Free societies are societies in which the right of dissent is protected. In contrast, fear societies are societies in which dissent is banned. Natan Sharansky Today, our meeting started by discussion of the state of the union and the our presidents behaviors in his first week of office. We all agreed that our efforts and donations should go to those organizations supporting dissent and freedom in America whether it be the ACLU or the ADL or NPR. Dissent is all our responsibilities as Americans, We discussed the picture above in the context not of political dissent but rather the importance of using our cameras and iPhones to capture the history being mad around us in real time. This is in the same category of the Aleppo child and the napalm Vietnam girl of several decades ago. We should document more as the term of the president proceeds. Kevin showed a series of picture he shot in B&W digitally...yes, you heard it here...Kevin shot digitally. We all know that Kevin is an analog guy. Thank you Kevin for moving to the digital age for us...at least today. Also, Kevin attended Photo LA and won a lottery for a Weston print...printed by Kim Weston. Congrats on that stroke of luck Kevin. Charley showed a series of video clips and stills from his recent walking trip into the Arroyo. Above is a self portrait of Charley taken with his iPhone.
Rene and others talked about their visual experience at Photo LA. Bill discussed his experience at Photo LA and showed several sets of abstracts that were featured at the Artist Corner booth. The sets were pictures taken in Prague (2016) and Atwater CA. An example of each set is below
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Brief blog post today....post meeting field trip to Photo LA 2017 At f8 Pasadena we saw several sets of pictures that were taken over the last few weeks. Mark and Howard showed pictures taken on our previous field trip to the Huntington Library to see the Weston - Whitman exhibition The other geophysical event that captured our visual eye was the "super moon"...below is a single shot of that super moon over city hall Next blog post we'll review photography at Photo LA 2017
I wanted to be a star, not a gallery mascot. Jean-Michel Basquiat For our first meeting of 2017, Bill reviewed a talk given by Dan Miller (Duncan Miller Gallery) at the Annenberg Center several months ago. Dan has given this talk many times including Photo LA last year.
Needless to say, it's difficult to get represented by any gallery in this art environment...esp in photography galleries. But for those of us obcessed with a gallery show as one sucess factor in our artistic career, Dan's information is useful. Below is an outline summary (abeit brief) of his comments On-Line Exposure Instagram…Likes don’t mean sales Facebook… Create a Facebook “fan page” Update frequently link to website no prices have a feedback section “Bruised Fruit” excessive on-line exposure previously priced on-line or off once “burned”…needs to be retired for several years Develop your Resume Include… exhibitions…group or solo collections publications charity gifts don’t include… your previous life your commercial life Website small and professional organized no prices resume pictures 72 dpi news or blog section update regularly Network artists/photographers galleries group shows Donate to Museums to Charities note on your resume whether it sells or not Make Books / Catalogs / Visuals tell stories Develop your narrative Use media…media needs stories Write for media if you can Presentation is Everything prints should have borders signature on front or back good matting is important nice portfolio case right number of prints Pricing your price can go up but not down…don’t discount galleries and collectors Google everything pricing consistency critical no pricing on website or social media if price too low…no gallery or you can make a profit Editions editions are forever work with gallery size(s)…big vs normal sizes pricing open vs limited number Portfolio Reviews understand who is doing the review what does it cost bring series you think are ready for exhibit ask whether it is…be brave accept the comments but… Why should a gallery care about your work? good work is not enough salability is relevancy is important as is the narrative collectors want uniqueness and provenance collectors use the internet Presenting to Galleries develop a gallery hit list go to their openings and talks never give a card to an owner…it goes in trash but you can introduce yourself never present your work on iPad or iPhone or computer never send CDs or DVDs never send unsolicited emails with big attachments use postcards don’t send books unless they ask for it never bring in work without being asked never approach gallery at art fairs have a good presentation case and a small number of prints matting maybe or just prints help your gallery succeed Following the presentation a number of people shared their experiences in trying to get their work in galleries. |
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