Joyce Owens: Artist On Art

Creative Artist or unoriginal technician?

There is a lot of pressure on artists. How do you separate your creativity from everyone elses?

If you succumb to trends, and intentionally reflect in your work currently successful artists, are you in a school of art, are you a copyist, are you a sell-out? Or, if you  cash-in, are you just clever?

Retro-racing Picasso series (two views) in N'Namdi collection. These sell very well.

What I know for sure is your art has to be meaningful to people who have the ability to exhibit it/collect it. Should an artist make work that conforms to the work already being shown, or does the artist's heart and mind always need to dictate what they produce? We can be influenced by other artists - this is a long and wonderful tradition...but where is the line drawn between being influenced and outright appropriating aka copying?

 Is there room for all kinds of art? Yes. (OK, that was easy).

But, there clearly is not room in all kinds of institutions. I have exhibited in some museums, but would love for curators to find more ways to include my work. I am still a painter. What about my sculptures...they are paintings on 3D supports. 

I am an artist who works in found materials. I will transform a piece of trash that will not obviously show the origins of the mediums. This is a very contemporary practice that I have used starting in grad school.

 This one sold, too!

This Obama is based on a form that was sent to artists across the country! The results were all distinctly different. So, even "Visions of Our 44th President" has been shown in Detroit at  the Wright Museum and in Miami during Miami Basel.

Wright Museum, "Visions of Our 44th President"

 
DuSable Museum of African American History honoring AfriCobra. The black and white drawing is a piece by me selected because I was influenced by the group.

 

 Cubism sneaks into my work again and again.

 If the art does not relate to an existing form, then how do you know it is art??

 

 

 

Call for Artists: Mixed Mediums

I look for calls for artists on a regular basis. Many times it is so I can share with my students on our Facebook wall, and with artists who may be interested. Most calls require some kind of payment for entry regardless of whether you make the show. Yes, that fee is not usually returned if you are not accepted.

Every year nationwide artists apply to the annual Black Creativity juried exhibition at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. It is a show that artists across the country of African descent look forward to each year. The top prize is currently $3,000.00.

Paul Benjamin, prize winner left-Yashua Klos, right 1st Prize

In the late 90's when I won First Prize it was half that, $1500.00. No, the museum has not increased the prizes across the board, they created a larger cash prize by cutting back on the number of cash awards, now giving three and a small $250.00 award for a youth artist. For as long as I can remember the total cash awards have been $6,000.00 although the fees have increased from about $15.00 in the 1980's to, currently, $50.00.

Invitationals sometimes ask for a fee as well.  In this case, it's never quite clear what you are paying for. It's often described as a "hanging fee", but usually each artist submits one or two average to small works that could hang on a nail or rest on a pedestal. I think I would rather pay a  "curator fee " for the person putting the exhibition together. I often produce exhibitions that I don't get paid for, and think I may start charging that fee.

These open calls for art allow artists opportunities to build their resume, offer a chance to win some cash, and get a critique from a particular judge who indicates that they respond to what you submitted when they select your work. Of course there are many reasons for not getting into a show. That could include the judges preferential tastes in art (she likes abstracts) or sometimes, unfortunately, their limited knowledge...of course sometimes the work an artist submits is just bad, or the digital images submitted are bad.

OK, here's my pet peeve, and I implore everyone who posts a Call-For Art to pay attention to this. I have to search too long and arduously to find requirements and restrictions for these exhibtions.

I would like to request that all "calls-for-art" show requirements AND restrictions in the first lines of the call so we artists don't spend so much time uncovering this vital information, only to eventually find out that we don't qualify for some reason. Arts organizations, museums, galleries, art centers and artists/curators, please show the same information all good journalists include in a report:

WHO: Age, gender and race limitations, if any, whether students can submit, etc.

WHAT: include eligible media, scale, date completed limitations, fees and prizes

WHERE: include the city, state and country as well as the name of the venue. I don't know where some of these towns are.

WHEN: deadline for submissions, notification of inclusion dates, date artists should deliver or mail by, the duration of the exhibition

WHY: to showcase certain media, to honor a month such as Black History or Women's Month, etc.

Thanks!

Every minute counts!

 

 "American Landscape" 30" x 40", acrylic and paper and fabric collage on canvas is at Koehnline Museum until March 23, 2012.

Juried exhibitions: Pay to Play

So, you find out about a great juried exhibition. Your work is clearly meant for it.

I won Best of Show at this Chicago gallery and a solo exhibition.

My work is on the back wall. I entered because of the juror.

The juror (who will judge YOUR art) is a nationally recognized curator at a major museum. You can just see this accomplishment on your resume/bio/cv!

So you enter work that was produced within the timeframe designated, only work produced during the last 2 years or maybe 3 years is eligible. You are the age required and NOT currently enrolled in a college or university as a student and you reside whereever the exhibition requires. Could be local, regional, national or international...could be women only, could be victims of something or people with certain ideas that they are examining through their work, could be photography only or sculpture...

"My Own Eve" by Joyce Owens won a First Prize from Faith Ringgold

You learn to read the small print.

Your work can be rejected if you do not follow the guidelines. Now jpeg size is also an issue, 72 dpi, 300 dpi, size in inches and pixels needs to be adhered to and labelling is a big deal. Last name with initial, title of art, numbered, thumbnail list and on and on...I don't think there are consistent guidelines and requirements. Each time you have to resize, reformat and retitle your images for internet submission or by mail on a CD. 

If you are not technologically contemporary you may not even be abe to apply without some help.

One more thing:

After all the work and prep and following of guidelines you have to cough up some cash!

You might pay one fee for several submissions. You might pay one fee for the first entry and another fee for each additional entry.

