Art vs. Mediocrity

In 1991, when I entered Art College, students used hand-held devices called books and wrote research papers on electric typewriters. Artists didn’t have personal websites and our imagined lives after school were murky, undefined careers that involved belonging to a stable of artists with a reputable gallery. In this age of innocence there was no sense from professors or peers that when we emerged from the developmental cocoon of our BFA programs as artists we would also be in business.

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago expects an average of 3,000 new students each Fall at $34,000 a head. That’s tuition only – living expenses and materials not included. Despite the accrual of a student loan debt to rival that of any MBA graduate the advanced study of fine art does not increase the earning potential of its disciples. Up until 2008 The School of the Art Institute provided no business training for fine art students although the school does host an Arts Administration program. Fortunately, art colleges and art organizations have begun to recognize a gap in the education of young artists and are beginning to provide access to the real-world tools needed to attend to the business of art. The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs hosts a one day Creative Expo each year where arts service organizations and nonprofits display their wares and provide seminars on both creative and business aspects of the art-making life, from time-management to grant-writing. Thousands of artists and creatives attend this event indicating that this is a much-needed resource for professionals and emerging artists alike.

In recent artist stories on the CAR website, and in other publications for artists, marketing tools have grabbed the spotlight. This sudden re-casting of the artist as “artrepreneur” is really a culmination of trends over the past 20 or 30 years in how we make, look at, and buy art. The global, media-centric world is moving at a dizzying pace set by social-networking, blogs, and websites where we can make and sell objects from the custom to the customized. The term artrepreneur, coined to acknowledge that artists are in business, makes it acceptable and even commendable for the garret-ed artist to join in the commercial and technological fray. A burgeoning sense of possibility and self-determination is distilled in the artrepreneur: the Super Artist who is not only a prodigious Creator but is also able to market and sell their art all in a day’s work. As the numbers of graduating artists swell and merge with those returning to the field of art, after raising a family and/or following another career path, artists provide a new and expanding market for a range of business services and products, consultants, coaches, and competitions that suggest fame and fortune are a few clicks away.

The Secret to Success

The business of art has always been intricately linked to commerce and speculation. From religious commissions (it took a lot of dough to build those cathedrals), to Dutch paintings celebrating the haul of the merchant class, to the sky’s-the-limit value of art during the 1980′s – art has consistently shown a complete lack of any price equilibrium. The limitless potential return, and the genius status associated with being an artist, have created a mythic vacuum in which all art can be priceless. Branding, marketing, and selling ourselves (an artist is their own brand), easily absorbs 80% of our time and is changing the way that we think about, and make, art. In a culture that revolves around advertising, success is not synonymous with merit. The current generation of artist is applauded for their marketing savvy and style first, with artistic excellence coming in second. Stewed in popular culture the artist and the viewers sense of history is limited to decades and frequently art seems to devolve into self-expression without any transcendent intent. Meanwhile, advertising silently permeates everything and even ironic references to main-stream culture (prevalent just a few years ago) have been eroded to a tolerant acceptance and even revelry in current brand superstars. Art becomes advertising and distinctions between hi-art and popular culture is an art-world faux pas.

The values that the artrepreneur may gain through embracing market demands and methods can also threaten the critical self-awareness necessary to be an artist. Artists are like entrepreneurs in that we are engaged at every level: from conception, to creation, then marketing and finally selling. However, the business model of supply and demand does not translate well to the creation of art because, despite one’s best efforts, producing a painting (or any artwork, individually produced for an individual experience) is not the same as producing a novelty hat (or any object that can be manufactured, for a universal audience and a general, public experience). The intangible investment of our education includes ongoing labor and experimentation with new techniques, materials and ideas. This, in addition to the important failures necessary to achieve a vision over our lifetime, is the inherent cost of art production. Unlike novelty hats, consumer demand and the set price of an artwork should not be determining factors in what, or how, an artist produces. The role of the artist is to respond to the spiritual needs of society, not just to provide amusement or escape. The artist’s career path cannot be easily predicted because it is dependent on variable inputs of space, time, money and life experience. Despite the cumulative investment the artist will make in their art practice over the course of their lifetime, there is no model to predict success for an artist.

The visual artist ought to be an expert in visual communication. We know about color, light, shape and have absorbed an extensive vocabulary of cultural symbols. By creating lesser works with the sole intent of generating a profit (or from disregard or ignorance of or what makes a work of art, “art”), artists undermine their important role in society as questioners, observers, absurdists and representatives of human ingenuity. As marketing tools, vanity publications and the public expectation to be entertained align themselves in impenetrable mediocrity, galleries, artists, museums and curators must broaden their market share and provide shows that sell in order to stay in business. All of this means less risks taken by artists and institutions with the “art” becoming a series of interchangeable goods.

Adapt on Your Own Terms

Artists, and their art, are adapting to a dynamic, competitive marketplace by becoming advertisers and designers but the trade-off is something unquantifiable – the spiritual value of art. The European citizen, surrounded by architecture and works of art that are centuries old, has a sense of history and culture that remains an active accompaniment to daily life. In the United States, where we never really got modern art, the ruler of utilitarian value finds no legitimate purpose for art and our relationship to it remains unresolved and awkward. If art is entertainment, it can suddenly all make sense and we may collectively relax, roaming art fairs and museums confident that something (at least, in the gift shop) will suit our tastes. In order to connect with the public (and make money) contemporary artists opt for more easily digested works, and finally derivative objects such as copies of recognizable masterpieces, gicleé prints, and t-shirts.

Simply telling artists that they are in business and must incorporate business methods into the art-making process does not acknowledge the contrary demands of these two mind-sets. One of the major flaws in the new programs to educate artists in the ways of the world seems to be an assumption that a mere refresher course in do’s and dont’s is all that is needed. Business, after all, is common sense. Actually, common sense is common sense and business sense is how to get what you want at the least possible cost to you. Business success comes not by following the rules, or doing the right thing, but through the power of networks, collegiate ties, and a shared profit motive. Business leaders hang out with lawyers, accountants, developers and politicians – that’s how they get things done. Artists hang out with other artists and spend most of their time thinking about their own, individual problems. Artists need to get a sense of the big, cultural picture. Our strengths are collaboration, creative genesis, observation and criticism.

Thanks to technology and the Internet, there are many tools available to artists that make developing a sustainable career possible; from creating an online portfolio, to staying in contact with peers and collectors, to researching opportunities and broadening the audience for our work. Above all, our most important resource is each other. Artists have a shared interest to develop the public appreciation and understanding for the experiential value of art. The pursuit of this goal will in turn establish personal and professional standards that truly allow us to pursue our lifetime commitment to art.