Molly Gordon - Artists, Marketing is your job

'I recently received an email from an artist who thanked me for my work. She went on to say, "I will agree it sounds very tempting but unfortunately its impossible to find the time and money to do a study on how to market oneself. Especially when every moment available is spent doing the work you are best at."

I can relate. I spent eight years trying to make a living selling my artwork. I vowed that I would not fall into the starving artist myth. I applied my business experience to present myself and my work to the world in the best possible light. I succeeded in getting a good deal of national recognition for my work, but I never turned a profit.

As I look back on that time, I see that I was so busy "trying" that I never examined the assumptions underlying my notions of selling art. Here are a few doozies:
1. Work that takes a long time to make should command a higher price in the marketplace. (Command? Who was I kidding?)
2. Unique pieces should command a higher price than production work. (There's that word, command, again.)
3. My work is valuable because... Fill in the blank: I use traditional methods, my pieces wear better and last longer, I use the finest materials, etc. (Bottom line: I should get paid because I am proud of myself and I work hard.)
4. My work is valuable because it comes from my soul. (And that has an economic value to whom?)
5. My work is valuable because I take risks in making it. (Ditto.)
6. I should be compensated for doing what(ever) I love to do. (Right. The artist as fascist.)

It never occurred to me to check out my assumptions because they made so much sense. I didn't even know they were assumptions. Still, by some grace, I eventually had the thought, "Where is it written that because I choose to invest a lot of time, energy, and resources in art-making, I should be paid and paid handsomely?"

Yes. I know. Art is important. It has the potential to challenge, reveal, reconfigure our ways of seeing and making meaning. Art can seed war and peace, aspiration and despair, exaltation and profound doubt. I don't know that there is a higher function in society. To perform this function, art must be encountered in public or in private. A work of art is not complete until it is experienced by another human being, and getting art in front of other human beings often entails buying and selling.

The fundamental values and assumptions of the marketplace are not impressed with art's sacred functionality. Once submitted to the competing forces of supply and demand, art must make an economic case for itself. In this arena, the soul of a work or the vision of an artist are subjected to a quite soulless analysis. What's in it for a buyer? Is the valuation appropriate? How do we know? What can a buyer expect from owning the piece, and is the value likely to increase or decrease over time? We can moan about the unfairness of this until hell freezes over, but for now, that's the way it is.

Given this, it would appear that the job description of an artist is not only to make art. They have the additional responsibility of making their work visible, accessible, and attractive to appropriate audiences in the marketplace. Therefore, promotion is not a departure from artists' real work, but an essential part of it.

Life is not fair. (That's right. You read it here first.) Promoting art (or anything else) can be hard, and the money that we're told will follow doing what we love is not guaranteed to arrive in our lifetimes. Earning a living doing what you love is not a birthright. Artists make art; they may or may not make money. An important corollary is that income from art sales is an inherently crummy measure of artistic success. The yardstick for economic success calibrates an entirely different set of values than that for artistic excellence.

Artists face some very real challenges when it comes to promoting their work. Instead of approaching these challenges as a victim, face them as an advocate for the work that you hold sacred. Observe the difficulties dispassionately. Learn from every experience of confusion, discouragement, or rejection. Take on the mantle of an advocate, not only for art, but for the millions who (knowingly or not) long to encounter it. Attend to your heart and listen for the purpose behind your art-making. Listen carefully for the difference between the impulse to create and the compulsion to gratify your ego. While I have nothing against a gratified ego (perhaps you've noticed that I like to keep mine happy), I prefer not to let its insatiable appetites run my life.

Last, but not least, consider disentangling making art from making a living. Let go of the notion that artistic success requires that you earn your living from your art. There are many ways to share your creativity and skill outside of selling your art. Getting a "day job" may enrich your art by releasing it from the web of commerce. "

Pearls of wisdom from Molly's Newsletter.
U.S. Library of Congress ISSN: 1530-311XUnless otherwise attributed, all material is written and edited by Molly Gordon, MCC. Copyright (c) Shaboom Inc.(r) 2005. All rights reserved. Visit our extensive archives at www.mollygordon.com .