Should you enter juried shows, and if you do, what is the money used for? These are tricky questions with a range of answers.  Especially when the galleries also take a commission on sold works. Some answers: Jurors usually get honoraria. That may come out of the fees. Cash prizes may. Not always. Receptions, print material and maybe a gift to the institution that holds the event may come out of the fees...The staff preparators and those processing paperwork and moving the art work gets paid.

But artists often ask for money when they curate exhibitions, galleries sometimes ask for hanging fees...There are all kinds of ways that monies are accrued by galleries and artists. How much do people now pay to be in the Chicago Artists Coaltion's Art Open? I know they have made it more desirable, but it is a sizable fee for a large group show (yes there are other useful benefits through membership). Co-op and artist run galleries charge fees for exhibitiors. I once won a first prize at a gallery that insisted I pay a fee to insure I would prepare the walls after the exhibition. The walls were not prepared BEFORE my show! I did them!

Recently I was included in a competition that I had not entered. The "rules" were vague and not applied to all the artists. The judges were not curators or art historians or art critics or artists.

"Life Support" by Joyce Owens, 2010 did not win at Gallery Guichard last week

Most of us will take a chance on our art and sometimes the outcome is worth the risk! I think that is what drove artists to compete on the BravoTV art show.  Just in case!

But remember, artists, you always have the option of saying 'No thanks'.

 

Idiot or Artist? What It Takes to Create a Lucrative Art Career

So, all your intelligence is directed at one goal; does that make you an idiot, as in, the now non-p.c. phrase, "idiot savant!", or an artist?

This guy, Stephen Wiltshire,  can accurately draw a diagrammatic rendition of the buildings in Rome,  Paris, Tokyo and New York City, after one fly-through. People like him are called "savant", these days, and their trait is considered a form of autism. If not for the other limitations, one might be eager for the syndrome.  I am obsessive about my work, but there are variations within it. As I grow (and age) my work addresses different issues in different ways. The savants, I think, don't change much.

I am very impressed that Wiltshire can remember everything he has seen and record those lines and shapes to recreate a panorama of a city.  If you look at the link you will see he has been greatly rewarded for his condition.

I am also amazed by the miniatures Willard Wigan create and sells for thousands of dollars.  He also claims a mental deficiency provoked him to make the miniatures, but he is not a savant, he has dyslexia and learning disabilities.

Below are images from Nicole Gallery in Chicago where you can see his work.

 

Unfortunately, I am not amazed that these artists get more respect and news coverage than the artists who develop their "natural gifts" and may spend thousands in training and materials to produce art works that reflect their lives and culture.  Let me say that I think Wiltshire has what we like to call talent. I like his renderings of city streets and think he shows a definite point of view.  His quirk has taken him a long way.  Great for him.

There is no fairness when it comes to art.

The nutty lady who scribbles little pictures on the street is made into an art star because...she, seemingly, makes 3rd grade pictures? Isn't there a difference between an artist who can only do one thing, and an artist who could be a singer or an actor or a math teacher but chooses art. 

I admit I don't know if art chooses us or we choose it. I am surer everyone has had different experiences in that regard. But the key word is "Choice".  Isn't choice the word that separates man and beast?  I know, I know, your dog is really smart, and so's your bird, and your cat is a whiz!

... but you get my point. Shouldn't the definition of artist include the ability to make a conscious choice about what is produced?

American Landscape" Joyce Owens 2009-2010 (detail)

If it's not one thing it's another!

For artists there is always another challenge.

Not like slavery and lynching, of course: "The Medieval in America" by Joyce Owens

I started writing about artists' issues in May of 2008 and I really haven't seen a lot of progress during these past two years.  Hamza Walker just won a major honor and cash prize of $100,000.00 that he can use as he pleases. As a curator at the Renaissance Society in Chicago he has addressed issues significant to a range of artists, including artists of color. Kerry James Marshall is part of a major exhibition at Chicago's MCA on the artists studio a citywide project that I wrote for about Richard Hunt's studio.

On the one hand this news is good news. We have a toe in, but the possibilities available have barely been tapped.

At least, in my opinion.

Clearly I think challenges are what art is all about! Dealing with personal and global issues, finding a way to make art, all of that!

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the challenges women artists face and why there are not more famous women artists who are household names, like Picasso or Van Gogh... I lie; I have thought about this for quite a while. Women artists of African descent have an even harder road to hoe!

And you may know that I wonder, and have not yet found the answer to, why EVERYBODY who is creative is called an artist, from chefs to bricklayers to politicians! Not to say these people aren't creative. George Washington was certainly creative, but not an artist. Call them creative, call them artistic, but for language's sake, let's not call them artists!

George Washington portrait saved from the fire of 1812

An artist is someone different than what these other folks do and we visual artists deserve to own this.  If the title "politician" had a better, more agreeable, more generally positive connotation maybe everybody would say, "I'm a politician" as so many describe themselves as an "artist"!

OK< I have ranted about one thing, so let's get to the other! Not just making the art, but  promoting the art.Like I said, if it's not one thing, then it's another!

If you are famous, you may be stuck doing one kind of work, if you are struggling you may decide to do too many kinds of art trying to find your voice, your audience, your money for rent. So in the early days you are finding your voice, right? You learn about a variety of mediums and about supports and the basics of art and design, how to balance a picture, the Golden Mean, the value scale and all about color harmony.

Then you get to the expressive part and imitate others. As time passes you, hopefully, notice your preferences and start developing your own style. And you can't wait to be an artist! For some, they consider themselves artists from the giddyup as they used to say when I grew up in Philadelphia (it's a horsey term, meaning from the very start).

Artistic egos are amazing and intriguing, like people, in general. Some are quiet, introverted and shy and some are loud,  forceful and believe in themselves, insisting that everyone else does, too. Lots of artists exist somewhere in between!

