ART & WEBSITES

An unusual turn of events led to a joyous and new adventure in my art web sites. For years I had hired various website developers to create websites, keep them updated, and functioning. One the most exasperating experiences I had was through the use of Elance where you hire people you don't know and hope for the best. Well, okay, I was being a cheapskate and almost always took the lowest bid which ended up causing me to do an enormous amount of work because most of the low bidders are just starting out on their new venture and have little experience. Of course, there are proficient and talented website developers on Elance, but you have to pay considerably more than I did to get the results you want without spending hours emailing and Skype chatting, in which case you might as well hire a local professional.

Then, the unusual occurred. A friend of mine who has an incredible website, turned me onto his web developer. This may not not seem like a momentous occasion to celebrate, but what I'm about to relate to you is something I think most artist and possibly others would like to have for their website.

As artist we are constantly and continually updating our web pages because we create new works of art, update our biographies with each new show, and revise the media & collections regularly. Well, with a regular HTML or XHTML website this would always require time spent talking with the website guy or gal and require funds that I would rather spend on other things, like having a great evening out for dinner and a play, or going bungee jumping. I haven't actually gone bungee jumping yet, but with all the money I'm saving now I can add going sky diving to that as well.......if I summon the courage to do so.

Mr. website, my life saving pal told me that he would create a website that I could update myself without having to be a super computer geek who knows all the programming languages like HTML and XML and QRSTUVWXYZ.......Wow!!!! Is this really possible I exclaimed or am I just dreaming? For many of you out there this may seem a bit ridiculous, but for me, the idea of being able to easily update my website with little computer savvy I can make claims too, is really worth a celebration, a big party with fireworks and 100 friends in the Bahamas.

Now, the easy part. He did all the difficult programing for me so that I can do whatever I want on the site. Believe it or not, the item I speak of is well used, but generally not used to create websites with, and as a matter of fact I have blogged on it for years and lots of people use it. It's called.....are you ready? WordPress! You can create a website that looks like a website, not a blog, and control your content, aesthetics, and easily update. As I'm sure you have guessed, there are some limitations since there are templates which regulate your creative juices, but I chose to use the limitations to my advantage and end up with a site I'm thrilled with.

There's probably a lot of people that are already aware of this WordPress web building thing, and yes I am not super computer savvy, so forgive me if I have bored you with the obvious. For those that haven't seen the web light yet I offer you my new experience in websites.

William Rossoto

www.rossotoart.com

Contemplations on Art

Art has simply become too serious of a subject matter! When did the joy and laughter of creating art take a stage right, behind the facade of intellectualism? I mean the ultimate goal of art is the act of the creation itself, to be in union with the subtle energy of all creation, and to share that creation with other people as an expression of humanity. How did it become so over intellectualized, and who thought it was so important to exercise the ego in writing articles on art that most people can't comprehend? Is art supposed to be an elitist activity enjoyed by but a few that might grasp it's full intention? So many questions I have circulating through this over indulgent art centered cortex, many of which I will try to give some semblance of an answer to in this abbreviated text that some may consider to pass for writing.

Recently brought to mind by a friend was the following inquiry. He asked what it is that drives me to do a series of work versus creating single art works based upon immediate impressions of life (that's the simplified version). This put me in a bit of a tailspin for a time, as I hadn't truly contemplated why I did a series, I just know that's what I do. After a few hours of intense and almost painful introspection I came to the conclusion that there seems to be two central thoughts about the creation of art. The first, that there is value in developing a series of work over an extended period of time. The second, creating art on a more immediate experiential level of being is more honest and truthful form of creation negating the ego structures of a long term goal. Naturally, this may sound dualistic and possibly simplistic in the approach to the conceptual aspect of creating art and of the individual artist, but here's my take on it. Oh my, this is simply getting too serious and full of erroneous information!

If you went to art school at a college, the probability is that you create art in a series over an extended period of time devoted to one subject category  because that is what you were taught to do. We were ingrained with the idea that developing a series artwork is about the fullest exploration of whatever subject matter we chose and that  to endeavor over an extended period of time would create depth, truth, and understanding of ourselves that would not have evolved otherwise, of which will be apparent in the artwork. Not only that, but you would hone your skills, your craft would improve, you essentially would be illuminated somewhere along the route of extended "doingness". The equation being something like; endurance + time + exploration in a singular study of one subject matter = depth + true artistry + understanding of yourself and your subject matter, therefore creating great art. The idea being that you get to the core of your own psyche & "subtle energy field" because you chose a singular focal point to play upon the art. Of course this premise is lacking in any actual factual material or studies, but if someone would like to give me a major government grant to study this, I would likely be up for the task.

