Joyce Owens: Artist On Art

American artists still face segregation...

I recently read about a gallery in Delaware that has a wonderful show up of American art.  I would love to see it, but being in Chicago I looked at the images on line. There's a lovely Mary Cassatt drawing of a mother and baby, a couple of Milton Avery's, reminding me why he had to grow on people, but when you get him, he sticks! and a variety of paintings by a variety of the Wyeth family, and much more, including Thomas Hart Benton and Georgia O'Keeffe. Many of these are my favorite artists. And I was certainly grateful that it wasn't another list of all male artists!

Georgia O'Keeffe

My issue: I keep finding books, articles and galleries that promote American art  produced by only one group of Americans. I know there are galleries that show specialized artists, African American, Haitian, Cuban, Latino, many of which also show artists of European descent. I understand a niche gallery. I don't understand saying a gallery is showing American art and then only shows a segment of American artists that seem to exclude artists on racial terms, probably without a second or even first thought about it.

Please go to the gallery website to see the work, but remember there were/are other American masters, such as Joshua Johnston, Henry O. Tanner, Edmonia Lewis, Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Geraldine McCullough, Margaret Burroughs, Charles White, Faith Ringgold...not to mention all the current living artists like Kerry James Marshall, Dawoud Bey, Mickalene Thomas, Kehinde Wiley, and others too numerous to list! Why are these artists often excluded when mounting exhibitions featuring  American artists?

I don't see any evidence that this gallery thinks there were/are artists of color who are masters, or maybe they can't get their hands on the work. Not sure, but since this is no isolated incident, I wanted to just point it out. Wikipedia only lists Sam Gilliam and Martin Puryear, no Kerry James Marshall (MacArthur genius), Kara Walker,  Fred Wilson (Venice Bienale), Robert Colescott, Richard Hunt and on and on...Most of the time you probably don't think about who is left out, or do you?

Catlett's "Two Generations" is in my art collection.

Yale University teaches a course on American masters.

http://www.somervillemanning.com/exhibits/AmericanMasters.asp

 

ArtNet Online Inventory

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Copyright ©2009 Somerville Manning Gallery

What Do Women Artists Want, Anyway?

Do women want more, and/or better quality exhibitions?

Do women want fame?

Do women want wealth?

Aren't women artists already achieving these goals? If so, what's still missing for women artists that suggests this conversation holds merit? Why are some women still complaining that the art world is not fair to us? 

After all, Faith Ringgold, Judy Chicago, Camille Billops, Louise Nevelson and a slew of other women paved the way and fought these same battles ALREADY back in the 1960's and 1970's. What should we have in 2010 that we don't have yet and why does the fighting continue?

Hey, maybe we just don't deserve more attention.

Is our work good enough?

Do we work hard enough?

Maybe we work hard enough on our art, but not hard enough on networking and schmoozing people who can help us! Maybe we just don't have the right connections!

Maybe we don't help each other when we get those connections!I Often I hear that African American artists segregate ourselves, not going to the "right" discussions, panels, and openings. Not sure this is true, but if so, do women do the same thing?

Sometimes I am told that African American artists are behind the trends; we are mostly working in traditional, figurative styles from the past, and are not contemporary, so our work is not as challenging.

I think this is crap and a lame excuse for excluding segments of artists from a sometimes, lucrative but highly competitive endeavor, especially when I see artists doing figurative work who are not considered not contemporary.

Is this what's holding back women artists? Is the work cliched and traditional?

I don't think so!

The top women artists don't get the money at auction or in gallery sales male artists get, not to mention the fame! 

More and more women's traditional arts are in play on the contemporary scene, from crocheting to quilting to collage and other forms of handmade items that women historically have made...so, it should follow that women would be in the forefront of recognition around this trend. 

Right?

Let's look at another possibility. It's NOT the work but the opportunities to exhibit that work that keeps women artists on the back of the bus.

Should we cast our eyes towards being in charge of the mainstream venues, instead of women only venues and bringing in women artists?

here are some top international museums. How many women run them? National Museums Directors (Smithsonian, etc.), Guggenheim Foundation and Museums director, Tate Modern director, Vicente Todoldi judged this 2009 competition.

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in L.A recently chose a new director  for their facility. The Art Institute of Chicago's director is male.

OK I am now looking at random museums. Found my first women director in Minneapolis . We know the director of the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art is a woman as well. 

So should the women who run museums and galleries be approached with this concern about leveling the playing field for women artists?

