For those of us who live immersed in the digital world, which certainly includes you as an Absolute Arts blog reader, it is most likely nearly incomprehensible how a modern day artist, or businessperson of any sort, could not be partially, if not fully, connected in the social marketing world. Truly, these days most would think how can anyone serious about getting ahead not be wholly represented on “The Social Marketing Grid” with a Facebook page, Twitter and Linkedin accounts et cetera?

The reality is there are plenty of people with serious careers and serious career ambitions who have not and are not interested in joining the minions on the great social networking experiment that consumes so many others. Is it really possible to be successful or to grow a meaningful career without issuing a single tweet? The simple answer as always remains yes.

Here’s a last century example that remains germane to the argument today. For many years, I sold advertising and show space for Decor magazine and its sister Decor Expo tradeshows. Both served the art and picture framing industry. In the day, Decor’s annual Sources directory and Atlanta Decor Expo shows were huge successes on every level. Quite simply, anybody who was anyone in the decorative art and picture framing business would never consider not robustly participating in both. To do so would be career suicide by being obvious by one’s absence.

There is a direct correlation today between the implied “must participate” in those vehicles as there is in being fully active in the social networking arena. However, then just as now, there were artists and companies that chose not to go along with the crowd and consciously avoided participating in what seemed to all others to be an apparent choice.

Back then, much to my confounded consternation, there were artists and publishers I knew who were enjoying success that would be the envy of many of my regular advertising customers and show exhibitors, yet they were not spending money to promote themselves in the splendid and effective marketing vehicles I represented. It took a long time for me to realize that just because the evidence seemed to irrefutably prove participation in such activities paid results there would be those who would resist the opportunity.

So, despite my eloquent presentations and urgent pleas to not miss the ship about to sail, there were holdouts that steadfastly refused to be motivated. Their reasons were not always the same, but I think the primary reason is not unlike what you see today, which goes like this: “Yes, I can intellectually grasp there is opportunity in what is being offered. However, I’m doing just fine without the bother. And, despite the powerful lure those things have for many people, they have no interest for me.”

It was harder then for me to grasp their choices. Perhaps this was so because then I had a financial stake in persuading them. Being more involved and invested in their participation made me more passionate about my attempts to evangelize them into partaking. Today, with more maturity and less at stake, it’s easier to accept there are those who have no interest in getting a Facebook page and who are equally willing to suffer the consequences of not playing a part in the social networking revolution.

The question for artists today is can they have a successful career without having a Facebook page, a blog, a Twitter account and so forth? Despite what current proponents of these and other social marketing tools have to say, I believe it is completely possible. Admittedly, I am one of those proponents. You can find plenty of articles among the 200+ blog posts I’ve published on my Art Print Issues blog that encourage artists to get involved with these tools.

Despite what I think and promote regarding advancing an artist’s career, I deem it is possible for an artist to achieve notable success without having much more than a phone and an email address. While I think it makes the proposition of attaining success more difficult for most, I am convinced that it’s not impossible or even implausible to gain notoriety and perhaps even museum collectible attention without being a card carrying member of the social networking movement.

Of course, if the artist is not a willing participant, it still would be a great benefit if his or her benefactors, i.e., gallerists, reps, dealers and collectors promoted the work in online social spaces mentioned here. But, at the heart of it, a long running successful art career is built one brick at a time. And, that can be done in a variety of ways, not all related to the digital world. In fact, in spite of my cheerleading for Web 2.0 type involvement, I think it would be foolhardy for most artists today to focus exclusively on social marketing while ignoring traditional forms of marketing.

When I was repping Decor and Decor Expo, a regular question was, “How do I decide where to allocate my marketing dollars?” It remains a viable question today. My answer has not changed much. That is, decide what you perceive to offer the best return on investment and give it the biggest chunk. Then spread the rest available, within the realistic constraints of what an individual or small business can do with time, financial and personnel resources, among all the rest.

For artists to achieve success the goal, whether in the 21st Century or the last, remains the same: Seek to build a viable dealer/gallery/collector base to grow your business. Then nourish and replenish with vigor. Make it part of your business plan and every work day in some fashion. If you are fortunate to have someone working for you, make sure it is an even more important part of their working day. The slow steady pace of the turtle in the race is still the sure way to succeed in business. To do otherwise is foolish. For instance, hoping to become an overnight success is the equivalent of buying lottery tickets as a financial plan.