It took quite a while for me to believe I had the skills to consider myself an artist, even when others cheered me on. I still constantly question what I do. I always want to make it better; that only seems natural, though, right?. Some people think, or at least say that their work is great; when I look at it I can can only shrug! It's also shocking hearing folks do that.

Does the public, including art critics, curators and collectors believe an artist is good because the artist him/herself insists he or she is? And is the quiet, non-tooter of his or her own horn likely to be overlooked for the same reasons, that he or she does not toot?  How much is too much. How much should we believe when reading someone's personal website? Where can you go to find out if an artist is good besides hearing it from his or her own mouth, especially since a lot of people don't get an art education?

   Got any ideas, Mr. Washington?

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]
 

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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...

21st Century: New Rules for Artists

Tom Lucas, Preston Jackson, collector Robert Derden, Joyce Owens, Barlow at our 2007opening, Nicole Gallery

No artists = No galleries!

Can you imagine? NO art on the walls. No sculptures on pedestals. No installation work or videos on display in an art gallery?

As a conceptual idea, OK. It could signify the death of art. Again! On various levels...suggesting various ideas...but that's not where I'm going with this. And even with much art being virtual, another possible implication that art (as we know it) is dead, I'm not going there, either.

ARC Gallery, my work on back wall.

Taking this out of the conceptual realm, I have noticed a dynamic between some artists and galleries that suggests there is a deep pathology that needs surgery, or at least, "meds" in order to stave off some sort of art gallery tragedy! As they close one after the other, now may be the time to think about what we can do to improve conditions and make them artist-friendly.

Artists have other choices, so I hope the galleries will listen up! Most artists I know do prefer to show in galleries, at least, sometimes!

I just don't get why some galleries persist in treating artists as if they are secondary and not the reason for a gallery's existence! Here is my partial list of the "how comes"  that artists (and galleries) can consider:

1. Why are artists made to quake in their boots when they approach some galleries?

2. Why don't all gallerists divulge the names of buyers to the artists?

3. Why don't all galleries consult with and/or respect the wishes of artists on how their work is displayed?

4. Why do some galleries discount from the artist's portion of the sale, too and not from the gallery commission?

5. Why do some galleries not publicize the exhibitions and promote artists they show?

6. Why do some galleries ask artists to pay for photography and publicity on top of the commissions?

7. Why are some galleries not run as other businesses are, keeping regular hours, etc.?

8. Why do some galleries delay paying their artists when work is sold? 

9. Why don't artists get paid interest on monies galleries have held back over 30 days?

We have established that anyone can open a gallery with no training in art or even business, so maybe we can address a couple of other questions:

1. Should galleries be rated on the care and handling of the art and artists they show ?

2. Should there be a system to rate galleries such as the Better Business Bureau or something like Angie's List or the equivalent of Rate Your Professor/teacher sites for college professors? Artists could then anonymously give galleries a thumbs up or down.  Services such as these would forewarn other artists if their brethren didn't get paid for sold work, were not treated well in general, had work damaged or stolen and other atrocities that have been reported in the press and shared word-of-mouth.

One game some galleries play is the same one that some mothers tell their children. If you miss one train (boyfriend/girlfriend) another one always comes along. Just wait. Galleries know that there will always be artists willing to put up with, and be grateful for, gallery exposure, so if one artist stomps out in anger and feeling mistreated, another artist is waiting to be next!

OH NO! Bad behaving artists?

This had to come up next! Difficult artists give gallerists and curators the blues. They should also be outed, although as we all know, difficult artists often get rewarded, not restrained. The "talent" is enough to make excuses for bad behavior and the audiences are mesmerized by behavior outside the so-called norm. That's why we fixate on these reality show folks and other train wrecks (don't want to get sued so I won't name names...) that we can't keep our eyes off...actors, politicians, golfers and others who misbehave mesmerize us!

Professionally run, artist-friendly galleries should be rewarded! And there are a lot of those; Parish Gallery in D.C. is one. Nicole Gallery in Chicago is one. Homewood Studios in Minneapolis is one, Woman Made Gallery in Chicago is one, and there are many others! I hear Packer Schopf is one and Ann Nathan, too. I know Robert Henry Adams, now closed, was one. June Kelly is one.

Collectors, you have the power to change this bad behavior as well. I know the artists tell people about the bad behavior. So supporting the "good" galleries to buy could help; artists look for representation at the good galleries and respectfully speak out when a gallery treats you or your work badly! Sometimes the ONLY education people running these places get is from their artists! 

So many guests at Richard Hunt's N'Namdi Gallery opening it was hard to see the art...

I wish I had a top ten artist-friendly galleries in every US city, if not globally. I found this post on Art business.com that explains the ideal gallery and artist/gallery relationship. If you're not getting this you may be getting the short end of the stick!

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!

Artists' Stories Contribute to Bottom Lines

I have to Google "mall art" when I try to remember his name because I have a mental block about Thomas Kincaid and can only remember that he has galleries in malls and he had made so much money he was listed on the stock exchange, creating bucolic images of light houses and country cottages! I visited one of these mall galleries and I felt I had walked in on a cult of true believers. You may have seen stories about the people who buy tens and more of his works, even though they are not even all originals. Some only contain a few brush strokes of paint.

Nicole Smith, left, owner of Nicole Gallery with Wigan, center, and guests.

The latest guy who is attracting international attention makes microscopic art that fits on the head of a needle and must be seen through microscopes.

Fascinating and novel, Willard Wigan has a compelling back story about why he makes these tiny sculptures of the "The Incredible Hulk", "Wizard of Oz", "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", Rodin's "The Thinker", a golfer, a line of camels heading toward the pyramids, "Peter Pan", and "Elvis"!