Where is our Michelangelo, our Leonardo, our Kerry James Marshall, our Lucien Freud, our VanderZee?  Yes, the work they produced is undeniably amazing, but women artists are on par both then and now.

The women-only institutions have been around for 40 or 50 years, already. When will this job be done?

Want to be a museum director? Job listings here; check often: http://www.museum-employment.com/jobdir.html

Here is panel member for the CAA conversation on women artists.

Beate Minkovski 

Beate Minkovski is co-founder and Executive Director of Woman Made Gallery.
From 1992 through 2010 WMG has organized 163 group shows, 104
invitational/solo shows, 36 Artisan Gallery exhibitions, and eight off-site
shows. More than 6500 women artists have exhibited their work since WMG was
established. Active with neighboring arts organizations, Intuit and ARC
Minkovski has served on the Community Arts Assistance Program (CAAP) Panel
for the Chicago Cultural Center from 2005 to 2008. She is part of the
Special Service Area (SSA) #29 Commission jury panel for public art in
Chicago's Westtown, and has curated exhibitions for various arts
organizations including the CWCA, The Women's Art Registry of Minnesota,
Women's Work in Woodstock, Illinois, and The Art Center in Highland Park,

Illinois. She is the 2006 CWCA award recipient for achievements in the arts.

Amy Galpin

Amy Galpin is Project Curator for American Art at the San Diego Museum of Art. She worked with Woman Made Gallery for three years as Gallery Coordinator and served as the Illinois Regional Coordinator for the Feminist Art Project. She received her B.A. from Texas Christian University and a M.A. in Latin American Studies from San Diego State University. She is currently finishing her Ph.D. at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Her recent and upcoming exhibitions include: Translating Revolution: U.S. Artists Interpret Mexican Muralism (at the National Museum of Mexican Art), Women Imaging Women: A Study of Female Portraiture (at Robert Morris University), and Brutal Beauty: Drawings by Hugo Crosthwaite (at the San Diego Museum of Art).

The Panel

Women's Caucus for Art

Investigating the Need for Women's Art Galleries, Exhibitions, and Organizations: From Our Center

Thursday, February 11, 5:30 PM–7:00 PM

Regency B, Gold Level, West Tower, Hyatt Regency Chicago

• Chair: Janice Nesser-Chu, Women's Caucus for Art and Florissant Valley College
• Melissa H. Potter, Columbia College Chicago
• Amy Galpin, San Diego Museum of Art and Woman Made Gallery
• Joanna Gardner-Huggett, DePaul University
• Beate Minkovski, Woman Made Gallery
• Dena Muller, ArtTable
• Joyce Owens, Chicago State University and Sapphire and Crystals Artist Collective

Haiti fundraiser @ Nicole Gallery Chicago benefits Haitian artists

"In Haiti, Art Feeds Millions ” - Tiga (Jean Claude Garoute-Haitian Painter, Saint-Soleil School)

"Mirielle" by Arthur Wright expressly for this benefit; acrylic on canvas: 16" x 20"

Candace Hunter (Chlee) sent this information as she and others organize a fundraiser at Nicole Gallery in Chicago for the benefit of Haitian artists...

Dear Friend,

The Nicole Gallery, the oldest self-sustaining Black-owned gallery in Chicago, is coordinating a weekend-long benefit for the Centre d'Art Port au Prince, January 29 - 31, 2010.

Nicole Smith, the proprietor of Nicole Gallery, Chicago gained her knowledge and thirst for art from Le Centre when she was a young woman in Haiti.

Friday, January 29 - 4 until 8 pm

LIVE AUCTION/Entertainment/SALE...Nicole will be auction, "The Wash" by Haitian born and celebrated artist, Fritz Millevoix and "Two Kids and a Dog" by Chicago collage artist, Allen Stringfellow (died, 2005) and other art.

LIVE auction at 6:30!

Art for sale by some of Chicago's most loved artists, including: Joyce Owens, Shyvette Williams, Dayo, Candace Hunter (with Kendall Glover), Arthur Wright, Juarez Hawkins, Melvin King, Felicia Grant Preston, Marva Jolly, Sonja Henderson, Jesus Macarena-Avila, Gamiel Ramirez, Shahar Caren Weaver, Laurend Doumba, Nicole Malcolm, Efram Beltran, Greg Bray, Rose Blouin, Fabio Rodriguez and more!!!    Most of the art for the benefit is priced at or under $1,000.00 - savings of up to 50% off gallery prices.

