of money. And they conclude that making art and using promotional techniques that might be used to market any product will make that cash! Their spiels leave me with an infomercial vibe.  And also, amazed!   These folks sell art and lots of it based on their amazing force-of-will.

So, do you think we should forget teaching students  the traditions and teach them how to research and market a product? Why reflect your culture, your concerns, your preferences?

Students are still flocking to art  schools, but why since the internet makes it possible to teach yourself many techniques if you can read and follow directions?

Both my sons are decent artists. Neither has gone to art school. They had all the toys the neo-pop artists portray in their works. My kids played with Ghostbusters, G.I. Joe, He-Man, Transformers, Star Wars and of course saw the omnipresent Disney tales.  I always rushed to buy the recently released movies that were going "back into the vault" after this sale,  making sure my sons had the "experience" of seeing Bambi and Show White and the Seven Dwarfs. 

They learned to make art because I gave then materials from when they were little and I took them to places where they could see art (and other things) from before they could walk.  I took them to the Contemporary Art Workshop, The Lincoln Park  and Brookfield Zoos, The Museum of Science and Industry, The Aquarium, The Field Museum, the Children's Museum and the Spertus Museum for the digs. They went to galleries when they were still in the snuggly and stroller . When they were old enough to talk, they let us know the Museum of Science and Industry and the Children's Museum were among their favorites.  The Art Institute and the Museum of Contemporary Art were visited rarely until they were older. And they went to the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum. 

My son, Kyle, draws constantly.
(that's his pencil sketch, above, of Samuel L. Jackson)
He is creating a comic book with a friend, a student at Columbia College.  My son understands computers and can use technology along with hand drawing to produce his work.

Experts of computer and video games and things Japanese,  my sons probably already know about  Kijima and  her work. My other son  is a computer engineer and a game developer who is programming a new game as we speak  at a company in Mesa, Arizona.

These two guys collected Pokemon, started the Anime Club at Whitney Young H.S., with some like minded friends, have owned every game system and major game that has come out since they were  tiny and we had to make the midnight runs to Toys R Us in hopes of finding the one  they HAD to have for Christmas. One son went with a Chinese friend to visit Japan already. 

By the way, I think we are aware that the richest country dominates the global culture. It has been  us , Coke and Rock and Roll, jeans... and it is shifting to Asian culture. Alongside that reality , we all understand that there is a generational divide that demands that the youth breaks from the previous one. So getting into a culture that was our enemy a couple of generations ago is a good break from the immediate past. Not the first time folks were enamored of Japanese art and culture; you can see it in  the art by Toulouse Lautrec and Van Gogh among others, and maybe in your grandmother's stuff depending on your age.  Nipon collectibles probably have  some value.

So I guess I am asking two questions that you can pull out of my meanderings.

1. How can art schools change to serve the needs of our students?

2. How can the international cultural  systems change to be inclusive of  culture that does not reflect a Eurocentric mindset?

Or have they already?

Would love to hear your thoughts...

p.s. Below is an excerpt from a book review of a VERY rich artist. I went to one of his "galleries" and was stunned by the mediocrity of the work. But he has been covered my most major media and sometimes sells dozens of paintings to each of his collectors. Click here to read the entire review.

"Thomas Kinkade is reportedly the most collected living artist in the world, yet I am compelled by both space and time constraints to list above only two of his larger coffee-table art books. A list of all the Kinkade collections, gallery catalogues, co-authored religious inspiration books, home décor spin-offs, architectural plans, etc., ad nauseum, would match the size and content of the Asheville phone directory".

Think about music when figuring out what's "good" art?

Here is an analogy I used to try to explain the difference between derivative, sub-standard, "bad" art  and other art that I loosely describe as "good art". It has nothing to do with education, M.F.A.'s, insider, outsider, etc., just so you don't even go there!

I was talking to the collector, Patric McCoy, this morning, who is very passionate about art. When you see his collection and how he has installed it in his home with the idea of creating visual statements, you know he loves art. Collectors often engage in installation artistry when they place their  acquisitions  in their living spaces. Patric does that; he has themed "galleries" within each room.  I know he has over 300 works. Probably more.

(You can visit Patric's place , major collector Dan Parker and other collectors during one of the tours that Diasporal Rhythms Collectors will have during the year. There is also a regular Bronzeville trolley tour  that goes to Steelelife Gallery, Gallery Guichard, Neleh Gallery and the South Side Community Art Center). I think they will be part of Chicago Artists Month again this year.   Or  ask  me. I can get dates.)