On to the artist that like to do art work based upon immediate perceptions and sees no value in embracing an ongoing series of work. I would like to remind you that none of what I say matters at all, and I am simply contemplating nonsense. So why are you reading this? Maybe because you have thought about this as well, or your bored and reading this late at night. Either way I couldn't really say much to my friend that posed the original question to me. I think I'm to deeply entrenched in the notion that my essence is developed through long term focus, and that will be apparent to anyone that views my art work. Somehow this last statement reeks of false thinking and shows how imbibed I am with school nonsense. The bottom line here is, it doesn't really matter what the process is that you want to use, be it actualized over a short or long period of time with or without central focus.

Art is art, let those that don't do it be the admirer & critic, & let the rest of us creative sorts be who we are without all the intellectualism and pretense of today's art world! Have I said anything of value here in this late night rambling?

I would love to hear what you think about this topic.

Be Creative, Express Yourself, Give, and Love Life

BEING INTERVIEWED

The art of the interview is as much as of an art as is painting a picture. There are the right strokes, use of adjacent colors, composition, spontaneity, and listening to what the painting wants, or in this case listening to the person interviewing you. Many magazines, radio, and television interviewers ask the same old warn out questions such as, when did you know you were an artist, or how do you come up with these compositions, etc. You know, the usual banter sufficing as an interview. Then there is the rare opportunity to just sit down with the interviewer and have a relaxed conversation that flows like water, of which I had the joyous occasion of doing today.

One of the things we talked about today was the over intellectualizing of most art reviews and or interviews. While knowing a vast amount of comparative art history, compositional expositions, and conceptual rhetoric has it's advantages, art is self explanatory, or at least in my opinion art should inspire the viewer on to some sort of mental, spiritual, and or philosophical examination, introspection, revelation, or joyous experience without the use of words. The ole cliche of, "a picture speaks a thousand words" does hold some truth, and of course if a work has a very difficult allegorical content, it may need to be broken down into the verbal realm.

Today dealt more in the realm of' "I like that", or "wow those colors are great", and so on, not being the least bit conscious about sounding "artistically correct" or stupid. Another topic that came up today was in consideration of how digital technology is affecting visual fine art, and the difference between the tactile sensation of working with your hands to pressing buttons and using only your mind. So, on we went for an hour or so looking at my art, talking, and forgetting that an interview was actually taking shape. Wonderfully refreshing! Many may consider this an odd approach to interviewing, but I think we both got to know a lot more about each other since no canned questions were presented, and I think I gave him something of value to write about. I am no interview expert, and have but a small parcel of interviews to date, but I felt like writing this article to exclaim my joy, one of getting an interview, and two, thoroughly enjoying it.

It will be interesting to see what comes of this interview today, that is when it reaches the digital world of type.

Keep on being creative, embracing all that life has to offer, and give.

www.rossotoart.com     www.artswami.com

Galleries, Art, & You

I'm writing this post in hope that the many talented artist out there are more informed than than I have been in the past, and if you aren't, maybe this article will be worthy of your consideration.

Most artist produce their work so that others can derive pleasure from it in some form , and possibly be mentally and or spiritually stimulated, challenged about some conventional aspect of society, well...........the list goes on. 

In order for an artist to be seen by an audience requires getting out into the public eye. This is where things get interesting because there are so many ways to gain artistic visibility. The most basic being galleries, our websites, art reps, online galleries, magazines, etc. As you gain web presence you will also gain in the number of unsolicited emails from galleries and art events claiming they want to show your art work, have prize money for the best artist that applies, or claims they have a website that will get your work sold. This might seem like an exciting prospect, but generally they are only looking for ways to make money from unwary artist

.

Essentially galleries, online art galleries, and anyone who makes offers of instant artistic success or unrealistic juried prizes is looking for a naive artist that wants so badly to be seen in the public eye that they will pay whatever the asking price is. I have been one of those artist who in my younger days would do anything to be seen and have my ego stroked. no matter the cost.

Recently I received an email from the Amsterdam Whitney Gallery in New York asking me if would like to apply to their gallery for an upcoming group show. I looked them up on the net to see if they had any relevance, and it appeared they do actually have a gallery and they also run a few ads on Saatchi. So I proceeded to give them a call and see what they were about. All sounded innocent enough, they wanted to expand their art roster and might be willing to help promote my art work on their website. What was funny about this whole episode with the Whitney Amsterdam Gallery is that I temporarily lost my reasoning power and ability to use my past experiences as a barometer of the sort of actions not to engage in. Please don't make fun of me now. Yes, I did send them my portfolio, bio, and artist statement knowing full well what was probably going to take shape with these gallery folks. Okay, I plead temporary insanity and that is all I'll say about that! You can probably guess what comes next. Within the period of three day they emailed me back and proclaimed to congratulate me on having been accepted by their gallery and how prestigious and momentous this occasion was, and my, I felt so special and elated for just a brief moment before I read the "terms & conditions" portion of their offer.

