<< BACK TO JOURNAL

Just found this: a good compilation of grants and residencies put out by CalArts. Check it out here.Â

Here’s a list of some of the places (other than ours, of course) that we’ve found that are working towards breaking down some of the barriers towards entering the art market. Some of these have been mentioned on this blog previously. here and here. Most of them were mentioned in our talk, “Uncharted Waters: Understanding the Emerging Art Market.” Working towards a more affordable entry to Collecting Art: 20×200: A Jen Bekman project out of New York. She’s trying to “create a place for collectors and artists to meet”. Once a week they publish two archival editions, one photograph and one print reproduction of a work on paper. Tiny Showcase: Each week they pick a new piece of tiny artwork and turn the works on paper into a limited-run archival print production. It has quickly become really popular and they often sell out within hours of posting the new works. Artocracy: Artocracy is a digital marketplace for original art. They have an interesting model, in that you can order framed artwork or a print directly from them OR you can purchase a digital print (as a PDF!) to print out yourself. . Utilizing the Subscription-based model of distributing work: Wholpin: A DVD magazine of rare and unseen short films, docs, instructional videos, foreign sitcoms, and other cinema hybrids 4 issues for $50 Fine Art Magazines are opening up project spaces for artists within their periodicals. They allow artists the opportunity to create “site specific” art using the medium of the magazine for the artwork. Arkitip and Esopus are two examples of this. THE THING is a quarterly periodical in the form of an object. Each year, four artists, writers, musicians or filmmakers are invited to create an everyday object that somehow incorporates text. For $160 you receive four objects within the year. . Putting the surplus in the market to good use: Fine art adoption network‘s goal is to engage art enthusiasts who never thought of themselves as art collectors, and to introduce them to the experience and pleasures of owning and caring for contemporary art. Adam Simon (founder FAAN) said “The system that we have for disseminating contemporary art, known as the art market, doesn’t manage to get a lot of art into a lot of homes.”

Asked by Marianna Stark of the Stark Guide The way that I answered this question was 1. do your research: the information is out there and 2. make friends But I think I can be a little more thorough here. I think what Eleanor Harwood added was important and a good place to start: have a good package. Make sure you have a complete package, including images, a cv, and an artist statement. I think, though, that it is also becoming more and more important these days to have a website. This site can be fairly simple. You can even use blogs, such as wordpress, livejournal, or blogger, which are very easy to use and have lots of free templates you can start off with. You can create categories or pages that will separate your different bodies of work. A website is a useful tool for the person viewing your work, in that everything is in one place, you aren’t clogging up email with lots of images, and one can view your growth over the years. Also, it helps increase your visibility as galleries can link to your site from theirs, allowing people to gain a better idea of who you are. Also, going into the idea of making friends, it (a website) is also a good networking tool. You can trade links with people you like and you can keep in close contact with other artists who you respect. Making friends in the real world can be very difficult for some of us. It is very easy to say, “go make friends,” but that is sortof hard to actually accomplish sometimes. But online, it isn’t quite as hard. I am realizing more and more that the artworld is built on connections between people. Davin Youngs, TPG artist #5, is a great example of this. He tries to update his livejournal with a new photo daily. He keeps up with friends and other artists by monitoring their RSS feeds and commenting on work he particularly likes. And he has found through this network some online projects that have well suited him. He is part of The Ones We Love, Fjordphoto.org, and Anything. And now for doing your research: The opportunities are out there, you just have to find ones that suit your work. It takes a good amount of time and energy to do this, but art as a career is just that. Find galleries that work with artists like you and approach them, see if they have an open submission policy. We do. Eleanor Harwood does. SoEx does. Lastly, I thought it could be helpful if I shared the places that we’ve found that list open calls. The only ones that charges money for submitting an opportunity art NYFA and Art Week. Most of them are free to view: Arts Opportunities Monthly and The Art List both charge fees. I haven’t found a great resource for artists in the Bay Area; it seems as though there’s a hole since the shut down of Artist Resource. Many people look down on open calls, but it is a good way for artists to start establishing those all-important connections and getting their work out there. NYFA Rhizome A Singular Creation Art Deadlines List Arts Opportunities Monthly ($20 a year- sent via email monthly) Art Source Art Week Chicago Artist Resource Fecal Face (under forums: Calls for Artists) Del.icio.us (with tags: /call_and_events, tag/opportunities) Fjord (under “member news”) Klog! Arts Opportunities TheArtList ($15 a year to view) PortlandArt (mostly has Oregon-only listings, but occaional national listings as well) Zurco