Adding a dealer or gallery here, finding a few collectors at a show there. Digging up media support with press releases and participation in charity and other notable events and sending direct mail can all be done without ever tweeting a word. An artist who has motivated quality reps on the road making old fashioned cold calling presentations still works. While advertising in consumer and trade magazines and tradeshows may not deliver the same impact as when I was in my heyday with such vehicles, they nevertheless offer opportunity for artists who effectively utilize them.

Although I offer an alternative perspective, I still encourage artists to join me on my Art Print Issues blog, to get a website and blog of their own, and to exchange tweets with me at www.twitter.com/barneydavey or to friend me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/barney.davey. I will fully understand if you choose not to engage in social marketing. Further, I will happily support you and may even be one who chooses to publicize you for the quality of your work and for achieving success while going your own way.

Barney Davey
www.artprintissues.com

Created by Barney Davey On 07/16/09 At 03:16 PM

There’s an interesting article over at the LA Times on art, manufacturing, brands, and people that seem to enjoy being in court.

“They may not have realized it, but the folks who snapped up as much as $4-million worth of limited-edition prints by artist Takashi Murakami two years ago at the special Louis Vuitton boutique inside his exhibition at L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art apparently were getting nicely mounted handbags — minus the snaps and straps.” LA Times

Basically, a collector didn’t like the fact that his Takashi Murakami Louis Vuitton prints were just left over Louis Vuitton material strapped to canvas stretchers.

I can’t see a problem with it. Takashi Murakami is like Japan’s Damien Hirst and he doesn’t hide the fact that he’s a branding machine in the business of selling products. The exhibition at the The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles was called “Copyright Marakami” which should have gave the collector some idea of what the artist is all about.

You don’t expect a Damien Hirst spot painting to be painted by Damien Hirst.

Australian artist Hazel Dooney is giving away 500 limited edition photographs from her Lake Eyre series to celebrate her 500th post at her Self Vs. Self blog.

The image size is around 2″ x 3″ on 4″ x 6″ paper. It is titled “Study for Modern Strategies Of Survival: Resized For Mass Consumption.” Each photograph will be stamped, signed, dated and numbered on verso.

See her post here to learn how to receive one for free.

Previously Hazel has given away prints that had to be downloaded and printed using your own printer, but this offer is signed and sent from her actual studio. Just the logistics of preparing 500 works to be delivered would be enough to scare me off being so generous.

Hazel has also started using Twitter. I still don’t get Twitter and I have no idea how it has become so popular. I like brevity but how much can you say in one sentence? I’m probably missing something though as a lot of people are now using Twitter. I would be interested in seeing how much traffic artists are getting from Twitter.

The Damien Hirst circus is over and was a great success. The first night of the Hirst auction raised about 70 million pounds and the second day raised 40,919,700 GBP, which works out to be about $200 million USD in 2 days.

I don’t care what we think of his art.. love it or hate it.. Damien Hirst is a genius! He makes Andy Warhol look like a hippy with no job or credit card.

Warhol said “Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.” If Andy was right, Damien Hirst is the greatest artist of all time as he is without doubt the best business artist alive.

I usually only get 15 or 20 people each day looking for “Hirst” on Art News Blog, but on the 16th of September there were 515 people searching for the British artist. Quite a few searched for “Hurst” too. There was even a few people looking for Damien Hearst.
>> Sotheby’s Art Auctions, Damien Hirst News

One of the problems with trying to do something good is that the people trying to do something bad don’t like you. Having an artist scammers list means that artists will appreciate it, while art scammers won’t.

I have received emails and someone left a comment about a person called “Bikram Shrestha” sending them the usual scam letters, so I listed the person and their email on the list. The artist said that a “whole group of woman artists” received the same letter from this email sbikram81@yahoo.com

The comment that the artist left went like this..

Subject: Artworks Enquiry…
Hello,
I came across some of your masterpiece while surfing the internet at http://www.xxxxx.com website and I am interested in purchasing some of your artworks for our new apartment in Malaysia. I will like you to send me some pictures of your recent porfolio so I can select from your stock. Also let me know the price range of your artworks.

