Greeting to all Hants County Arts Council (HCAC) members.
The arts council did not have a meeting in December so I decided to wait until after our January meeting to send out this Newsletter.
Next Meeting:
Members are invited to attend any of our monthly meetings. Our next meeting is on February 24 at 7 PM at Cravings Cafe, 3816 Hwy 14, Upper Rawdon.
If you intend to attend one of our meetings, would you please notify Sandra MacDonald. This is so that she can contact you should a meeting be cancelled due to weather or unforeseen circumstances. Sandra’s e-mail address is: cstudio@ns.sympatico.ca
Our AGM:
The Hants County Arts Council’s Annual General Meeting for 2010 will be held on April 28.
It will be at the ECHCo Boardroom at 7 PM.
This is located in the Scotiabank building on Water Street in Windsor. The entrance is to the right of the dollar shop. Once inside, just follow the hallway and you will find the room we are using.
Members are invited to attend. This is a great time to get involved; give us feedback and share your ideas and suggestions. As this space has all of the excitement of a standard board room, we rely on our personalities to liven it up.
Thanks to Pat Gould-Thorpe for reserving the room for us.
Arts Digest:
Due to timing, we have decided not to put out an arts digests this year. A great deal of interest has been expressed in continuing to put out arts digests and we are looking forward to putting our second one out next year. Greater involvement will help us overcome time constraints with great project’s like this, which all members benefit from. I know, you’re thinking ‘is this a less than subliminal hint for me to get involved‘, yes it is :)
The 4th Annual Festival of Art
This year’s Festival of Art will be May 28, 29 & 30th. Location and guest speaker to be announced.
This event is a great opportunity to get involved. We can use, and certainly appreciate, all the help we can get during this show. If you are interested in helping out this year, please drop me a line. We need volunteers to receive artworks two days prior to the show. We have always arranged to have a timeslot for drop-offs during working hours and evening hours.
The arts council is represented on the Mayor’s Task Force on the Arts, by yours truly. This is a work in progress and I will keep members updated as to any developments.
In addition to continuing to send the Newsletters to all members, they will be posted at: http://hantscountyartscouncil.blogspot.com should you wish to check previous Newsletters.
Please send me your thoughts, concerns, questions etc. regarding the monthly articles in newsletters. By using the site listed above (blogspot.com), it will be possible for us to have a running dialogue, with all feedback on any given article posted in the order that they were received under the relevant topic.
This month’s art articles:
How to write an Artist Statement
Pricing your art
How to write an Artist's Statement
Different perspectives from different sources - review and choose your preferred approach
An artist's statement is a short document written by the artist which provides a window into the artist's world. It offers insight into a single piece or an entire body of work and by describing the artist's creative process, philosophy, vision, and passion. It enlightens and engages while at the same time giving the audience - potential buyers, exhibition curators, critics, fellow artists, or casual browsers - the freedom to draw their own conclusions. An artist's statement reads easily, is informative, and adds to the understanding of the artist.
There is no one right answer to how to write an artist's statement - you need to work out what's right for you and your work and what resources you have to help you.As you review the different articles you'll find some common pointers - and some different perspectives about how to approach the task of writing an artist's statement.
Why you need an Artist's Statement
...for exhibitions, on your website, in promotional material...
Making a Mark: Marketing art - people buy you as well as your art #1
As an artist, how often do you regard yourself as part of the selling experience?Do you regard yourself as personally relevant to whether or not people collect or buy your art - or not?This post is about the notion that people buy YOU as well as your art....today - About the Artist: the background details, sometimes called the CV (if you're in the UK) or resume (if in the USA) - and I haven't got a clue what other people call it!
Making a Mark: Marketing Art - How to write an Artist's Statement
How to write an Artist Statement
Writing an artist statement sometimes can be harder than making the actual work.
When faced with a blank page, the best thing to do is write down words that you would use to describe your work. Do the same for the process(es) you use to make your work- list out the processes you use. The next step is to start to link the words into sentences. After you write the sentences, see if you can put them together into paragraphs. If you have several bodies of work you might do this process for each body of work.