Yesterday evening we had the honor of joining a panel of some really great people. It was a great experience for us, not only in the opportunity to spread the word about The Present Group, but also to discuss with a diverse audience what it is to be in the art market today and how that could be and does seem to be evolving or changing. We were asked some great questions, and because it is sometimes hard for me to answer them on the spot, Oliver and I are hoping to address some of these questions over the course of the next few weeks on the blog. Thank you to everyone who came out and joined us! Happy Monday.

Voting for TPG7 commences now! We’re exploring the idea of a more inclusive art world and harnasing the power of collective decisions. Check it out here. We’ve got five great candidates. And even if you can’t vote, this is an opportunity to familiarize yourself with 5 new artists and their work.

On May 4th, Oliver and I will be participating in a talk at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Marin. I think it will be a good discussion. And there will be a very delicious dinner afterwards for $20 using organic, local ingredients. Click here for more details. Come and cheer on my nervous self! Here’s the promo bit from their website: Date: 5/4/2008 (Sunday) Time: 4:00 PM Location: Headlands Center for the Arts Ticket Info: $10 General Admission FREE for Headlands Members Eleanor Harwood, artist; Director, Eleanor Harwood Gallery Julio Cesar Morales, artist; Co-director, Queen’s Nails Annex Eleanor Hanson Wise, Co-director, The Present Group Moderator: Natasha Boas, curator and art advisor We all hear that the contemporary art market is booming with celebrity artists and star collectors, but what does that mean for the average person? We’ll talk to some Bay Area gallerists and art promoters who have established fresh approaches to the market, and take a look at how aspiring collectors can make informed choices about buying emerging art without breaking the bank. We’ll also talk about how artists can effectively participate in the market, in order to support themselves financially while remaining true to their ideals. Other topics of discussion will include approaches to curatorial practice in for-profit settings; how the art fair circuit contributes to buzz about regional scenes; and art practice and exhibition making as small business enterprises.

This past weekend we also went to the CCA open house to see our friend (and TPG #3 artist) Christine Kesler‘s work. It’s the end of their first year and they were showing off their work. Of course I didn’t take any pictures or write down anyone’s name, so it doesn’t make for a very good posting. The work seemed pretty mixed, though you could see how waves of influence pass up and down the hallway. Three artists had something that had to do with dollar bills. There was a good amount of proving one’s own sexuality, or at least presenting it in some way. And I think I saw at least two or three places that had some sort of concentric ring type things that sortof reminded me of tree rings. We also weren’t staying too long as my parents were with us and described the feeling as similar to the theme of No Country for Old Men. At the very end of the hallway, there was an artist named Elisheva Biernoff who was taking photos in her Arctic photo booth. I don’t know if the point was to show how much people love getting their picture taken, or to have some sort of situation where there is a setup for a formalized transaction between artmaker and art “consumer,” or it is to memorialize glaciers, or if she uses the arctic scene for some other project, but it seemed fun. I do especially love all sorts of dioramas- though it really flattens out in the photo. Oliver and I look like two big cartoon mountains rising from the horizon.

This weekend, went to the site of Earth Bay Kiln Bay Kiln from about a year ago. My parents were in town and my mom, a jeweler, is on a sea glass kick. I remembered from back when we spent quite a bit of time with Presley on this beach that this beach was particularly good for sea glass collecting, so I brought her here. To our joy, there are still reminants of Presley’s hand at play here, as they continue to disperse and wear. We thought it would be fun to post the where abouts of the beach so that anyone who was interested could go and see for themselves. It is a funny little beach in Berkeley. Very few if any people are often on the beach and it is really nice because you can look at the view, take a deep breath, and sit still by yourself for a moment. You may also want to check the tides if you are going cause it fills up at high tide. Enjoy! If you click on the image of the map it will go to the actual google map.