I thought about artist-as-carnival-performer after seeing a bit of the movie Pollack recently.  See Jackson Pollack abusing his wife, who has devoted herself to promoting his genius. See him sleeping with Peggy Guggenheim because he was falling down drunk. See him being late for his own career and being generally disorderly except when it came to his craft. Then when  his genius emerges he dies prematurely in a drunken crash. But he, like Basquiat and Warhol, is as much performer and (literal and figurative) car wreck as master artist.

Nicole Gallery features Willard Wigan, Art in the Eye of a Needle, in Chicago at 230 West Huron until October 1. This guy makes microscopic sculptures. I think that is an original idea.

 

The other original part of this event is the $3.00 admission fee the gallery is charging to see the exhibition after the opening night, which was free. At first I thought, "this is crazy", but only for a second. Then I thought, it's about time people pay to see us visual artists. The galleries don't pay us, except if we sell something and they get 50% of that. If they do pay, you probably are such a a big name, your income is fairly secure anyway. I have been asked, so many times I can't count, to display art for free to gain exposure, or opportunities, that rarely come to fruition. Getting some bucks up front is a new idea, and I think it's not so bad. Wigan also gives a portion of the sales of work during the reception to charity, according to my invitation. 

What else can you buy for $3.00? You certainly can't buy a ticket to the circus!

If you missed the exhibition you can catch the free closing reception:

Wednesday, September 30th, 5pm - 8pm

Nicole Gallery, 230 W. Huron Chicago, IL 60654

Please rsvp by Sept. 29 to [email protected] with your full name and number of guests.

Racism and Segregation Still Hurts Artists

Chicago has had the dubious distinction of being the most racially segregated city in the country. I think it still is according to racial distribution maps I have seen produced by the Census Bureau. The Chicago Tribune even reported on it in 2008!

I live north and I can go for days in my neighborhood without seeing a dark face that doesn't reside with me! And I get questioned about whether I live here on occasion, and often get inquiring looks.

The latest racial snub came from the Chicago Tribune Magazine last week. The Chicago Artists issue  called "Art in Chicago" only seems to mention one African American artist. Richard Hunt's exhibition was named and not the one at the black-owned and renowned N'Namdi Gallery!

G.R. N'Namdi Gallery 110 N Peoria Chicago, IL 60607 Opening Reception Friday, May 1, 2009 6-9pm Artist Lecture Saturday, May 2nd 2pm Born in 1935 in Chicago, IL, Richard Hunt formally studied sculpture at The Art Institute of Chicago, from 1953 to 1957.   Throughout the years, Richard Hunt has received numerous accolades including the Guggenheim, Ford, and Tamarind fellowships, various awards from the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Academy of Design, as well as being the 2009 International Sculpture Center's lifetime achievement honoree.  Hunt holds thirteen honorary degrees, and his work can be found in  museums around the world, including: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY;  Whitney Museum of American Art, NY;  The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL; The Art Institute of Chicago, IL.  and he was also accorded a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, NY.  Richard Hunt has completed more public sculptures than any other artist in the country.  Notable public-site sculptures include "Flight Forms" at Chicago's Midway Airport, "Candelabra" for St. Matthew's Methodist Church, "Jacob's Ladder" at the Carter G. Woodson Library in Chicago, and "Flintlock Fantasy" in Detroit.  He was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson as one of the first artists to serve on the governing board of the National Endowment for the Arts and he also served on boards of the Smithsonian Institution. Continuing to experiment throughout his career, hunt employs a wide range of sculptural techniques. Through his work, Hunt often makes comments on contemporary social and political issues.  He is famous for his abstract works, suggesting recognizable human and natural forms. His works will be on exhibit at G.R. N'Namdi Gallery in Chicago until June 30, 2009.  For more information about the artist and exhibition, please visit www.artistrichardhunt.com, email [email protected], or call 312-563-9240.

In an article about buying art on line, no Chicago based sources for art were mentioned. The Chicago Artists Coalition was the first to come to my mind, as it showcases artists work and has for years!  The Artslant site (www.artslant.com) has a Chicago section along with other major cities.  Fine Art America presents artists from across the country and the world, allowing you to determine if artists live in Chicago.

The Trib is a national/international presence, but does it have to ignore the city and a large portion of its population? Congrats to Angel Otero for the cover photograph. I am happy that a Latino artist was included, but I personally know a lot of terrific artists who were left out.

How many copies of the paper would have sold if there had been a few local African American artists included? Guess we won't know! Read some of the articles for yourself. Below is a link from my search for the mag. I highlighted the phrase "brings you all things Chicago".

Chicago Tribune Magazine -- chicagotribune.com

Chicago Tribune Magazine brings you all things Chicago, including living, ... Art Institute President James Cuno recommends 5 can't-miss works in the new ...
www.chicagotribune.com/features/magazine/ -

Art Education: Dead or Alive?

Not only is art education in public schools on a resuscitator that is malfunctioning, but regular education in America is a joke!

Frustrated with the lack of curiosity, commitment to hard work, respect for others, respect for time, inability to follow simple instructions and difficulty completing simple tasks that our students display, I have been trying to figure out what to do! I'm proud to say my hometown, Philadelphia has a plan.

I have been teaching in some capacity for much of my life. And I enjoy it very much,  especially seeing students develop self confidence as they acquire new skills. But I am appalled by the various deficits students arrive with from their high schools, and though I understand it can be embarrassing to be unable to produce  a result that others around you can, I am puzzled about the indifference to learning I perceive from some students.

I have never thought the schools had to teach EVERYTHING! But how to use a ruler! How to follow simple directions! How to construct a grammatically sound simple sentence! These are skills that many students do not have.

I think the problem is that people who want to teach go to public school and are not taught the basics because they have teachers who have not been taught the basics so they can only teach what they know and think is correct methodology. There has been created a perpetual cycle of mis-learning and bad teaching by mis-taught teachers, who don't know any better. The cycle spirals out of hand until the standards are lost into just teaching to the test.