It is best to start with a long version of your artist statement, that way you can edit it down to a manageable size. Be careful not to over use "art speak" terms/language and write for an audience who has never interacted with/seen your work. In other words, keep it simple, clear, and straight forward. It might be best to start with a general paragraph about your work and then get more specific regarding your bodies of work (if you are showing several bodies of work in an exhibition or submitting them for a proposal).
Those reading your statement need to understand it the first time they read it. You should also write in the first person, not in third person (ie I made, My work, etc.) You may also want to review past articles and reviews of your work. This info can help in the writing of your artist statement and might provide some quotes to include in your statement. If you do include quotes, you must footnote the source!!
An artist statement should not be longer than one page in length (unless you are have been asked specifically to write a long one!). Some good artists statements have only been 3 to 4 sentences! Have at least one person proof read your statement. It might be best to have two people read it; one who is familiar with your work and one who is not familiar with your work.
We have managed to extract several artist statements from our executive director to serve as examples. You should also start to read other artist's statements when you go to exhibitions to get more examples (ask for a copy of a person's statement you really liked - remember not to plagiarize).
3 Examples of Artist Statements
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Example #1 explaining all of her bodies of work
Kathleen Bitetti
Artist Statement & Explanation of Bodies of work
Since the early 1990s, my work has involved the creation of conceptually based sociopolitical objects and installations. In 1992 I began stenciling text by hand onto objects. Hand stenciled text/language has now become a very prominent feature in my work and I continue to use the same stencil and medium (graphite) that I used in 1992.
In my work, I deconstruct the American dream, fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and lullabies that are part of our childhood and adult culture. My work also addresses gender roles/gender assignment, the fragility of family dynamics, domestic violence and the underlying threads of violence and danger that underpin American society. Often times these themes are combined into installations that feature mundane domestic objects, painted pure white and are often embellished with stenciled text.
The color white establishes a dream-like surreal quality, suggests notions of purity and safety, and formally unifies the disparate objects in each installation. The texts provide clues to content and interpretation. My "conceptual sculpture weds minimal form with maximal content" (Shawn Hill, "BayWindows" Nov. 14 96 p27).
I usually work on several bodies of work concurrently. I also create site specific temporary installations for indoor sites (I have in the past created temporary outdoor site specific work as well). I often rework a site specific installation into a self contained format that will enable the piece to be shown in a non site specific installation format/ environment. And often times elements from my sculptures, installations, and non site specific work are utilized in my site specific installations. In other words, the various bodies of work inform or cross pollinate each other.
The six specific bodies of work that I am working on concurrently:
"Weary Heads"- a series of ten life size beds. I began the series in late 1994. These beds are beautiful objects, but they are also very dangerous. Both stenciled text/language and pillows with text are prominent elements in the series. These works transform an object, that usually provides comfort, into one that has nightmare qualities.
"Forever Hold Your Peace" In 1992, I began this series of 11 large sculptural components that attempt to reveal the life of a person who is in a battering/ abusive environment. The majority of contemporary art work addressing domestic violence does not show the whole picture of what it is like to live with such violence on a daily basis, nor does it demonstrate the long time line of domestic violence. It is the goal of my work to more fully represent the long nightmare of domestic violence and to show the underlying thread of violence/danger that underlies such relationships.
Lullabies & Fairy Tales are other areas that I am investigating. Several of my works focus on deconstructing these forms of "childhood" entertainment (these themes also make appearances in the other bodies of work).
Pillows Talk- In 1993, I began working with pillows and stenciling text on them. I have created four major pieces that use only pillows (pillows are also an important element in the Weary Heads series).
Site Specific Installation Work- Birds is the most recent example of this work, but Lullaby/Rock A Bye Baby and one version of Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf are also examples.
Works on Paper- My works on paper tend to differ from my 3-D/ installation work. These works are very personal pieces that have been inspired by and made for particular people in my life. Nor are these works minimal in form, color, or content. I often incorporate appropriated images and text into my works on paper and I usually sew these pieces by hand and/or by machine. Like in my 3D/installation works, the text is hand stenciled onto the piece. My works on paper are usually celebratory and often times meant to be humorous.
