An internet presence - A waste of time?

20 August 2008

An internet presence - A waste of time?

Posted by Charles Olsen on 9 December 2007 at 12:12am in Discussions

I'm loosing count of the number of profiles I've set up on the internet in the past year... maybe about 14... Artfind.co.nz, CreativeNZ, Fuel4arts, Dripbook, Virb, Facebook, Artelista, Issuu, WOW, IntrusiveArt, AniOman, Saatchi... That's not including the multiple profiles on Myspace. Is it a good thing I'm doing to promote my paintings? Or is it just one big bout of procrastination when I would be better off unplugging the computer and focussing on the paint, the canvas, the brushes? At least it becomes easier each time as I have images ready-prepared...

I've never sold a painting through the internet (tempting fate there) but occassionally I've met people who knew my work from seeing it online. It is a form of publicity which is out there for anyone to stumble across and you never know when chance will strike. But maybe I'm not using the internet in the best way? Or maybe the digital image is not the best way to show paintings?

Where are all the artists on the internet? I remember asking myself that when I first opened a Myspace page just over a year ago. It seemed it was all about bands and scoring dates and when I came across another artist it was like an exciting discovery. There were other sites which you had to pay for and they were full of artists chasing the dream of selling work but I was pretty skint and didn't want to fork out on a site that could probably live off the income from the artists and not worry too much about promoting me as an individual. So I jumped into the messy community of Myspace head first. I think it is because it is such a jumble of tacky images, glittery text, layout codes to make the techies ill... it's like a poor suburb with seedy backstreets, music blasting from every window, not a safe place to walk alone, you have your cheap flat and there is a great mixture of cultures, immigrants from the world over, you write with someone and she mentions a gallery you want to see and so you arrange to meet at the entrance to the underground station and she turns out to be someone different from the photo, even a different name, but she is involved with art... I think this is why it is attractive to artists. It's not about separating yourself from the rest - of being in a gallery or art magazine or website - but of being in there with everyone else. Everyone has a chance to show who they are and what they do and to share it with people who may never enter a gallery and the audience is potentially huge. It's not surprising that at least four of the finalists in the first Saatchi Showdown are active on Myspace.

An immigrant myself to Madrid, I guess that was in part the motivation to seek out other artists in Spain and I decided to create a webpage to gather artists together: Artistas de España. Luckily Spain has been slower than the UK in taking to Myspace so I was starting with something manageable. And now I have over 100 artists from all over the country and am starting to apply for funding for projects for everyone to get involved in and getting offers of help from the artists involved. Today I received a message from one of the artists, "Un hombre que viene de nueva zelanda se mueve más que cien españoles" (A man from New Zealand gets more done than a hundred Spanish!) I did it for free and have spent many hours on it and sometimes wonder if it is worth it all and that motivates me to make something of it. It's not unique - there are other artists collectives who have formed through myspace and there are individuals who have initiated participatory projects in their page. But there is a sense in which it is something untried, unstable, unchecked...

I like to think that the internet can be used as a creative tool, not just for promoting work but for initiating new work; for stimulating creativity. It's not just about showing what you do. The internet should be a place where you can feel at home, walk about in your underpants, pop down the pub with a friend and discuss the day to day things. We have to get away from marketing, and away from hoping to get noticed, and turn it into a tool for our own creativity.

So I guess well over half the sites I'm on have failed in this respect; in that they are just about having a presence and showing work. They are not about creativity. But we learn as we go along, no? I'd be interested in your reactions and ideas ;-)