So this is another reason why the arts are essential. In visual art there is always more than one way to achieve the goal. In art there is a possibility for personal expression, so students can purge themselves of every day stress. They develop problem solving skills that can be applied to all areas of their lives. There is also a need to be able to calculate and measure, for example if you work in watercolor and need a border on your paper or you learn to cut a mat for the watercolor when its done, or you draw in linear perspective. Students mix chemicals when they work with clay or paints and printmaking. They write about their work, and critique it verbally so they learn to speak in public. There is an opportunity to develop critical thinking as students learn to choose a way of working and method of evaluating what they have created.

Students can share their concerns, their anger, their confusion, their hopes, dreams and doubts through the arts (visual, music, theater, dance). That ability to release emotions through art might stem the high tide that brought us almost 30 deaths of school age students in the first 3 months of 2009 in Chicago.


So people, lobby for art at all class levels, bringing art teachers in to all schools, not just the rich neighborhoods, and the special schools for the smart kids!

If we want to build a smarter nation, with people who have skill sets that will help us progress as we encounter the various changes the 21st Century is bringing, we have to educate ALL!!!!!!

Top: CSU students learning about art by visiting the President's Gallery during an exhibition honoring Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month in 2008.
Bottom art: Allen Moore, a Chicago State student produced this 16" x 20" acrylic painting for a 2008 student exhibition on campus.

Happy Birthday, Barbie!

Thank goodness it's a new world order since the days Barbie first showed her face (and tiny waist) in 1959.

Or is it?

With all the racist backlash to the Obama administration via cartoons and conservative show hosts, I wonder? What do you think? Are we post-race, yet?

Below are images of the installation from an exhibition at The Koehnline Museum. Patrick Miceli curated the exhibition asking various artists to design their own Barbie or G.I. Joe. Go to the link to read about the other artists!

Mine is "Invisible Barbie", seen below left.

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?

Who do you exhibit with, Where and Why?

Artists love to be asked to participate in invitational exhibitions.

"The Medieval In America"

There is no submission of jpegs or slides, no nail biting wait until you hear if you are in or out of a juried show... you just get CHOSEN, and your work already has a stamp of approval by the
curator,  gallery owner or gallery director who feels your work will fit with other artists they have  selected. I entered  Black Creativity at the Museum of Science and Industry again this year.

It is considered a prestigious show by some local artists. Others totally ignore it. The problem is that  it is at a science museum that has no real interest in visual artists, but since the Art Institute and the MCA are not really a choice, either, because one does not appear to court living Chicago artists and one is for cutting edge art, the MSI juried art show still looks good year in and year out.  There is the chance you will win a prize. Last year I won one of 7 prizes out of 600 entries but the Honorable Mention came with no monetary reward. This year the fees for entry went up by $15.00 to $50.00,  but the prize money awarded did not increase.

I have won Best of Show and other monetary prizes in the past.

AND, it's a museum! It's juried! The jurors are knowledgeable and prestigious!

GREAT!!!! right?

Well, maybe...even in a juried show there is no guarantee you are in good company. This one admittedly takes amateur artists and students.Yes, they can be good, too, but it does change the dynamic.

Invitational or juried, do you ALWAYS  ASK who, what, why, where and when?

Do you ask who you will be with?

Why the particular artists have been selected to exhibit together is a question that you can tease out without sounding arrogant. 

Where the work  will be shown should be forthcoming but sometimes people want to first, put a show together and then, find a place to show it. 

You need to be clear about, and understand the purpose of the show. Make sure you ask particulars about the thematic stream attached to the show. Is it something you feel you address through your work? Is it something you really want to be associated with?

Many artists, including me,  are just happy to be in a show.  BUT.

I have found that sometimes it's better to respectfully decline an exhibition offer and wait for the next opportunity.

OK. So say you want to be in the show; please remember to find out the following:

1. Who the other artists are. Are they comparable to your achievement?

If they are emerging, mid-career or beyond is not so important to me; I mean are they "good" in your opinion.  (You may also care if they are new.) You just need to know one way or the other so you can make an informed choice. 

2. Do you like the work the other artist(s) creates. You may decide to show with an artist you don't care for because you know lots of other people do, or because you know your dislike is very personal. Or because the venue is exceptional.

3. Is it an established venue? Is it in someone's studio or home?  Think about the mailing list and who may come to the studio or home before dismissing this outright. This could be a nice intimate chance to bring more support for your work.

4. Is the exhibition raising funds for a project you don't support? Well, I rarely would do that, but you may feel that the company, the crowd and the venue, plus attendant publicity may make the show worth your while. Hey, I might re-think my original choice, but I would not support some issues, no matter what!

My point is to be conscious of choices.  Sometimes I show because I really like the other artists and would show with them anywhere. Sometimes I am thrilled to be with artists I respect, and I am meeting them for the first time in the exhibition.

Reasons you should exhibit are many and varied.

I want artists to also THINK about why they sometimes

should not show.

"The Medieval in America" by Joyce Owens was shown at the DuSable Museum in Chicago. When the curator, Jomo Cheatham,  asked me to create a painting about lynching ( a subject I had never addressed in my work) I jumped at the chance to be in The Citizen's Picnic: Lynching in America from 1865- Present.

Black Artists in new times: Change for us, too?

President-elect Obama is not the only one traveling to D.C. from Chicago. I'm here for a few days, too, on my business, and my husband's. I have a meeting with an important gallery. Had an impromptu opportunity to show work to a board member of a prominent arts organization in Philadelphia, too.