So back to bad art/good art. Most people get bad singing. If you sing off-key, most people can detect it. If you don't know the words, people know it. It you screech and have no vocal control or range, people know it. That may not make you unsuccessful, but it will make you eccentric or weird, probably like Tiny Tim who sang a very bad version of Tiptoe Through the Tulips and  was, apparently, wildly successful.

So this is pretty much what I said to him. 

If you are a singer getting started and trying out for a gig or American  Idol, for example, you probably will not want to try to sing songs that Whitney Houston, Alicia Keyes, Frank Sinatra, Patty LaBelle or Tina Tuner already own. Luther VanDross, Stevie Wonder  and some others, too many to name, sing with  such extraordinary style and  expertise, that you will make a negative comparison to yourself, even if you do have a good voice, if you are not sure that you can sing on the same level or better than the original. So singing a standard, or a lesser known song by those artists, rather than a signature Mariah Carey, is a better choice. You still have to be able to sing to get in the game, but imitating an existing champ may put you in an Atlantic City joint rather than Carnegie Hall.

The other part of this is, if you are an exact replica of  Barbra Streisand, who cares? There already is one. Originality is critical for every art discipline if you are  serious. People understand unoriginal movies, and mostly will not support them. But even if the common man does, the  awards community probably will not.

The music consumer understands when music that has been done in the  same way is offered up by another musician. Sampling is different, using the music within another context.

Creating visual work "after" another visual artist is not copying. Creating art works inspired by other artists is also fine and part of the on-going continuum.

Artists' statements usually explain where the artist thinks he/she fits. (I say any artist who does not have the mental capacity to write his/her own statement should not be considered an artist; that would eliminate monkeys,  elephants,  and small children (who cannot be documented  making their art from start to finish).

I think we would like art critics and writers to position us and compare and contrast us to other contemporary and historic art practitioners, styles and movements for us. They have studied a wide range of art and will know who your work relates to, and where you fit. Art historians and professional curators can do the  same.

Today, artists are asked to contextualize ourselves!  Maybe because so many of us are practicing and it's hard for the curators, historians and writers to keep up. Maybe because these folks generally have a narrow, prescribed purview. 

Here is an interesting  aside. A story about a curator telling an artist that she will NOT be in the Whitney and why (click on artist to read the newspaper account). The artist made a decision to change her work.

Yep. Here I go with the musings and questions...and I hope a few more stabs at clarity.

So give it up! What do you say????

Levels of the Artists' Career: Where Do You Fit In?

I think dealing with the politics of art is essential. Those who know it can do it, but there are many of us who learned this stuff the hard way and are still interested in learning.

So I thought I'd like to talk about the different usual tiers for artists. Maybe understanding where we fit will help. I often  wonder why some artists show where they show. I am trying to really think about that for myself. I have learned to turn down exhibitions that I don't see as beneficial. (The reasons are varied.) So far trusting my instinct, based on experience of course, has paid off.

Let's make a list of the usual steps today's artists will transit on their way to the mountaintop. Some "artists" like the children and the elephants who are getting major exposure obviously skip these steps. You tell me if I left off anything and if you even believe this is nonsense or you believe something else.

Here's the list:

1. Student
2. Graduate Student
3. Emerging/professional artist
4. Established/professional artist
5. Mid-career/professional artist
6. Master/professional artist

The student levels are fairly easy. They are learning their medium/media, and being exposed to methods, materials  and  art history. They learn how to present their work. They engage in internships, critiques, and student only exhibitions (many juried exhibitions deny access to students). They develop artist statements. Age is not a factor. Graduate students are getting more shows. Did you see the M.F.A.'s at Artropolis?

Emerging artist is hazy. You may hear that "emerging" means you have not had a solo exhibition in a museum, or simply you are just out of school or just starting to present your work to the public.  Generally speaking  we associate "emerging" with young age.  But older artists could also be emerging for various reasons.. I think it  is up  to the artist, in a way. Sometimes it is advantageous to be emerging and sometimes not. (I always feel like I fit into this category because there is still so much to know.) This is that beginning stage after any training, if you choose to take that route, but when you are starting to be accepted into juried and being chosen for invitational exhibitions. For many emerging artists, groups shows are a good way to be seen. 

Established  artist means you have had many exhibitions in galleries, both commercial and educational institutions, perhaps a museum or two, maybe public art, along with publications; that might include a feature story and critical reviews, if you are lucky, catalogs.