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Example #2 explaining her work in general and specific pieces- notice the similar introductory paragraph!
Kathleen Bitetti
Artist Statement
Since the early 1990s, my work has involved the creation of conceptually based sociopolitical objects and installations. In my work, I deconstruct the American dream, fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and lullabies that are part of our childhood and adult culture. My work also addresses gender roles/gender assignment, the fragility of family dynamics, domestic violence and the underlying threads of violence and danger that underpin American society. These themes are often combined with the metaphors commonly used by those in battering relationships into installations that feature mundane domestic objects, painted pure white and embellished with stenciled text. The color white establishes a dream-like surreal quality, suggests notions of purity and safety, and formally unifies the disparate objects in each installation. The texts provide clues to content and interpretation. My "conceptual sculpture weds minimal form with maximal content". (Shawn Hill, "BayWindows" Nov. 14 96 p27).
The two works, both Untitled 1991, are examples of my earlier work that addressed the overlooked issues of class in American society. Those who are in the lower classes are usually the ones who are "watched like goldfish" and must depend on others for their very survival. The monopoly game pieces are also very important clues to understanding the various facets of our so called classless society.
The piece entitled, Porter Crib 1997, is from a series of 10 beds entitled, "Weary Heads". I began the series in late 1994. These life size beds are beautiful objects, but they are also very dangerous. These works transform an object, that usually provides comfort, into one that has nightmare qualities and is incapable of providing comfort. Stenciled text/language is a prominent element in my "Weary Heads" bed series. The Porter Crib text is taken from a "Christianized" Celtic/Pagan childhood prayer. The prayer is stenciled on tracing paper, thus making it impossible for any infant to lie in the crib with out falling through on to the floor. Children are also at the mercy of others. Presently, I am working on completing two more of the beds in the series. I hope to show all 10 beds in a gallery setting in the future.
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Example #3 explaining one piece
Kathleen Bitetti
Artist Statement
BirdsThese plaster birds were cast from two ceramic birds my mother had in our family home. Interestingly, the two original ceramic birds are exactly the same in every detail, except that one was painted blue indicating a Blue Jay, while the other was painted red indicating a cardinal. I chose to keep my birds white. These birds, in my mindscape, symbolize safety, good luck and purity. All the birds in the museum have been cast specifically for this show and I have placed them all in their specific sites within the museum.
I first made these white plaster birds to be elements in a 1996 site specific installation entitled, Lullaby/Rock A Bye Baby. The installation examined the duality of the lullaby: it is an extremely violent song that is considered a cherished "lullaby" that one sings to soothe children to sleep.
Ironically, while working on these birds for this show, I found out that many people believe that having any birds in their house, living or in any depiction, is a harbinger/cause of bad luck. Thus these birds, like the majority of my work, have conflicting meanings.
A quick personal thought on this - the shorter the better! Who would have guessed?
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Pricing your art
In order to price your art realistically, you must understand and respect how the art business works and how collectors shop and buy. You must step back and objectively evaluate the significance and quality of your art in relation to all other art. You must also objectively assess your art world accomplishments and determine how they position you in relation to all other artists. These are difficult tasks and not necessarily pleasant, but they're absolutely essential to achieving the goals of making a go of it as an artist and of selling art.
Understanding common mistakes that artists make when setting prices is the first step in this process. Perhaps the most significant error is the tendency to focus too much attention on only that segment of the art world that pertains to you and too little attention on the rest, or even worse, dismissing the rest as irrelevant. If you let this happen, your asking prices may make sense to you and to your inner circle, but make little sense to the overall art community. The more aware you are of the big picture, of what other artists are creating, how it's being priced and marketed, and who's buying what for how much and why, the better prepared you are to price your art sensibly.
Many artists make the mistake of equating dollar values with psychological factors like how emotionally attached they are to their art or how much angst they experience during the creative process. They place special meanings and, therefore, special asking prices on certain pieces of their work that may make sense to them inwardly, but have little or no relation to the selling prices of the rest of their art or to art prices in general. Dealers and collectors see these prices as inconsistent or excessively high.
