Comments on: Being taken seriously as an artist

By: 8 Tips for Stronger Art Show Submissions — Art Biz Blog

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 10:02:58 +0000

[…] what she’s created, it says she’s not serious about her work. And, if she’s not serious about her work, she can’t reasonably expect others to take it […]

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By: PaMdora

Fri, 23 May 2008 03:08:10 +0000

I spent the first 40 years of my life worrying about what kind of art I could create so people would take me seriously as an artist. When I finally let that go, and started to create art that was purely for myself and something I made just because I enjoyed making it, that when people started to take notice of what I was doing. Ironic, isn’t it? I also run a business that isn’t art, and I notice that humor helps in that too.

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By: Alyson B. Stanfield

Wed, 21 May 2008 04:14:03 +0000

Philip: Yes, congratulations! It’s a huge deal and something to celebrate. Every profession has its milestones. Ours happens to be a solo exhibit in New York. Own it! Michael: You’re right. If it wasn’t the New York show, it would be something else. There are so many talented artists out there. So many! Sometimes, we have to distinguish among them based on something besides the art itself.

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By: Michael Lynn Adams

Tue, 20 May 2008 23:19:47 +0000

Cordellia and Alyson: I often refer to myself as an “emerging artist”. NO MORE! Thank you so much. Philip: Congratulations on your NYC show. I am with you Philip, in hoping that other artist will “put the brake on it” the practice of judging other artist’s work based on the length of exhibit and awards lists. However, I understand that gallery owners and curators need to do research when judging whether or not to show an artist’s work. I am not defending the system as ideal. But we all do the same thing. We feel better when others validate our judgment. I applaud those who have the courage to trust their own judgment, but recognize that when a curator’s or art dealer’s decision results in shelling out or risking dollars, doing research is simply prudent and good business. This practice is all part of the game (the game being the business of art). It’s a good game, even if some of the rules suck, and I am glad to be playing it.

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By: Philip Koch

Tue, 20 May 2008 17:25:48 +0000

One of the batty things about the art world is the intense hierarchy of it. Not the fact that some art work is better than other art work- that is a given. I’m talking about the huge tendency for collectors, gallery people, museum curators, etc. to look so much at the list of professional accomplishments before they look at the actual art work. Even we visual artists fall into this habit, and we need to at least try to put the brakes on it. After painting for quite a while, I’ll be having my first solo exhibit in New York City this January. I am honestly delighted. Naturally I tell people about it. But it is odd how much more seriously people seem to take me as an artist once they hear about the show. Of course I’m glad for the extra mileage it offers me in this difficult art field. Yet it is a little bit sad as well to see how much weight is assigned to what is after all a pretty external measure of quality or accomplishment. All one can do is keep at making one’s work the deepest and most authentic art you can, but also keep reaching for some of these external measures of success. Especially the world of museums and galleries is taken by these things. We need to take them with a grain of salt ourselves as artists. But we have to have a relationship with these things to keep a career going.

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By: Alyson B. Stanfield

Tue, 20 May 2008 14:20:36 +0000

Bernadette: I never heard “fake it till you make it.” Love it. Jennifer: Good point. And I agree. Why mention the other? Unless, of course, you need to cultivate business for the other job and are in a networking situation. Cordelia: Yep, “aspiring” can weigh you down. Glad you had the counsel of another writer.

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By: Cordelia Blake

Tue, 20 May 2008 11:50:31 +0000

I think both as a business person and a writer the beginning of the journey is with me. I used to refer to myself as an aspiring writer because I hadn’t published a book yet and a writer actually told me to stop. Sometimes in my attempt to be likable and approachable I make myself seem less professional. It is something I have to continually remind myself of and I give myself a little pep talk before going to networking groups and whatnot. -Cordelia, http://www.CordeliaBlake.com

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By: Jennifer Janson

Tue, 20 May 2008 05:16:43 +0000

I purposefully avoid even mentioning my other work as it sparks conversations that I would rather not have. If I must say something, I refer to it as my non-artwork.

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By: Bernadette Waystack

Tue, 20 May 2008 00:48:06 +0000

I refer to the full time job of teaching public school art as “my day job”. It definitely is important to the support of my family and my art business at this point, as well as the source of very good and extremely valuable healthcare for us. So I am an artist who teaches rather than “an art teacher”. My husband has owned a very successful real estate business for over 20 years but the benefits I supply make a big difference to his/our bottom line, (as well as the increasingly significant salary I have built up). It was more critical when my children were young to be employed in a “mom-friendly” job. Now the goal is to use the day job to help build up my art business while I head to the point of a deferred retirement. It will not be a huge pension, but I will retain the health benefits and aim to be making something close to 50-60% of what I was teaching from my art by the time I do this in about 6-7 more years. It’s in sight and beginning to happen. But meantime it’s critical that I introduce myself everywhere else as an artist, talk about that business and basically create the impression that that is who/what I ame . A little of the old “fake it till you make it”. You really aren’t faking anything, but many folks feel like a fraud when they first start trying to promote themselves. Naming being an artist as the first, main, real job is critical.

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By: Sari

Mon, 19 May 2008 17:55:21 +0000

hmmm…my artist husband just took me seriously for the first time…why? I brought him to a show opening with a new painting of mine he had not seen before…&…the painting was really really good…afterwards he mentioned an artist’s work he had liked ” a Sari Grove? “…( I think the proof is in the pudding…)

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