Richard Wittaker, editor of Works and Conversations, is someone I’ve admired since first coming across his magazine. Now even more so. After 15 years of publishing Works and Conversations on his own, never taking a penny for himself (sounds familiar), never using advertising, has partnered with Charity Focus. Together, they are giving up any last remnant of a business model and have changed to a gift economy. Using a pay-it-forward mode, you can subscribe for free and are welcome to donate at any time to help someone else receive a free gift of this magazine. You can also subscribe for the newsletter, which will include links to the full content of the magazine. As he says: “ours is a humble effort to be the change we wish to see in the world.” The magaizine is made up of interviews with a wide range of artists and everyday heros.

Oscar Diaz‘s calendar uses ink and time to expose the date. He uses the same process to show a plant “grow” over the course of 4 months. It makes me think of growing rock candy, but for a purpose. I feel like that is the ultimate description of when art and design meet. This was developed for part of the London design Festival show entitled, “Gradual” in 2007.

I’ve been doing quite a bit of browsing today and found another site devoted to creating a new interface between collectors and artists. Called “the Beholder” From it’s director, Suzanne Shade: “I’ve been really inspired over the last few years not only by what artists are creating, but how many people are first-time buyers of original art. I know there are many more of you out there who have yet to take the plunge, and I hope you enjoy looking and learning as much as I do. Please don’t hesitate to call or write with questions… a big part of the fun is learning about how art is created, how pricing works, and what makes it special to others.”

What we are looking for: Proposals for projects that are reproducible in intent. Each piece can be a limited edition, an artist multiple, or either a part of or a document of a larger work. Our current edition numbers are under 100. We choose based on the piece’s Visual, Conceptual, and/or Experiential interest. The project will be made exclusively through The Present Group. We understand that similar themes and images may be used throughout your other work, however you agree not to create the exact project in the same form again.

Appreciation for Selected Artists: * $500 (This is an honorarium outside of the costs of creating the work-which we cover)

* 4 of the produced work for your own collection or to sell on your own.

* All the contextual information we create for your piece, including artist info, critiques, and video will remain free on-line as long as TPG exists

Deadline: We have a rolling submissions policy; we review proposals four times a year. The our next review date is ARPIL 9^th, 2008. Everyone who applies will be contacted by e-mail.

Download submission guidelines here: http://www.thepresentgroup.com/TPG-submissions.pdf

Click here for more information about The Present Group

“You were there, too” is an edition of 45 three booklet sets by artist Davin Youngs. Youngs uses photographic portraits and answers to “relationship defining questions” to create these individual depictions of his relationships with three close friends. Michigan native Davin Youngs lives, works and takes pictures in Chicago, IL. A graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Youngs has shown work both locally, internationally and in various online and print publications. His work often deals with the nature of relationships and how they are visually represented through the medium of photography. Youngs on You were there, too. My photographs are an investigation of how the nature of my relationships with those I photograph is visually represented. Gesture, location, and position of subject raise questions about the ways in which my interactions with the subjects exist and the space we occupy, even as it relates to self-portraiture. Some relational elements are clear, while others are questionable. This is meant to be the case, with the only consistent elements being the presence of me and the subject, as well as an awareness of my medium. These are ideas I began exploring a couple of years ago when my father agreed to embark upon an interactive and photographic journey with me. The primary objective was to see in what ways my artistic medium could unpack our relationship using both words and photographs. I wrote a series of questions that I considered relationship defining or “things I would love to know”, and asked him to answer them via email. He responded willingly and with more beautiful answers than I had anticipated. I placed the words and photos next to one another to explore the ways in which they interact. After working with someone as close as my father and exploring our relationship through this process, I found interest in seeing how this worked with other relationships in my life. You were there, too. investigates the ways in which my relationships can be represented through words and portraits. The words are not mine, but serve as a dynamic representation of what the subject is willing to say, or not say about “us.” The camera sits between us, but serves as a literal lens through which to see the idiosyncrasies of our relationship and how we interact. Together, the words and portraits indulge the viewer in information they might or might not ask about the subject, the medium, and the picture taker. The results are three small books which visually represent small pieces of “us.”

.