SATURDAY, January 30     Viewing and Sale    11 - 5pm

SUNDAY,  January 31    Viewing and Sale    2 - 6 pm    Special Guest Artist

Make a party of it and bring your friends!!!!!

 

Nicole Gallery

230 W. Huron

Chicago, IL 60654

www.nicolegallery.com

312-787-7716

[email protected]
 

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

more info on Le Centre...

The pressures that threaten survival also produce extraordinary creative talents, evidence of the determination that is in the human spirit. Haiti exemplifies this truth. Her tremendous creativity is evident in many ways - music, performance, crafts and writing - but above all painting and the visual arts. Haitian art first began to influence world culture in the 1940’s when exhibitions of Haitian “naïf” school painters were unveiled in the US and France. Today, Haitian art is found in the world’s great collections and is the subject of scholarly study. But its greatest meaning is the economic miracle art performs for the Haitian people. The Creole proverb “In Haiti art feeds millions” points to the parable of humanity’s need for beauty and ideas to triumph over misery.

The modern movement in Haitian art, often referred to as the Haitian Renaissance, arose in the 1940’s. More precisely it can be dated to May 14th, 1944, when DeWitt Peters, an American painter then teaching in Haiti opened an art center, Le Centre d’Art, in an old house in the center of Port-au-Prince. The Centre provided exhibition space and art instruction for the full range of Haitian artists - from completely untrained peasant artists to educated artists of the Haitian elite. The first exhibition was of twenty-five trained artists, but increasingly the center drew artists who were completely self-taught and worked in the 'naive' style for which Haitian art was to become known. The first of the ‘naive’ Haitian artists to bring his work to the Centre was Philomé Obin, who had actually been painting images of Haitian history and life in his home town of Cap Haitien since 1908! Certainly the most celebrated of Haitian artists was the hougan, Hector Hyppolite. He attracted Peters' notice in 1943 for the intriguing paintings on the doors of a roadside bar prophetically named "Ici la Renaissance" in the seaside village of Montrouis. Other notable early members were Rigaud Benoit, Wilson Bigaud, Prefete Duffaut, Micius Stephane, Montas Antoine and Castera Bazile. The Centre d’Art was an immediate critical, if not financial, success. It has weathered the many storms of Haiti’s politics and history.
Without pretending to a comprehensive synopsis of modern Haitian art history, some other landmark events in modern Haitian art history are as follows: 1945 - The visits to Haiti by French surrealist Andre Breton with Cuban painter Wilfredo Lam, each of whom bought several paintings by Hector Hyppolite. While somewhat self-servingly claiming the Haitian artists as fellow surrealists, Breton did a geat deal to legitimize and promote Haitian art in Europe and Latin America. That same year the Pan American Union hosted the first museum show of Haitian art in the United States. 1947 - The first purchase of a work by a Haitian naive' painter by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Museum president René d'Harnoncourt had first taken notice of the Haitian work in 1944. 1948-1949 - The painting of the magnificent murals at Port-au-Prince’s Episcopal cathedral of Sainte Trinité by Wilson Bigaud, Philome Obin, Gabriel Leveque, Castera Bazile and others, directed by Peters and the late American artist/poet/critic Selden Rodman.
The early 1950's saw the emergence of the uniquely Haitian art form of steel drum sculpture. A blacksmith named George Liautaud hammered out wrought-iron grave crosses for a living until Peters and others encouraged him to try his hand at figurative sculpture. His students and followers, including today's masters, Serge Jolimeau and Gabriel Bien-Aimé, further refined the art of hammering sculpture out of recycled oil drums. 1957 - The accession to power of Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier. For the next decade he and his tonton macoutes terrorized Haiti. Most tourists and buyers of Haitian art stayed away. In spite of this several fresh artists emerged, including André Pierre, Gerard Valcin and Salnave Philippe-Auguste. 1972 - The opening of the Musée d’Art Haitien in Port-au-Prince, the first museum devoted to Haitian Art. It was dedicated tthe memory of Dewitt Peters, who had died in 1966. The death of Papa Doc Duvalier and the succession of his marginally less repressive son "Baby Doc" encouraged a new era of tourism to Haiti and greater exposure for Haitian artists. 1975 - The visit of French writer, critic and Minister of Culture, André Malraux, to the mystical artists’ community of Saint-Soleil. He became a champion of this group which included Prosper Pierre-Louis, Dieuseul Paul and Louisiane St. Fleurant. Another artist who began to work in this period was the ever-playful pastry chef turned painter, Gerard Fortuné. The 1980's brought the wider recognition of the art of the sequinned "voodoo flag" or vodou banner (dwapo in Kreyol). Previously regarded as a relatively obscure liturgical art it came into its own with such innovative artists as the late Antoine Oleyant and Josef Oldof Pierre. These and more traditional artists such as Clotaire Bazile, Sylva Joseph, and Yves Telemac were celebrated in the seminal 1995 touring exhibition The Sacred Arts of Haitan Vodou organized by UCLA's Fowler Museum of Cultural History. In the last decade the innovation has been led by woman sequin artists as Myrlande Constant and the late Amina Simeon. 1986 - The departure from Haiti of the dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc" Duvalier which unleashed forces in Haitian art as well as society which have yet to settle down. The 1990's brought the inspiring rise of slum priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide to the presidency in Haiti's first free election in 1991, followed by his overthrow by a military junta. His reinstallation by the US and the UN in 1994, and his recent ignominious fall are the latest chapters in this period of turmoil. ...and then came 2010 and the earthquake...the Centre is now broken bits of brick...and yet the story of Haiti will continue victoriously through Her artists and those who love Her...