I will look forward to hearing from you soon.
Regards,
Bikram.

Looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, so I slapped the duck label on it.. and I’m still confident that it is a duck.

BUT.. according to an email that I received from the duck today, he or she isn’t a duck!! In the email, it also includes the email that “Bikram Shrestha” sent to the artist.. and the reply of the artist.

Here’s the email that “Bikram Shrestha” sent to the artist..

From: Bikram Shrestha sbikram81@yahoo.com
Subject: Interested Your Artworks
Hello,

Regards,Bikram.

Ticks all the boxes of a scam email. So nothing there changes my mind.
In his email to me, Bikram also sent the reply of the artist, which made me laugh.

Here’s the artist’s reply..

oh I can’t wait till I can fill your wonderful home with my “masterpieces.” what a poor lucky artist I am.
http://www.artnewsblog.com/2008/05/list-of-artist-scammers-and-fraudsters.htm

So, that prompted the angry Bikram Shrestha to send me this threatening email..

Subject:
Fw: Re: Interested Your Artworks… Kindly remove my name from you List ASAP

To Whom It May Concern.

- Bikram Shrestha.

I would be very happy to take his name and email off the list if I hated artists, but I don’t. I hate people trying to take advantage of others. I have seen at least three emails from Bikram Shrestha, including the one above from him, and they all fit the format of every other art scam email that I have ever received.

Apology? For calling a duck a duck?
Good luck with getting the “free millions of dollars” too as I am an artist!

So if posts slow down on Art News Blog, blame Bikram Shrestha as we’ll be in court fighting over my “millions of dollars”..lol.
>> Art Scams

When I last left this subject, I had a studio on the property of a luxury hotel on the Greek island of Mykonos. Since then, a lot has changed. I always feel that the interest of someone in what I do is defined clearly in the moment they buy one of my pieces. The depth of that interest is made clear by the amount they are willing to spend, and the effort it will take them to accommodate what I’ve made.
Some have gone to the extent of re-engineering suspended floors to support not only the weight of a statue, but also the transport across open stretches of such a floor, as was the case with the Gewiss Corporation in Bergamo, Italy. Others, like Alabama Power, have constructed pedestals that may have cost more than the statues themselves. In both cases, I was offered a stay in a five star hotel and had only to submit receipts of my expenses in order to be compensated, no questions asked.

These two companies managed me with teams of paid employees, who did everything they were supposed to do, and saw to all my needs, but there was nothing personal between eventual buyer and me in these relationships. I felt outside of something, and knew I wouldn’t be going downtown to have a beer with the president of either of these companies. Both were among the easiest customers I’ve ever had in terms of money. They did what they said they’d do.
So did the owners of the Hotel Tharroe, albeit with some minor changes along the way. Last year, they bought ‘Amarilli and Corisca’ and in doing so, convinced me that they really were passionate about art. It’s one thing to talk about something, and quite another to commit to something this substantial in terms of money and the effort required to make the piece a vital part of the business under whose roof it sits.

In speaking about our next round last year, this summer that has just started, we worked together on deciding what kind of a new piece should be roughed out in Italy, and brought to Mykonos for me to finish. We agreed on a female Minotauress, and probably they knew more about this subject than I did. It seems that in one account, the labyrinth represents the subconscious, and therefore the Minotaur is metaphorical. It could be anything. I only learned this as I began to study the subject and its origins, much as I had done with earlier figures, and as with them, the profound and multifaceted nature of it only emerged after I had started.
My original idea was to have Theseus, whose worth as a warrior was without question, meet something that would challenge him in a way that he was not used to. I gave my Minotauress a roll of string with which to confuse him during his exit from the maze, and designed her so that if seen from the back, it isn’t apparent that she has a cows head. I imagined Theseus finding her lying nude on her pedestal, approaching from her back side, and going weak in the knees.
This morphed into Theseus being challenged by himself, by his own subconscious, and his feelings about matriarchal power, another theme that emerges in discussions of the Minotaur that I have read. Think about doing something, anything, and knowing that each thing has some part which makes it dangerous, something unexpected, like the string, which is a thing we carry within ourselves. We may be the most dangerous part of anything we try to do.
In an active life, we are constantly challenged by the decision to turn left, or right. We live, in that sense, within the contours of a labyrinth.
We decided I would work near the pool, where guests could see what I was doing, and talk to me about it if they felt like it. The Tharroe maintenance people constructed a roofed over area at one end of the pool, and a platform in cement on which the statue would be placed.
I started the piece in February, going up to the La Cappella, or, the chapel, quarry, and choosing a piece of dark grey Bardiglio. As I worked it, I heard that as I chipped it, a crystal ringing came out of the stone, much like a chapel bell. Perhaps this was the reason why the quarry had been called the chapel, and not because of any nearby churches as I had always believed.