We went to Howard, my alma mater, and met the new president, (of Howard, not the USA) last night, and several Obama operatives spoke about his win. Today, after a day of talks about the economy, etc. with a group of columnists from across the country called the Trotter Group I went to the Howard Art Gallery with a bunch of them. We saw Starmanda Bullock's retrospective. The gracious Tritobia Hayes-Benjamin  allowed us a quick visit. Eileen Johnston, who was my contact for the alumnae exhibition I was thrilled to  be included in back in 2005,  unlocked the already closed gallery staying past the regular hours so we could enjoy the work...and more.  That's another example of why I love Howard.

The city is vibrating with Obama's win. I feel empowered just being here in Obama's new second city. His transition  team is here.  My husband and members of the Trotter Group met with Valerie Jarrett  yesterday.  It's exciting that she may be the next senator from Illinois, according to CNN! All of this is clearly a dream come true for the country, and for people who can trace their lineage to before the Revolutionary war when their ancestors were brought here as slaves!

But these are my questions, and artistic dilemma!!!!

Black art  is a response to our position as underdogs in a racist society, as well as a call to embrace  our history and culture, so I expect the rationale for it will change with the advent of global power in the hands of an African American, or not? If we are now a post-racist nation, will the imperative for  Black art eventually disappear as the playing field seems to be leveling and will the "trickle down effect" manifest in the world of visual art? Or will the desire for all things black, as there seems to be a desire for all things Obama, make it hard for us to keep up with a welcome demand for our work???

My artwork often confronts people with the idea that we are left out, in general, and missing from most museum walls, unless it is a special show of African American art.

Years ago I started painting former slaves ("Survivor Spirits" series) and Middle Class African Americans from 1900 ("Out of the Box" series) and recently I started a series, "Retro-Racing History", inserting our faces and culture into paintings by masters such as Titian and Gainsborough. I show a partially completed one below.

But is this a moot point  now? Since the new leader of the free world is black, does that mean we are finally free, too? Well, I guess I mean, will we finally be equal?

Planning an Art career? What you oughtta know!

The obvious is only obvious to those to whom it is obvious, if you get my drift. I always really dislike when people say, in answer to a question, "you should know that." My response is, "I wouldn't ask if I knew the answer".

Does anyone want examples, steps, specifics about how to pursue, improve an art career...besides me?

I know it is different for each artist. What are the similarities? A regular contributor has mentioned the M.F.A. requirement. There are tons of M.F.A.'s  They are mostly teaching in universities.

Kerry James Marshall doesn't have one.  He has an honorary doctorate  according to my research. Dawoud Bey does. Richard Hunt does not have one. His degree is in education. Jeff Koons has a B.F.A.

What should an  artist know and do to get that boost up the ladder, into the major galleries and museums?

It is obvious to me that practice is essential.

My mother, who sang opera,  practiced just about every day; I try to work every day, too. She, by the way, was an amazing singer, but was at her peak when black opera singers were not accepted to sing with  major companies as they are today. My mother did get to sing with major conductors,  for a president's wife, a governor's inauguration,  met Thurgood Marshall,  Martin Luther King and  many other dignitaries. She even sang sacred music written and conducted by  Duke Ellington in  the 1960's.  I learned from her that you better have a job if you are an artist because you might have the feast, but famine could be close behind. And that I have to set standards for my work.

It is obvious that someone significant needs to see the work.

Submitting work to exhibitions, galleries,  and museums is something most artists expect they need to do. How to go about that is tricky. I mentioned that the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago curators prefer simple. Many institutions have information for submissions on  their websites.  You can call and make an  appointment for more information.

You have to decide if your work fits a certain institution. I said this before and repeat it for insurance.

It seems obvious that there's more to it than the obvious.

Jeff Koons hung out with Ed Pashke. Cool. Does becoming a studio assistant to an established artist help you get seen? (that's rhetorical; the answer is obviously yes!)

How's that young artist who showed with  Kerry James Marshall doing after having a part of the  exhibition space at the MCA?

It's obvious that getting a boost from an established artist will lead to other opportunities. One museum show should lead to another.

At the 2005 Art Basel Miami Conversation, Hans Ulrich Obrist asked Robert Rauschenberg what advice he had for young artists and he replied, "€œJust nurture your curiosity and have respect for change. And I think the curiosity part will make life very exciting. It will also fight back habits like repeating oneself."€

Everyone repeats themselves, but to be conscious of it is good...

Obviously a family member with clout can help  you!

Have a relative who was in the business: Ed Paschke (I saw an exhibition at Wood  Street Gallery in Chicago profiling two other generations of artists in his family),  Pablo Picasso's dad,  we all know was a painter.  Van Gogh, despite his failure to sell, was exposed to art through his family, his brother and the gallery where Vincent and Theo worked. And his family persisted in promoting his work after death, thus Van Gogh is very well-known. The Peale family made a family business of art that included these Peales:  Charles Willson, Raphaelle, Rembrandt, Rubens, Titian, James Peale, Anna Claypoole, Margaretta, Sarah Miriam, and Charles Peale Polk, a nephew.

The Franklin MacMahon family of artists is thriving: Mark, Frank, Huey, Michael and Carolyn.

Kara Walker  said:

"œOne of my earliest memories involves sitting on my dad'™s lap in his studio in the garage of our house and watching him draw. I remember thinking: ˜I want to do that, too,™ and I pretty much decided then and there at age 2½ or 3 that I was an artist just like Dad."

Georgia O'Keeffe's friend sent her work to Alfred Steiglitz.  The rest of that story is history.

"Kiki Smith was born in  1954 in Nuremberg, Germany. The daughter of American sculptor Tony Smith, Kiki Smith grew up in New Jersey. As a young girl, one of  Smith’s first experiences with art was helping her father make cardboard models for his geometric sculptures".

”^{Some final advice from About.com to consider when choosing a fine art career:}

Fine Artists often don't make much money, sacrificing luxury in favor of creative expression. Fine Artists spend many hours working alone in the studio to communicate ideas and feelings with the world through their art. You will need to be able to support yourself by developing practical skills such as portraiture, photography or teaching until you develop a market, though this is less of a problem for traditional, atelier-trained painters than for contemporary artists.