Tags: internet, promotion, myspace, marketing, website, self

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Patricia Fernandez Miranda on 18 May 2008 at 10:16am: Esta discusión iniciada por Charles comenzó hace meses, pero sigue siendo actualidad.
Internet es la Torre de Babel, mezcla de idéas, tendencias,orígenes, desengaños,esperanzas y algo más.. Buscar en ella el Edén, es una utopía, pero intentar utilizarla del mejor modo, no deja de ser posible.
Hay sitios donde el desorden llega al desastre y es mejor apartarse de esa riada.Art Review empezó como agua mansa, ojalá no se desborden sus aguas.
Es cierto que participar de esta voragine de sitios web, e-mail, nos lleva a entrar en una espiral que nos ocupa tiempo pero de alguna manera, tienes que publicitar tu trabajo.
¿Quíen mejor que tú para hacerlo?.
Reunirse en un café y declamar poesía, esa también era publicidad.
A muchos nos cuesta la relacion cercana por ubicación geográfica, por personalidad, por tiempo, quizás. Por tanto, creo que tomando su lado práctico, internet para todos puede ser positivo.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Frank Ettenberg on 7 June 2008 at 9:17am: Where is Janet Hassinger's reply to the original article? I see this blog on her artreview site, as if she created it! THis is very misleading.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Charles Olsen on 7 June 2008 at 10:16am: hi frank - see page 6 ;-) + below the reviews on each profile page it says either 'added a reply' or 'wrote this review'.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Janet Hassinger on 8 June 2008 at 8:13pm: I certainly did not create that discussion but follow the comments . Linda olsen's is interesting and true- one needs boots on the ground in NYC. This may be my first comment
a very interesting road to NYC seems to be through residencies such as the one at Glassell at MFAH. Many of the artists end up with major Houston galleries and then NYC galleries. Of course young seems to be an issue for those that are accepted but not a necessity. I recently advised Joe Kelley in england to apply - not certain if he did so. His work looked as if it would intrigue the jury committee.
if that happens for him- his internet presence will have opened a big door.
otherwise - I found you again and that is great. I love looking at your work
Janet; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Enrike on 10 June 2008 at 8:07am: Well I think it is very obvious that Internet is "The Media" now a days. Its diffusion posibilities and the power to network and comunicate people can not be compared to any other mean....it would be a mistake to neglect it. Then a virtual space for artists here is pretty important. Internet, a place where you can find all sorts of corruption, evil , bussines, technology and bloodybla... it needs a soul... we artists are a spiritual driving force... we put balance to all this chaos, we are a source of imagination and creative power, we represent rebelion and tolerance, we accept what it has been disposed by this positivistic society, we are an alternative, we represent inspiration, ilusion and the dreams of mankind, ... only we, artist can do this, and this might just be one of our headquarters in internet.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Justin Lincoln on 15 June 2008 at 2:48am: It might not just be an issue of trying to reach a mass audience.There is also a possibility of reaching a small, but invested group of people that actually get where you're coming from and help you create a discourse.
While in Grad school at CalArts I was played a previously recorded lecture by Douglas Huebler. he suggested that an artist that is truly doing something innovative and ambitious may have a total audience of only a handful of people... for ages. If just 4 people in the "Artworld" know who you are and what you are doing, you are still a part of that "Artworld". This was the story of the Conceptual artists of the 1970s (or at least some of them.) In this respect, perhaps a site like Artreview, Tumblr, Vimeo,or Flickr is an ocean to throw your message in a bottle. How can you predict what will happen?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ted stanuga on 15 June 2008 at 5:04pm: If you were going to invest in a piece of art, would any of you choose this work online off a jpeg image of it? The value of the internet seems to be (after a short two year ingesting) the people you can get to an event that wouldn't ordinarily know that it's happening. It seems sales will always happen in front of the real thing in most cases.. although there is some work that is beyond a visual experience and the net seems to be designed for them.....or is it the reverse?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Frank Ettenberg on 16 June 2008 at 6:11pm: This is a good point Ted. I've been online since 2000 at www.frankettenberg.com & haven't
ever sold art from the site. Once I changed my camera to a better digital model ( in 2004 )
I did get some more pointed feedback which led to sales. But the feedback in the form of writing & telling me that the real interested ones had been studying my doings for some time..was the situation that preceded sales. I figure that a combination of the best resolution
put into your jpg + the chance to pay by paypal or credit card ( ie instant gratification ) should certainly lead to more online selling. I'd like to read any of your comments from artists who have regularly been able to sel online.....; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ted stanuga on 19 June 2008 at 2:19pm: yes Frank you are right about a quality image. Mine are quite bad at the moment and I am just dealing with it now. I do have paypal but the only serious inquiries I have had are from people that have seen the work in person first, then used my page as a follow up.....and they all mention that the pics don't come close to telling the story of the work. My point hinting at designing an art form geared to the ease of web sales is something that I am noticing, that is that art is changing in a major way to make use of this new tool.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Janet Hassinger on 16 June 2008 at 6:22pm: I have had a few offers from online information but the "bids" were too low. However the presence encourages individuals to make an opportunity to view a work in person. In general it allows one to communicate easily with past collectors- that alone is worth it. It has also allowed past collectors with whom I have lost touch to find me.; ▶ Reply to This