More about Davin Youngs: website, blog, myspace, flickr Online projects he’s a part of: The Ones We Love is an online portfolio of intimate portraits of those whom the photographers love. Fjord photo.org is collection of emerging photographers on the internet, eventually to be formed into a book. Anything is a self-editing collaborative magazine that lets its contributors freely add/edit any image or text to it, as often as they wish. In each of its 64 main pages, there is an area allocated for 1 image (left side) and 1 body of text (right side). Upon registration, each contributor is asked to choose whether they wish to upload image or text, and they are permanently assigned a random page (shared with another contributor). In addition to the 64 pages, visitors can also click on Show Me Anything!, which randomly combines any of the currently available images and text to create a ‘new’ page.

Maybe we’re just behind, but we just found out that we were mentioned on the Readymade blog in January! Thanks Readymade! (Click on image for Link to post) Also mentioned in the article was a project that is new to me, called 20×200— a la Tiny Showcase fame– it sells prints from artists at pretty darn reasonable prices. The editions are in runs of 200, 20, and 2, with bigger=better=shorter run=a lot more expensive as the main equation. The small ones are only $20, so it’s a pretty sweet entry point. It is interesting to see how all these projects, businesses, organizations are popping up to figure out ways to support more and more artists while aiming at generating more interest in collecting art at affordable levels. I listed many of these organizations back in the fall (here) when the Collective Foundation brought us all together at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts for a little discussion. Are we helping to create a new and different market for art? Or will art become more designy to satisfy the designsponge crowd that wants to fill up its walls? Is that so bad? I am starting to think about all these ideas as I slowly slowly start to prep for a talk I’ll be giving at the Headlands Center for the Arts in May. More about that later. In other news, this morning we sent off TPG5 out of our home and into the great big United States Postal System. So soon they’ll arrive in your homes. Hip hip hooray!

Everything’s coming up Brian these days. If anyone’s in Baldwin City, Kansas these days, I’d recommend checking out the Art Affair Gallery at Baker University where there’s a showing of The John Talleur Print Studio residents (Brian’s one of them). And who’s on the postcard you may wonder? ummm…Brian. Here’s a preview of the show in the Baker Orange. The show runs until March 14th, 2008. Art Affair Gallery is at the corner of 7th and High St. in downtown Baldwin City In an article entitled “Strange Fruit”, Frank Tankard from Lawrence.com magazine Deadwood edition interviews the members of Fresh Produce, an art collective out of Lawrence, Kansas as they celebrate their first anniversary. Brian’s third in the interviews.

TPG5 artist Davin Youngs is a busy man. While working up the next issue, he is also showing at Estudiotres in Chicago. The show, entitled, “Thaw” brings the hope that winter doesn’t last forever. January eighteenth through March seventh – 2008 Opening reception: January eighteenth – six to ten pm 5205 N.Clark St., Chicago

I found this paragraph in Alice Waters’ new book “The Art of Simple Food.” She has such a lovely way of viewing the way she buys food, but I was struck by how she could just as easily be describing art produced through the subscription method. Just replace ‘farmers’ with ‘artists’ and you might not be too far from a vision of a future art world.

“When I started shopping at farmers’ markets, one of the best things about the experience was meeting farmers and learning from them – and influencing them, too, by asking if they could grow vegetables and fruits that has almost disappeared from commerce. After years of this weekly connection, I realized that I had become dependent on a family of friends – and they were dependent on me. By choosing to buy food grown locally and sustainably, in ways that are healthy and humane, I had woven myself into a community that cares about the same things. As a community, we share not only a commitment to protect our natural resources, but an appreciation for the value of food itself, a love for its taste and beauty and the deep pleasure it can bring by connection us to time and place, the seasons, and the cycle of nature.” -Alice Waters

It’s been a year! Thank you to all of our initial subscribers, helping us get off the ground.

We’ve been getting great responses from TPG4. Since a few of our subscribers have mentioned how much they liked the images we included of Brian’s other failure series prints, I’m posting them here for everyone to enjoy.

Sorry, 2007 5 Colour Serigraph on paper (detail) Paper Size: 28″ x 22″ Image Size: 5 1/2″ x 8″ edition of 10

Continue Reading »