Artists Make New Rules in the 21st Century

Once upon a time the main goal for any artist who went to art school was to find gallery representation.

"Joy" series by Joyce Owens series were acquired by a Sinai Hospital clinic.

Many artists are by-passing galleries these days.

The artists who skipped art school seem to have a natural entrepreneurial gift that some of the art school artists don't. My friend Marva Jolly has had sales in her Mudpeoples studio for years, some people leaving with 4 or 5 ceramic art works every time she has one of her open studios. She shows in galleries, too!

More and more these days ALL artists are trying new ways to sell their art. Some prefer studio sales where they can control everything and keep all their profits. Of course they must pay for the studio space. Artists are showing in boutiques and restaurants, not new, but some artists who now do so are new to this trend. I recently exhibited  two sculptures at Eye Emporium, an eye wear store on North Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago that has a very cool exhibition space. Tony Fitzpatrick, a noted Chicago artist followed my 3-person exhibition titled "The Dolls of J" and artist Wesley Kimler's art works graced the walls of the gallery even while the other exhibition I was a part of was up!  Wesley's largescale drawings and paintings are magnificent. He and Tony can, and have shown in very important art venues and they also exhibited at Eye Emporium, a place that features artists as a secondary purpose for their space. You get it? This is a significant change!

Artists have shown their work in art fairs for a long time; the profits are better if they sell, although it is hard work to sit and wait for customers, gather all the equipment such as tents and tables, and transport and set up for a weekend that could be unpredictable. They  pay the sometimes hefty entry fees and oh, hope no one gives them a bad check!

So times (and methods) of displaying and selling art are changing.

I think it is time for the gallery system to change, too, rearranging the balance of power so the artists get more say (input), and in some cases, more respect, and perhaps a bigger cut of the sales. . .The galleries hold the power, if you are an artist who craves the gallery system. The gallery is the "decider" and gets to choose their artists and not vice versa. Even in those "pay to play" galleries, aka cooperative galleries, where monthly fees ensure your spot to exhibit, artists may not fare too well monetarily.  I know artists who put up with worse treatment than they ever would, in any other situation, to be represented by a gallery, almost any gallery! And don't I understand that!

What is the alternative? If artists simply promote and sell their own work it becomes hard to establish pedigree. Somehow, no matter how wonderful the work is we still require "stamps of approval" from art critics, feature writers, collectors and yes, gallerists!

Here I am (2nd from right) with some of my friends at Eye Emporium, who are also beautiful dolls. (l to r, close up of "A Girl Like Me" doll, Lilian, Madeline, me and Carolyn. Wesley Kimler's work is behind us on the wall.

Let me stop here to ask some questions:

Is there a vetting system for gallery owners? I know there are local and national organizations of art dealers. If a gallery is not a member, who oversees commercial galleries to ensure they run fair establishments, requires them to pay artists on time and establishes general protocol and responsibilities for the gallery owners?And if they are a member, do these organizations check for problems?

Do gallery owners need the equivalent to the M.F.A., or any proof of professional training that is often a requirement for "serious" visual artists? I found this when I searched "gallery owners + training".

Can anybody open a gallery?

Does anybody open a gallery?