Mid-career means you are getting older.  You have developed a particular sensibility and your ideas and your products should reflect your maturity.  You are exhibiting in more established venues, hopefully getting fees and honorariums, plus expenses when you travel to other states and abroad.  You will continue to pursue  grants,  fellowships and awards.  You are  asked to present on panels,  juries  and share the accumulated knowledge  you have acquired. You may  do more solo  exhibitions.  You could find that you want to make dramatic changes in what you  produce. You hope to be in museums and in collections.

Master artist  means you are dead.

No?

Well, tell me what you think! And name some of the Masters that are alive.

"Writer's on the Roof", oil on canvas

painted when I was emerging.

by Joyce Owens 

Clay Goss, Writer, playwright: sends creative models

Sharing with you author and playwright Clay Goss' email 
on the discussions that he sent a few days back.
(with his permission).



 

He and I have known each other since 
birth. My mother, Eloise Owens and 
his mother, Alfreda were best friends.
My mother was Clay's godmother. We 
all called him Sonny. We were dragged 
to each other's homes when we were 
growing up and just kinda stared at 
each other until we could go home.

Turns out we went to the same high school in Philadelphia 
and then the same college, Howard University and became 
friends.

Sonny was a big man on campus in high school, playing 
football at Germantown High and doing important literary
stuff later at Howard and beyond. 
He invited me to my first high school party. And he is 
married to a professional story teller and writes and 
teaches in Phila. 



Joyce

        Thanks for the comments. I wrote my thoughts
down as fast as I could. It was very late and I had
just reviewed a master's thesis defense essay and
poems for the umpteenth time. So I know the grammar
and spelling must have been somewhat whacked. I just
wanted to give two models from the past that seemed to
go somewhere.
         Interestingly, there are two other models I
have dug on over the years. One is right there in
Chicago: The AACM(The Advancement of Creative
Musicians). In the latter half of the 70's I spent a
blizzard cold year at Ohio U.in Athens. somehow they
invited Muhal Richard Abrahms, the founder of that
group, for a solo concert. I spent a part of the day
with him(he was like Ornette/a country/east
texas?/sort of guy/which shocked me because of the
experimental range of his music and the depth of his
"jazz" ability. and, I've always been open to the
sounds and artists of the Art ensemble of Chicago, his
group. 
           Anyway a book by the Columbia (university)
Prof and trombonist George Lewis covering The AACM 
and Abrahms over the last forty years is about to 
come out(a mustread since they have 
lasted so long, put out a zillion groups, individuals, 
and have influenced avant garde music worldwide over that 
period; doing so without going the
"commercial" route. You should look him up!!
I doubt he'd remember me or Athens but I do know he
was a very approachable and congenial cat.
            The other model was from Japan. Led by an
art school graduate/entrepenuer, Takashi Murakami, this
group following the Warhol model and innovating it
from a Japanese artistic and business point of view
have created a MOVEMENT that extends worldwide and
makes a fortune. Last summer I went up to NYC to see
their blockbuster exhibit at The Japan Society. This
cat centered a group of people/notions called Otaku Culture 
and took off with it. 
Regardless of how one feels about the art,this
stuff is spreading like hip hop. You have to look in
to it. Murakami has a studio/factory in Brooklyn/an
extention of his operations in Japan.
                Look, do what you will with the stuff
I sent you...remember I sent it to you (and not)"going 
outside" 
even though I knew the potential of it since I read some 
blogs now and then.
                 Again, your movements and activities
are inspiring--keep dancing and moving on up!         
                sonny

Thanks Sonny. 


"Pillars III"    
by Joyce Owens

F.Y.I. National Conference of Artists in Chicago this July

The National Conference of Artists (NCA) will hold its 49th Annual National Conference in Chicago this summer. It is hosted by Third World Press and the DuSable Museum.

The Art of Renewal

July 10-12, 2008

Conference site and lodging: The New South Loop Hotel 11 West 26th Street, Chicago, IL 60616 (312) 225.7000

Email: 3rdWorldPress@ gmail.com

www.ncanewyork.com

Chicago is a city of re-birth, big shoulders & can do

I read the comments you all are sending in, and think we have a lot of questions, but few answers.

So is the city of Chicago the problem? Sounds like a joke, but it isn't. The city is working like crazy to keep artists here and happy. That's why we have Chicago Artists Month. The city has a business wing that interviews artists to find out what our needs are. Art is vital to a thriving, civilized community and they know it. Architect Ed Uhlir had the city spend a bundle to get Frank Gehry to come up with the artful bandshell and bridge and the CloudGate by Kapoor. 