<sup>So you might think the answer is how "good' you are, who you know, where you were trained...

Maybe the answer is your belief in yourself and your work. What do you think?





(top of page) Acrylic painting on wood box.
"Out of the Box series: Woman in Striped Blouse"
by Joyce Owens











(left)
"Out of the Box series: Woman in Hoop Earring"
by Joyce Owens</sup>

 

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?

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 

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?

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 "To Conserve a Legacy" exhibition in its post-conserved state.

The surprising lack of her sculpture in the Art Institute collection does not result from Catlett not getting attention for her sculptures. But from, so I've heard, the belief that Catlett was not quite big enough!

In some circles she is huge, as some of you are aware. The International Sculpture Center (ISC), the world's leading international sculpture organization gave her its 2003 Lifetime Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award in New York City. Art critic and writer Michael Brenson and art historian and world class authority on African American art, David Driskell made the remarks that night.

The International Sculptor organization felt she deserved the huge honor. And Bill and Camille Cosby served as Co-Chairs making sure the money was in place.

The South Side Community Art Center, established in 1939 during the WPA and still going strong, hosted Catlett when she was finally included in the Art Institute collection . The Center had people spilling to the outside stairs and the street just trying to catch a glimpse of her!

So you see two issues. Who gets chosen is beyond most artists' control. Who gets chosen seems to include some folks who have big money or big contacts.  Who gets chosen depends on current trends as well.

So maybe it is social as Mr. McLin insists!

What about a Henry Darger who never showed work during his life time?  He had no social contacts, but was lucky enough to have landlords who knew art when they saw it.  And, of course he was not alive to appreciate his fame and fortune.

Catlett has been very good for a long time. I knew it because I attended Howard University for undergrad school so I purchased her work from the South Side Community Center art auction 20 years ago with no challengers.

So, apparently, it makes no difference if your art is "good"? It only makes a difference if you make the right contacts, and if you are collected by the Manilows and the Crowns.

Maybe, yes, maybe no.

By the way  Faith Ringgold is in The Guggenheim. The Modern Art and other major museums...

image: The Queen of York Street: detail

by Joyce Owens

Art is like war: you gotta be in it to win it!

I am glad to hear that this dialog is as necessary as I believed.
Thanks for the posts. Keep'em coming and we will move this wagon train into the 21st C.

But listen, I will not blame us for discrimination. I will not blame us for our pasts.

I will not blame us for the connections we don't have. I will not blame us for the things we do not know.

I still remember the Harvard lawyer who was hired by the prestigious law firm and wondered how the other young lawyers got clients.

At the country club, of course! But guess what?  The young black lawyer could not get into the club. He could not get hired as a waiter at the club. He did manage to get a busboy gig with his Harvard law degree.

I think the issues we are discussing are important for everyone who is underserved, specifically people  of African descent, and from what I am told, Latinos, women, Asians, Native Americans and, as I already said, anyone who feels dissed. No matter what your profession, there is some version of this question. How do I infiltrate? Women have asked it as well as people from various ethnic groups: Irish, Jewish, Polish, Italian and other immigrants. Some have made great leaps. We have, too. But where the money is we are still in a struggle to find equity.

I recently saw a video clip of Faith Ringgold on the Hatch-Billops archive commenting on the feminist movement during the 1970's. Apparently, at a point, the feminists thought everything was pretty good for them.
I will paraphrase Ms. Ringgold's statement: "They were getting exhibitions, they were selling their work, they were hanging out with the guys; but I was not selling work, I was not getting shows and I was not hanging out with the guys!"

So the simple notion of being in with the downtown folks, working hand-in-hand on the same causes does not always get one the rewards of inclusion.

Here is an excerpt from We Flew Over the Bridge: The Memoirs of Faith Ringgold by Faith Ringgold published by Duke University Press 2005. pg 175-180.

"I became a feminist because I wanted to help my daughters, other women and myself aspire to something more than a place behind a good man. In the 1970’s, being black and a feminist was equivalent to being a traitor to the cause of black people. “You seek to divide us,” I was told. “Women’s Lib is for white women. The black woman is too strong now---she’s already liberated.” In the fall of 1970 Poppy Johnson, Lucy Lippard and I, formed an ad hock women’s group to protest the small percentage of women in all past Whitney Annuals... Our goal for the 1970 annual was 50% women... ...The Whitney Museum became the focus of our attention.

...The Whitney Annual that year was to be a sculpture show... Because of the Whitney’s well-known preference for abstract art, ... Betye Saar and Barbara Chase-Riboud ... were the ones I unconditionally demanded to be in the show. Saar and Chase-Riboud became the first black women ever to be exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art. The total percentage of women in the Whitney annual in 1970 was twenty-three percent as opposed to the previous year’s average of five to ten percent. This was better than ten percent, but it still wasn’t fifty. We decided to demonstrate during the opening to make that point... At a pre-determined time, Lucy Lippard and I began to blow our whistles... We continued to blow. The people gathered around us and we formed a big circle on the floor. Then we got up and walked around chanting, 'Fifty percent women, fifty percent women.'  Throughout the show we demonstrated every weekend, blowing our police whistles and singing off key.. 'The Whitney is a helluva place, parlez-vouz. They’re down on women and they’re down on race, a honky donkey, parlez-vous.' The women artist’s movement in New York was on it’s way..."

Websites
www.anyonecanflyfoundation.org
www.acagalleries.com
www.faithringgold.com

By the way, when  you see a word or phrase in blue you can click on it to go to a link. For example Kerry James Marshall's  interview at the then, Bad at Sports Gallery, was on the blog, but was added again by Mr. McLin in a later comment.  If you had clicked on Kerry's name where I suggested you would have gone to the interview.Thanks for the repeat Mr. McLin.

image:

From the "Out of the Box series

Acrylic on wood box by Joyce Owens

Is the Playing field level?