Will artists flock to anybody's gallery?

uh huh!

Whistler's Mother, Picasso's Mother, and My Mother

Is it really possible to survive and prosper as a visual artist?

This is a question  that keeps raising its head, scratching for an answer.

One thing I have come to believe is it really helps when they love you at home!

Whistler's mom posed (well, she sat after she injured herself), and made him famous. Picasso's mom and the other women in the household spoiled little Pablo Ruiz like crazy. Kara Walker's dad, Larry Walker, is an artist and academician, Picasso's dad was also an artist and teacher.

My mom was always my best cheerleader, and preserver of my work!

At least some of us have that.

I went to an awards event at Columbia College on April 16, The Fischetti Awards, and watched political cartoonists showing and telling about their work. The top winner this night, Lee Judge, had won the first award given 27 years ago. He also recently lost his job for four days, but was re-instated when the readers of his paper complained loudly. He said, in his acceptance speech, that he realized he made enough money to pay his bills with $20.00 left over for the month which meant he had $5.00 a week to spend!

And he's not sure he will have a job next month!

That's the way it is for most artists.

And to make it even worse, a lot of the time family turns on you, too and say things like "get a teaching certificate", "become a cop or a probation officer",  "make art your hobby and earn a living" or more to-the-point, "get a real job"!

For me, having a mother who was an amazing artist herself, singing with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Duke Ellington,  The Playward Bus Company in Philadelphia, and Grand Songbird of the Elks (I.B.P.O.E. of W.) among other gigs, was a perfect (nearly) role model and mentor.

She prepared me for most of what I would later face as an artist. She was limited by her race; she continued a career while raising 3 kids,  and she had the mother telling her that another career might be better for her than singing. My mother sang because she loved to and could not live without singing. She did work for the City of Philadelphia, too,  so we could have health insurance and a home and she could provide for us in all ways.  She simultaneously built her singing career, practiced and continuously took voice lessons and took care of her children, purchased our home, cooked many meals, shopped for our clothes, made sure we got to church, and made sure I went to college.

Her determination to practice her craft, despite obstacles set the bar for me. Her willingness to explain what she experienced to me was my best teacher. I did not translate it to an art career at first, but little by little I have.

I am reminded of when I invited her to lecture my music class at Yale, not thinking anything of it, except I knew she would contribute to the class.  She blew everyone away! My professor, a professional musician, Willie Ruff, and all the students, many of whom were trained musicians, were amazed by her voice and knowledge about the history of American and African American music! She told me later that showing that I believed in  her meant a lot. And although she was very nervous, and couldn't believe she was lecturing at this school, she did it anyway.

So through my mother's example I learned to do what I love and find a way to support myself. But I am still not convinced this is fair to artists. I am still not convinced that there is NO way for talented and committed artists to do their job and earn a living.

I wonder if what we need to do is define the job. What are the actual skills and talents an artist should have and what is each worth in dollars? If the job specifications are articulated will we discover that artists can make a living after all, maybe earning, minimally, a living wage?

 

Survivor Spirit: Marshall is a South Side Community Art auction piece, May 16 at the Parkway Ballroom. The photo is probably by Jack. T. Franklin, my uncle and well-known photographer.

Time to Buy GOOD Art!

Renee Stout, "House Guest from Hell" installation (art)

With the economy tumbling, the bubbles burst, the air of frivolity contaminated, the money to buy the bad art that people have been pretending is good art  is drying up.

The multimillion dollar B.S. art market is falling, falling, falling.

In value. In popularity. For Real!

I'm talking about the kind of modern art, avant garde, ahead-of-its-time art, for-the- elite-only-art, the art-connoisseurs-art, the art-sought-by-some-of-the "well-educated", world-traveled, that-art-the-regular-folks-just-don't-get-and-aren't-capable-of-figuring-out, they're told.)

That tells me that ALL is not lost for most artists during these hard knocks times.

This is the time to cleanse our palettes (perhaps in more ways than one!!

Apparently, economists are calling this looming depression a "reset". That word actually rung right for me! I felt the air of understanding flow over me, and expelled a sigh of  relief when I heard it.  Yes! we are reevaluating, restructuring, reformulating the system.

What do you do when your computer just won't act right? You reset. You close it down and start again. When I discovered turning it off would make it work again I was thrilled! That seems to be what our economy is doing, purging the trouble areas so we will work again.