But are there problems for artists despite the programs in place right now?
Are the city programs geared to placate artists but not push them to a higher level of recognition?   

Before you answer let's get a very brief background on how NYC became the center of the art universe. During and after WW II, European artists migrated to New York! The Nazis, the devastation, and perhaps the lure of New York art dealers were in play to cause the migration.

So the Abstract, Abstract Expressionists movements continued and thrived in New York instead of Paris.

As Dawoud said in his post Chicago had the Hairy Who and Imagists; Suellen Rocca, one of the members, is the gallery director at Emlhurst College. As far as black artists go the artists from the Harlem (New York) Renaissance period, including those who were not in Harlem such as Chicagoan, Archibald Motley, Jr. seem to be the most famous group. These artists were mostly sponsored by white patrons.

James Porter, Lois Jones and those artists who were in the  Harmon shows as well as Chicago artists Marion Perkins and others affiliated sometimes with the South Side Community Art Center remain well-known, but not part of a group in one city who fed each other's art. Of course Perkins became famous when he won a prize for sculpture in the, now non-existent, Chicago and Vicinity show at the Art Institute. Some artists swear the show was ended so black artists could remain out of the museum.

It seems that African American artists were strewn hither and yon. In Chicago Margaret Burroughs gathered artists together and talked about history and art. Anna M. Tyler is a product of those meetings. They had galleries. Afam is the name of one I heard about run by black artists. Allen Stringfellow started the Wells Street Art Fair. A lot of the artists such as Calvin Jones, Al Tyler, of course Richard Hunt attended  the Art Institute (S.A.I.C.)

The only "famous" group from here that I know about is Afri-Cobra. They extended past Chicago to D.C. and Atlanta  and perhaps beyond,  with Murray DePillars, now in the south, as well as Michael Harris in Atlanta and Akili Ron Anderson in D.C.Jeff Donaldson is deceased. I heard Kerry James Marshall say he was a part of Afri-Cobra. Would like to hear more about that, wouldn't you?

There was another group in New York. In 1963 Spiral included Romare Bearden, Emma Amos, Hale Woodruff and others, maybe William T. Williams. I heard Richard Mayhew, also a member, talk about the group at N'Namdi Gallery and Emma Amos at the Bearden Symposium that Dawoud brought here last year.

My group, Sapphire and Crystals has been making our own exhibitions in Chicago for the last 20 years. I curated Sapphire and Crystals: In Black and White in honor of Spiral.

Latino artists started Polvo.

The women had Artemisia (closed), ARC and now, Woman Made. ARC is about 34 years old. They all embrace all women, although they are predominantly white.  The Women Caucus for the Arts is also active here.

Chicago Artists Coalition invites all artists.

There is the African American Arts Alliance. They support all the arts. I know I have left something out.
Haki Madhabuti is involved with a group of artists, a national group that has a Chicago wing.

Anyone can submit ideas for panel discussions to Barbara Koenen at the Department of Cultural Affairs for the Artists at Work forums. www.chicagoartistsresource.org. Maybe a discussion called: African American Artists: Mainstream vs. Tributary? (ok, that's just silly!)

But, seriously, what do you think? What can we do to move it forward?

Artist exposed: Shahar Caren Weaver

Just want you to see a few examples Shahar Caren Weaver's work.

"Kente Church"

Shahar is showing her work in Hyde Park at the Catholic Theological Union at 5401 S. Cornell and you can park in their garage for free if you say you are going to see the exhibition that is on the 4th floor in this new and gorgeous building. Their hours are 9am to 4:30pm weekdays

773-371-5415.

The Veeck Gallery features art by Chicago area artists. Curator Janis Pozzi-Johnson curated the exhibition but her son died suddenly and she had to have some others install the show that also features fabulous Chicago artist Rhonda Wheatley, represented by Flatfile. Two other very interesting artists are also in  the show.

Shahar and Rhonda are members of the collective of African American women artists called Sapphire and Crystals.

Yes, I did go to see the show and met a lovely artist in the exhibition from India that I did not know. She explained her painting process and how it was based on a ritual that she engaged in when she was a child. Reminded me of Barbara Koenen's work with herbs and seasonings because the artist made meditation pieces as a little girl using natural items.. I agree that we should try to support other artists. I also hope we can share information. I don't know about everything that goes on in the city.

"Cosmic Sisters"

Please email (owensart@yahoo.com with art event or art opportunity indicated in the subject line so I don't think it's spam.) or post upcoming events on the blog, please.

OK. I Need to make some stuff clear!

I am having a conversation. I am not whining. I don't think the artists I know are whining. We are having a discussion.