Avoid this pitfall by keeping any art off the market that you feel exceptionally close to or involved with. Keep it in your own personal collection. Any insights, enlightenments, sufferings, or inner pain you experience while creating art are your own business. Don't bill collectors for it. People in all professions have intense emotional experiences just like you, but you rarely see the prices of milk, plumbing, clothes, or other goods or services fluctuate wildly as a result.
The opposite of placing excessively high prices on works of art with high levels of personal meaning or emotional attachment is placing excessively low prices on works of art that lack those qualities. Experienced collectors who bargain hunt for art love when artists under-price art based on feelings rather than on more objective factors such as those that will be discussed below. Consistency in pricing is a cornerstone of successful selling.
Artists sometimes confuse subjective opinion with objective judgment when comparing the quality of their art to that of other artists. At the same time, they may also ignore outside factors that influence those artists' prices like who they show with, what their reputations are, how long they've been active, or how collectible they are. Once again, unrealistically high asking prices are often the result.
If you think your art is as good as that of Picasso or Matisse, for example, do you price it into the millions of dollars? Of course not. Your art may indeed by as good as that of a well-known or even famous artist who sells for lots of money, but many other factors must also compare favorably before your selling prices can approach those of that artist. Your personal opinion about how good your art is has little to do with that artist's prices or why collectors pay them. If it did, any artist could sell any work of art for any price at any time.
And don't make the mistake of thinking that your art is so unique that nothing else compares to it. All art is unique. Every artist is unique. Uniqueness, however, has never been and never will be the sole criterion for setting prices at any particular level.
Collectors rarely see themselves as having only one choice when selecting art, no matter how "unique" that art happens to be. Not only are they cost-conscious, but they almost always compare work from artist to artist and gallery to gallery before they buy. The more comparing they do, the better they get at collecting, assessing quality, determining fairness in selling prices, and getting the best bangs for their bucks. This is what good collecting is all about and what you're up against when it comes to pricing your art.
So how do you price sensibly and realistically? At the most fundamental level, you must be able to make a fact-based case for what your art is worth. You certainly know how to explain what it means from a personal standpoint, but if a collector asks, can you explain it equally well from a financial standpoint? Convincing people that your art is worth what it's priced and is therefore OK to own is an essential part of completing sales. This is especially true when buyers are on the fence, not familiar with your work, or just starting out as collectors.
In the world of selling, all reputable and established art galleries are fully prepared to explain their asking prices to anyone who asks. This is how the business end works. Dealers know that collectors are concerned about how they spend their money and, as a result, they have plenty of ammunition on hand when the focus of a presentation turns from art to dollars.
The best way to justify your asking prices is to do exactly what the galleries do. Present documentation that you've been selling art consistently for dollar amounts comparable to what you're now charging. The more records you have of recent sales through dealers, galleries and agents or directly to collectors from your studio, the better. These records, of course, should be relevant to the situation at hand. In other words, if you've sold three paintings to your rich uncle for $3000 a piece, but have never sold to a collector for more than $500, quote prices in the hundreds to collectors, not the thousands. You might also think about giving your uncle a price break while you're at it.
When you don't have a record of consistent sales in a particular price range or sales have been erratic and you're not sure how much to charge, setting your prices the way that real estate agents do is one of your better options. They base home prices on "comparables" or what similar houses in the same neighborhoods sell for. In your case, this means basing prices on how much other artists charge who live in your geographical area, work in similar mediums, sell through similar venues, create similar art, and whose accomplishments, experience, and quality of work are comparable to your own.