As luck would have it, the quarry was closed just after I got the block out, as some townspeople below had complained about the risk of an avalanche. So now I had seven tons of something that you just couldn’t get any more. I had the bottom cut smooth and flat at a saw mill, and removed the top just above the statue by drilling holes through it and using stone splitting wedges. I wasn’t about to waste any. I worked six days a week straight for three months, and when I saw that it was down to two tons and far enough along that I could do the rest without using power tools, I arranged the shipment to Mykonos.
Once there, I had the piece unloaded as far up the hill alongside the hotel as the crane’s reach would allow. The pool is behind the building, and getting there was over rough ground. Laying fourteen foot beams down as a sort of railway, with log rollers we were able to go over rocks, gullies, and up the incline using a chain hoist and three men.
And past the tomb. Tharroe, the Mycenaean queen who had given her name to the hotel, had been buried here nearly four thousand years before. The tomb is in surprisingly good shape, a sort of large underground igloo made only of dry stone wall, rocks that had been found and not shaped. When the hotel was to be constructed, the tomb was discovered during the groundbreaking, and the owners called the cultural authorities and moved the site of the building significantly so as not to disturb it.
Today I find myself with just the stone wall behind the statue between me and the tomb. The sculpture and me are the same distance from the edge of the igloo as the center section is, where the grave was. The figure looks, in its setting, alarmingly like an idol in a pagan temple. When I started to research the origins of the Minotaur in Crete, I found out that it had its roots in more ancient cultures, like those of the Phoenicians, and the Carthaginians. These cultures may or may not have practiced child sacrifice, but the figure that blood was given to was a ‘golden calf’ as mentioned in the Bible. There is also a relationship with figures coming from other cultures, such as Baal and Moloch. The Egyptians have some human figures with animal heads, most notably birds of prey, but also bulls. In their culture these sometimes represent the Sun god. Crete traded with all three of these populations, and never had a war with anyone until after their decline. The final crushing blow came when the volcano that today is Santorini erupted, sending a tsunami wave four hundred fifty feet high against the shores of Crete, and wiping its culture out. We saw what happened with a thirty foot wave.
I am in no way superstitious, but during the past few weeks, am often struck by the thought that this theme may not have been just my own doing. Maybe this ancient queen from a culture with no written language that we know of had some influence? They say that the ancients were in touch with timeless powers we no longer have access to. I have seen first hand how animals know about earthquakes and tornados before they happen, and can’t help but compare that to how we’re no longer able to do much anything without technical and electronic aid, and despite that still do not know the way they do in advance. I suppose that if I don’t die minutes after completing this piece, then I can rest easy for a while longer.
Carving this sculpture with so many stories intertwining, while gazing at the Greek islands and the sea from a perch so high above everything, is a sensation that inspires me. I don’t have any plans for this piece, I have no idea who I’m going to sell it to, or if I even can sell it. That a hotel gave me the opportunity to do what I’m doing, using their pool area as if it were my own studio, is remarkable, and sets the Tharroe of Mykonos apart from any hotel I’ve ever been in. It truly is exceptional, in every sense of the word, because the passion of the owners overpowers what might be called good sense. Passion is that special something that makes everything possible. And in being passionate about the carving, the polishing, and the detailing, forgetting about everything else if I can, perhaps I can make this piece as exceptional as the setting in which it was made.

Created by Andrew Wielawski On 07/18/08 At 01:07 PM