Brainard Carey gets published

New York-based, artist-advocate Brainard Carey is expanding his influence and contribution; he's excited about the signing of his recent book contract. The first book stemming from it, Income Strategies for Artists, is now on Kindle and will be available for physical purchase in January. The subject of the book is a no-brainer, and one of the directors at the Whitney Museum of Art called it "essential" for our times. A book tour is scheduled for 2012. I will make an endeavor to bring him to DC, because when this man speaks - I listen. As an artist & artist-coach, Brainard has some serious credentials and a way of thinking that's unbiased, fluid and smart.

The Guest List at Your Opening

A story of savvy art-biz strategy (on behalf of the exhibiting artist)

Back in the springtime, while I was being briefed by Dov and Chris on the progress with arranging and promoting our 5th Painting in New York exhibit, they shared a few stories. I heard about the results from the numerous drop-ins they made around NYC galleries and studios, having conversations with people in the art business.

One of these conversations touched on the subject of our opening reception turnout. Painting in New York were speaking with an artist who was well-seasoned with exhibiting in the New York gallery scene. Upon hearing of our plans to rent a space in Chelsea for a two-week group exhibition, the established artist asked us:

"Well, how many people do you want at the opening?"

"LOTS," we said, picturing a whole herd of visitors trailing in through the doors.

The inquisitive artist grinned and fell silent. For a moment, Chris and Dov thought about the question again.

"How many people would you want at your opening, then?"

"Eight", said the artist.

I was laughing when I heard this, and instantly imagined what it was the artist was thinking when he said "8".

An art exhibit could have twice the impact - at least - on his/her own professional prestige with an audience of 8 rather than with an audience of 800. It could be, this artist learned how to raise the distinction of his work by cutting his exhibition guest list right down to a core group of influential critics and collectors. (So is it just careering?)

As a result of our direction and promotion, the number of attendees for our opening reception in May fell somewhere in the middle of the above-mentioned. Nevertheless, collectors and a handful of critics (The New Criterion, artcritical.com) were among them.

This Website Rocks

A far cry from the 'who cares?' syndrome.

Have you ever wondered about the stuff that happens in the fine art trade, I mean, how it goes down? 'What did he/she do?' 'What did he/she have lined up?' 'Did he/she have to aim for that particular trend or niche?' There's also the stuff that doesn't happen. Ever hear the question, repeated-add-nausea, 'has your/his/her artwork sold anything'? Then get this. Nearly anyone asking that about an artist's work could be a buyer of it. However, due to the nature of their question, it could be said then that people are aware of their consumer power, yet they are thinking that they don't want to be the first one to purchase? Is that adult thinking, even if an acquisition could be a sweet deal (hello?!!) or gotten for an objectively market-inflected price? And, how can the artist and the (often intimidated or stranded) consumer be empowered in all of the hoo-ha? I sure had been wondering; this is my field.

Later I found that Alan Bamberger and the writers for www.artbusiness.com have shared hundreds of articles respectively for both fine art collectors and fine artists. Each and every article is written as straight as an arrow (complete with a sense of humor and true wit), and collectively cover all wide-ranging stages of the game. After reviewing one artist article and one collector article, I quickly bookmarked the site for more. What surprised me was that the material is free of topics unrelated to the fine arts, that get habitually blended into certain stages when shared widely. For makers and consumers who have artworks in their vicinity, and think 'OK, it's there, I can see it, now what?', you are to find lots o' insight. Imagine fewer and fewer people getting stuck in the smoke screen of a business that has its share of reputations.

Artists reading some of the following articles would make the whole world a better place: "Art in the New Economy"; "How Not to Succeed in the Art World"; "I Can't Sell Art Because I'm Not Dead and the Media Are Idiots" and "Why Should People Buy and Own Art?" to name a very few.