If you're just starting out and have not sold very much, pricing your work based on time, labor, and cost of materials is often the best way to go. (My thoughts...this is one of the biggest and most commonly made mistakes artists make starting out/early in their artistic careers. On average, an artist would have to be quite accomplished to be asking a price whereby the hourly rate would equate to a fair market salary. There are exceptions to this, but they would be low as a percentage. I did send Alyson a lengthy reply to this article, which was very well received, but unfortunately do not have a copy of it to include here.) Set yourself a sensible hourly wage, add the cost of materials, and make that your asking price. If materials cost $50 and you take 20 hours to make the art at $15 per hour, then you price it at $350. Don't forget the comparables, though. You still want your final asking prices to be in line with what other artists with similar credentials to yours are charging for their work.
Whenever you set prices by comparison, compare to what sells, not to what doesn't. Supposing your "comparable" artist has a show with prices ranging from $2000-$25,000. Suppose it closes with only pieces in the $2000-4000 range selling. This result tells you that collectors balk at paying anything more than $4000 and can be interpreted as their verdict on the artist's high-end prices. You, consequently, would be advised to price your art from $2000-4000 and forget going much higher.
A similar situation can occur if you compare your prices to those of artists who primarily sell limited edition prints of their work. They price their art to sell their prints, not their originals. The more expensive the originals, the more they tend to elevate the collectibility of the prints in the eyes of collectors and stimulate sales.
Dealers use the expensive cost of the originals not to sell them, but rather to justify the print prices being as high as they are while at the same time, portraying those prices as bargains. "The original costs $100,000, but you can have the signed limited edition for only $600." It's just basic marketing, folks. Selling prints is what this tactic is all about and not selling originals. The prints, meanwhile, have nothing to do with the originals other than being photographic reproductions in one form or another and the idea of equating the two is absurd-- but don't get me started on that one.
No matter how you set your prices, be competitive. As distasteful and capitalistic as this may sound, you're in competition with other artists. Every time a collector buys a piece of art from you, that's one less piece that they're going to buy from someone else. Naturally, you want to maximize the number of pieces that collectors buy from you.
The best way to stay in the hunt is to make sure that you're always charging the same or even a little less than what you determine to be the "going rate" in any given selling circumstance. For example, if you're in a group show or exhibition, enter a piece that's priced competitively with those of the other artists. You don't want to have the most expensive piece in the show; you don't want the first impression that collectors have of your work to be sticker shock. You want it to stand out for art reasons, not money reasons.
Another issue that artists often wrestle with is when to raise prices. The best time is when you're experiencing a consistent degree of success and have established a proven track record of sales that's lasted for at least six months to a year and preferably longer. You should also be selling at least half of everything that you produce within a six month time period. As long as sales continue to be good and demand remains high, price increases of 10-25% per year are in order. As with any other price-setting circumstances, be able to justify all increases with facts. Never raise prices based on whimsy, personal feelings, or because you feel that they've remained the same for long enough. My thoughts… lower-priced pieces of artwork can withstand to be increased in price far greater, as a percentage, than more expensive pieces. A 25% increase on something selling well at $100-$200 (for example) is fine, but to raise prices 25% on works selling for over $2,000 (no matter how well they are selling) is risky. One of the most famous unwritten rules in art is that ‘prices can always be raised, but should never be lowered‘. This is very important when becoming established and dealing with professional galleries. If painting for fun and showing infrequently in isolated shows, it is not critical.
Remember that today's collectors are more sophisticated than ever. The idea of falling in love with one piece of art and having to have it at any cost fell by the wayside years ago. Collectors now research and compare before they buy. The only ones who don't are new to the game. Just in case you get lucky and find one who's a little naive, by the way, resist the temptation to take advantage and overcharge. You risk the possibility of turning them off to continued collecting. We all know that we need all the art collectors we can get.
Lastly, have something for everyone. Offer art in all price ranges. People who like your work, but can't afford the big stuff should at least have the opportunity to come away with something. These are your biggest fans, your collector base, the people who will stand by you throughout your career. Do whatever you can to provide them with art. That's the best way to maximize your exposure, create good will, get yourself out there, jump start your sales, and become known and respected in the arts community.
If you have any comments or questions about this that you would like to share, please send it to me for our next Newsletter. I’m biting my lip on tackling pricing right now as it can become a very complicated issue for a variety of factors.
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I hope you have enjoyed these.
David