We are realizing that politics are not fair, if we didn't know already. The issue of race has raised its gnarled head, because it was not gone, as we had hoped, but just trying not to be noticed.

So is the art world sans discrimination? Can an artist who is talented, hard working, "contemporary", and articulate, who has produced a cohesive,  challenging and thoughtful body of work automatically be in contention for museum shows, gallery representation, biennials, and acquisitions?

Who decides? 

Is the art world engaged in its version of who do you know?

I remember seeing a Saturday Night Live skit that featured actor and comedian, Eddie Murphy  dressed in white face, exposing various scenarios that only a white person would supposedly experience.  (yes, Hillary and I think that show is an important barometer of current events). Murphy went to the bank and was about conduct a business transaction with the black bank manager that he encountered. A white banker stepped up quickly and announced he would take over, sending the black bank officer to lunch. The white man said, "That was close! How much do you need?" and he pulled out a bundle of cash so the white-faced Eddie Murphy could just help himself. Murphy satirized other scenes absent of black people, jokingly illustrating an imaginary secret society that operates differently when no black people are present.

What a joke!

Right?

That's how I hear many black artists feel. That stuff happens when we are not around. That special relationships exist that we will never really have. And cannot have. So where are our opportunities? Where are our mentors? Where are our connections?   Can we make a cold call on  a museum or New York Gallery and get a bite? Wayne Thiebald said he wore down a gallery he was interested in by showing up with his pastry paintings all the time. Would a black artist get that result, or an arrest record for harassment or worse?

I'd like to know what you think and I'd like to hear your solutions?

My first suggestion is to work like you love art. That means working every day. Art is our job and not something to do when in the mood.

My second recommendation is to read about artists, subscribe to art publications (go to www.amazon.com or www.barnesandnoble.com or other book sellers for selections or go to their land shops to browse the mags in person) You can also research art publications on line and read some articles for free.

Make sure to attend some art exhibitions. I don't say all, we have to do our own work, but a venue such as Art Chicago gives one an opportunity to see a lot of art at once. Figure out who inspires you and go see them. I always want to see  Richard Mayhew.  My work is no way like his except I love color, but I always want to see his work at N'Namdi Gallery. I will always go see the Harlem Renaissance artists such as Lois Mailou Jones, Archibald Motley, Jr., etc.  Among  other internationally known, contemporary there are too many to name, but Waghechi Mutu, Alison and Betye Saar,  Elizabeth Catlett, Preston Jackson, Richard Hunt (saw a piece of his from 1961 at Art Chicago!) are among my favorites.

I try to see major museum shows. I saw the current Edward Hopper and Winslow Homer exhibitions at the Chicago Art Institute. I am planning to see the Renaissance Society  exhibition "Black Is, Black Ain't".

Those of you who already do this know that if you go meet white artists, Latino artists, Asian artists, etc.  you  can  make  good  friends who will  share what they  know  with  you.  I will talk about some of these folks that I know as I go along.

If you segregate yourself you will remain segregated. But that is a hard road to navigate, including meeting the people who can  help you and getting those folks to take your work seriously.

I know that is how Kerry James Marshall has managed to get so far. He has the work ethic , he has the quality of work, he is articulate about his work and how it fits into the contemporary lexicon and he knew how to get  connected!

Kerry, please share your wisdom with us. You can hear him here.

Gotta go work. Please tell me what you think! Share your art.

Above is "Revealed: Truths and Myths"

acrylic on canvas by Joyce Owens

The state of black art and black artists. Yikes!!!

   

well...this is my first blog. Actually my second. I lost the first!

My first question is: Why am I assuming another responsibility when I am  already loaded with work?

Because there is more to do.

Race is a big topic these days because of the presidential election in the USA. For black people in general and black artists, in particular, race is always a major topic. Why? Because black artists believe they are rarely thought of until someone does a show in February. We even joke about it. If you can't get a show in Jan-Feb during Black History Month you are really lame.

But really. Unless black artists are angry drug addicts who die young or homeless outsider artists who make art from garbage (I love making art from trash) we are rarely taken seriously. 

There are some major artists who have broken through.

Martin Puryear, Kara Walker , Kerry James Marshall, Fred Wilson, to name a few. But we go to the international art fairs and museums and we see the work by the "masters" and we wonder, what about us who are alive and hard working and exhibit talent? 

Nowadays women are better represented, but still not as well as the men. African Americans and Latinos are in the mix, but not like the European artists. But my concern is that African American artists seem to remain in a specialty niche at galleries who concentrate on African American art. And too many of those artists, who struggled during their lifetimes, are already dead and not reaping the benefits of that representation.

I will ask lots of questions. I will try to get answers about what artists need to do to make a living. I will question artists who will do anything to get seen. How far is too far to go for one's art? I will emphasize that art is a business for the artists.

I will see if we can get some ideas and answers about quality as it applies to art making. I am not sure that there is really any such thing as art criticism any more.

I want to reveal who the deciders are when it comes to who goes to the Venice Bienale or the Whitney, and who gets a MacArthur Genius Award and who gets a museum show versus who does art fairs and studio  sales.

Is there honor in exhibiting in a boutique or beauty shop?

I have lots of questions and lots of theories. Please indulge me as I try to help you and myself understand the mysteries of being an artist in the 21st Century, and especially a minority artist, black, Latino, female, and so on...if you feel left out, share your pain. If you have some answers, I beg you, please share!

Are the questions infinite when  it comes to art?

You tell me.

*painting above,"Eve's Power Trip"
acrylic and collage on canvas

By Joyce Owens (click to go to my website)