Many of the businesses that are folding need to go. As you know many seemed (and were) mismanaged.  We're lucky our entire country did not get shut down as a result of the shenanigans Pres. Bush's people engaged in. 

So, now we are in "reset" mode!

The car companies that are avoiding green technology still selling gas guzzlers and road hogs will have to reset! The fashion stores that are selling the same made-in-China items that Kohl's, Target and Walmart sell, at a fraction of the price, need to reset.

And yes!

The art market that went off the chart in the 1980's and 1990's and created the wealthy artists that are name brands, similar to the Hummer, have to reset and rethink the rationale for some of the work they have produced.

Some inane, for the sake of the times, installations are becoming as meaningless as we thought they were.  Move a library reading room to a gallery and KaZAM! IT'S ART!

Stick enough styrofoam cups together and give it a poetic title and KaPOW! IT'S ART!

Renee Stout (below) is an artist who creates meaningful installations.

Renee Stout's, Fatima's Room"  from a Washington Post interview, David Graham photo.

Listen, I love the lyrical non-objective sculpture that Judy Pfaff started producing years ago. Renee Stout is one of my favorite artists. I remember her pre-Katrina installations dealing with Voudou apothecary in New Orleans. She adds amazing touches of trompe l'oeil in her work that kills me because they're so gorgeous! !

Obviously I cannot name the "ugly art is good art" folks. They know who they are.

But, ding-dong! I think we are about  to "reset" the art market and with that, tastes, 'cause the buyers with the big bucks are thinking maybe they should think more about quality than art trends that may evaporate (literally).  Ephemeral art is fine, and has a place, but it may be a metaphor for our economy. It seemed good for the moment, but how much is it worth when it's gone?

GOOD NEWS from artist Bob Ragland! Artists Don't Have to Starve

It's not written anywhere that an artist should starve.

(Bob Ragland quote)

I heard about this guy, Bob Ragland, on NPR today (click on NPR link to hear the story). He was just mesmerizing to me. When people ask him "what  else he does, besides being an artist, to make a living" he answers he makes his living making art!

He promotes selling work at affordable prices, selling work on the payment plan and most of all, self-promotion.  He eschews galleries and is proud to have several works in a museum. He seems to have a range from portraits to landscapes to sculpture. Check out the links to see this guy. And yes, he teaches art.

He's not much of a blogger with only two entries that I found, but they are useful. I am thinking he found the blog did not help with sales so he is spending his time in other ways... here is his website. You can get to it from his blog. I did more research and found another blog by Bob here.

So I agree with Ragland that artists almost have to be outgoing! That is really hard for many artists. Tooting one's own horn is tough. My mother had to lecture me about both being outgoing and claiming my talent when I was growing up in Philadelphia. I struggled, and practiced, overcoming my shyness. A child of divorce I was confused about a lot. But over time I learned to speak out. 

I agree that artists have to know their market. When other artists gasp that such-and-such priced a work at say, $24,000.00, I usually reply "that's great, but did it sell?".

I have often sold for below what I thought my work is worth. When I look at my contemporaries and other works in the same size range, and other artists on my "level" (that's another blog to try to tease the concept of "artists levels"out!)...many artists, I think, price too high and some too low. I am usually on the lower end. Even collectors who purchase my work have told me that.  There are "newer" artists who have figured out that art is a business and they price pretty high for their experience and the quality of their work. Art has always been my passion that I did not consider my business. But I am learning! One's passion can blind one to one's business...

Paul Klein, a well-known and extremely knowledgeable arts advocate and Chicago-based artist Tony Fitzpatrick discussed pricing during a panel discussion convened by Paul Klein that included artist Juan Angel Chavez, and photographer Dawoud Bey and me.

The consensus about pricing was if you sell out you priced your work too low.

I have sold out only twice. I sold some pieces that I had been selling for around $600.00 to $1200.00 for $2100,00 to $2400.00 at an auction and realized I needed to adjust my pricing.

But the good thing about pricing low is more folks can find art they can afford. The other problem for artists is that some people consider art a luxury for rich  folks. The potential art collectors may come to your exhibition wearing exotic jewels and expensive clothing that they may throw out in 6 months and want you to come down on your $1200.00 painting.

I think it comes back to everyone getting educated about the arts and respecting our contemporary culture.

Mr. Ragland represents one set of thought that you may agree with. For sure he presents ideas around self-determination that are vital for anyone, not just artists!  

"Wonder Woman" mixed media by Joyce Owens, left, sold fast!