Already having an intuitive notion as to what I was getting into, but ignoring it in hopes that one of these darling galleries might actually be forthright and honest..................well, that's asking a bit much. Bottom line, they wanted a minimum of $2100.00 to "represent me" and another 40% on top of that for any art work I sold. I just couldn't believe I fell sucker to a scheme I've seen so many times in the past. I promptly replied with a letter to them saying how pleased I was to be accepted by their gallery, and then I dug in deep telling them exactly what I thought of their scheming gallery ways. Yep, I have once again been a sucker. Why can't these galleries just tell you up front if they want your money for displaying work in their galleries instead of going through the elaborate ritual of baiting the sucker artist. I mean, that would be an honest approach and then it would be pretty easy to access what you may or may not want to do.

Perhaps you have encountered a similar event along your path in art and learned from it. Maybe you have paid someone to have your art seen in a gallery. You may even be paying someone online to have your displayed on a website. I'm not making any judgments about whether or not you may want to pay to get visibility, but I do ask you to take a look at as many ways as possible to sell your work without paying to have it done. I have a friend who says, "if you think you need to pay to get your art seen you're going in the dead wrong direction". I have to agree with him because if someone takes a genuine interest in your art, they are going buy it, or sell it for a commission and the terms and conditions will be up front and honest.

If you have an interesting gallery, art, online, selling, or other interesting art experience please feel free to share it with us here on "LIFE AS AN ARTIST".

ART INTERVIEW

Art Reps & Art

Amazing how much time has elapsed since my last post. A lot of transition, introspection, and new opportunities have taken place in recent months. Essentially reinventing my marketing approach, art work, and having a more flexible attitude about possible art venues has helped to create new prospects for expanding in the art world.

I have been in search of representation for my art work for quite some time, hoping to find a person who is genuinely interested in me as a person, who had a fondness for my art, not just the business side of art representation, and could produce results. I researched the online art reps, and gallery owners I had worked with thinking that this might be the most direct route to meeting my goal. The majority of online art reps left left me wondering what they actually do to market the art they have, and if I would even get noticed, as there was an unusually large number of artist being carried under their art roof. I'm sure that some artist do well with these online reps, but for me it seemed impersonal and a cookie cutter way to present my art. Most of the galleries I had worked with were great on putting together show openings, but follow up, advertising, and having the right audience for my work was yet to be found, so I chose not to look for my art rep through a gallery (at least for the time being).

Fortunately an unusual suspect arrived that is trustworthy, reliable, and has true admiration for me and my artwork. Over the last several years I have been approached by many people who were interested in representing me, but ended up fizzling out after a short period of time. Serious art representation requires fortitude, determination, and savvy. The art rep helped me to put together a full marketing package (pics, bio, cd's, cd covers, letterhead, cards, logo, website, etc.) and knows a lot of people that are the right sort of audience for my art work. Seeing the total presentation package put together and then following that up with meetings, send outs, phone calls, email campaigns, and social marketing has given me a sense of confidence about putting myself out in the world for all to see, not to mention the warm fuzzy feeling I get knowing my rep is working to promote and sell my art.

Audience!!!! I can almost laugh at myself now about never really paying attention to who my audience was and what sort of audience I wanted. I thought if I got a good turn out for my art openings that I must have something great going on, people like my stuff, and I'm attracting a following. Truth is, a lot of people go to art openings to socialize, drink free wine, and eat cheap hors d'oeurves, and occasionally buy some art. What I failed to see is that while having your friends and a ton people to your opening is a great thing, it has very little to do with selling art. I mean doing an art show isn't all about selling art, but I know I like to sell my art and not have it sitting in a storage unit where nobody gets to appreciate it. In order to get the work sold you have to have the right audience.

Currently I am doing a new series of equestrian work centered around Polo. There are only about 5000 Polo players in the U.S., so if I want to sell to Polo players I have to reach them by another means that just hanging art in the gallery. This is where a good art representative comes into play, and can market the art work world wide to a very specific audience. I have to say that I think it's pretty funny that I never focused on many of the fundamental aspects of selling my art. Of course all this talk about selling is not the reason I do art, however it is a way to sustain a life style I enjoy so that I can do more art, having the time to experiment and grow conceptually.

This is simply my abbreviated take on my life in art, and should be taken with a grain of salt as we all have our individual ways of creating art, marketing, and finding our own paths through the myriad of possibilities.