I did see the Gees Bend show in Milwaukee and I did meet many of the women in Chicago at the Northern Trust Bank and I met, listened to a lecture by and had a conversation with Bill Arnett. I did not meet the band of woman art historians. Who are they? Please name a few with some documentation.

I am  not certain what others know, but I do understand that a body of work is necessary for a museum or even a gallery exhibition. I also understand that Kerry James Marshall's solo exhibition at the MCA , "One True Thing", was a compendium of styles and ideas by one artist as well as work by other artists, not usually considered the methodology of a solo exhibition. I was invited to attend the garden party video where Dawoud Bey, Candida Alvarez, Kerry's wife Cheryl and others were part of Kerry's video shown  during the exhibition. Bey's son was there, too!

I certainly have not gone to every show and lecture, but I make quite a few. I missed Thelma Golden atColumbia because I had the incorrect address. I did not see McLin or many African American artists at the public panel discussion by curators from the MCA last October informing  artists how to get their work seen. Only one black person showed up for a panel discussion on women artists led by Sabina Ott, the chair of art at Columbia that I put together. Didn't see McLin there. I was at Art Chicago on Thursday evening for the preview and on Sat. for 5 hours after working at my university until 5pm. I also made sure my university, Chicago State University was a partner, mounting a student and a faculty exhibition that were included in the Artropolis materials.

Don't know who made it to Tony Fitzpatrick's opening on May 1 at the Chicago Cultural Center. It was a huge crowd. I was there. (Got a great photo of Tony and his brother in  their hats.)

Paul Klein  has mentioned my work in his Artletter and I was chosen  by Kevin Nance as one of his top ten exhibitions, along with Preston Jackson  for the YEAR 2007 (after a glowing review Sept. 21, 2007).

I have raised two sons while my husband traveled, was press secretary for a Chicago mayor and a correspondent for Newsweek with no family to help me, and I still worked and entered exhibitions.

I know many women, men and children who are productive, produce cohesive and intelligent bodies of work and go to social events. I contributed art to the Illinois Arts Alliance fundraiser purchased by one of their high-powered board members. That was right before Ed Pashke died. He and collagist Allen Stringfellow both contributed art so it was a selective group of artists.

Speaking of Stringfellow. I brought him and David Philpot to the President's Gallery at Chicago State when Bob Weitz was the curator. Asa result Stringfellow had two pieces added to our collection. I  knew them and Bob did not.

I have been on focus groups as the CAR (Chicago Artists Resource was developed). I single-handedly developed the concept that links Woman Made, Arc and Intuit Galleries called MAAC. I developed exhibitions for many galleries. Kerry Marshall even contributed work to one. Preston Jackson to another one.

Every year I recommend Dawoud Bey to be the photographer for Chicago Artists Month. I have been on that advisory board for seven years! (Susan Aurinko, from Flatfile, came up with a possible way for him to do it, despite his demanding schedule. We'll see!)

It will take too long to say all I have contributed and networked. I have won a number of awards so I guess people like my work. They include Faith Ringgold, Martin Puryear, Madeline Rabb and Margaret Hawkins.

Oh, and I assembled the juror and found artists  to submit to "Women of the African Diaspora", at Woman Made Gallery that Kym Pinder juried. I have curated numerous Sapphire and Crystals exhibitions and have one coming up in January. Two were selected by the Dept. of Cultural Affairs as meeting their highest standards for Chicago Artists Month and selected as one of 12 featured programs.

Artists need to network, but I for one, also need time to work. I am as stretched as I can be.

I think I have ideas about what I need to do next. Don't know if it will happen, but I am an artist who just is compelled to work, whether it is seen or purchased is secondary.

I know plenty white artists who also want to move forward and think the playing field is unfair.

My point is to move us all forward. I will soon post an email from a friend of mine from Philadelphia who has some interesting suggestions.

Image:
Survivor  Betty
by Joyce Owens

Good art, Bad art: Time will Tell, Ms. Catlett

So WHO decides what gets shown at the Museum  of Contemporary Art in Chicago (MCA) versus what might fly at a local gallery? Or for that matter, who gets shown at any museum?

You are right, the curators decide. The board members do. The collector's who donate money and art to the museums certainly do. (Just read the label info.) Possibly public requests might?

Ms. Elizabeth  Catlett, also known as Mrs. Francisco Mora, born in 1915, has since 2005 been included in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. In the exhibition the museum displayed a suite or her prints, not her sculpture. AIC  did show an example of her sculpture from the Howard University collection during the