Reviews
An internet presence - A waste of time?
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 ;-)
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, marketing, myspace, self, website
Replies to This Reviews
-
Permalink Reply by Enrike on -
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.
-
Permalink Reply by Justin Lincoln on -
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?
-
Permalink Reply by ted stanuga on -
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?
-
Permalink Reply by Janet Hassinger on -
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.
-
Permalink Reply by ted stanuga on
-
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.
-
Permalink Reply by Ellen McDermott on -
I have sold one painting in two years online and I was surprised that the person bought it over the internet. I live in Ireland and I shipped it to her in the USA for $500. That is a lot of money to pay if it turns out that you do not like the piece of art you buy so I agree with you. Art over the net it all about publicity and marketing your work.
The biggest internet site for art here in Ireland has just closed down. They held the Artist of the Year award with voting over the internet. Unfortunately it was unsustainable and closed down. Very sad but there was a lack of advertising money being generated and I believe that is why it could not continue.
-
Permalink Reply by Janet Hassinger on
-
I know artists who use e-bay and then the inquirer has a link to the personal website. That may be good if you are painting for the intention of selling .I will check your site as it is so great to see such a variety of artwork on this site
-
Permalink Reply by NIMET on -
I'd like to say that I get similar feelings, spending time on the computer when voice inside keeps saying, "waste of time, go deal with your art!"
I have profiles on artbreak and Saatchi Gallery and this one.. I have never sold anything on the internet (thoug I'm considering) but one way I've benefited from these sites is possibly a little bit "ego-boosting"; the crits on Saatchi Gallery has helped me overcome my shyness and stand out for my artwork.
It is despairing to witness thousands of artists out there craving to get noticed (being one of them!) buıt still creates a feeling you're not alone. Experiences can be shared, new chances might come up with galleries etc.
Good that you set up a we-site for Spain..
I am yielding to "that inner voice" now!
Bye...
PS Will try MySpace, thanks to you..
-
Permalink Reply by Charles Dunbar on -
I use the internet as my gallery. It is always open. I have a website, a blog, a Youtube channel. I have work on this site and MyArtSpace. What it costs me for my blog and website per year is less than the cheapest ad in the Yellow Pages. I have cards in my wallet with these internet addresses, which I can give to anyone who is curious about the work I do, as well as those folks who are not curious.
Can the internet be another Cedar Bar? Can it be like Paris in the decades before World War II? Will teenagers’ anime figure drawings inundate us all on the internet? Sometimes I think the Cedar Bar and Paris were fictions. Maybe, once, four or five artists stood with a foot on the bar rail at a watering hole in Montmartre, the gas lights glaring green on their faces, and talked art, and that one occurrence expanded into a Romantic era. Now it’s “see me, see me” echoing in a zero sum game where the players think another visual artist’s win is their loss. Then, again, maybe it’s just me and my experience.
Another thing is for certain: looking at visual art on a cathode ray tube or a liquid crystal screen does not match the real thing any better than does a photograph on a glossy page. You’ve got to be there. Last week I saw a Jules Olitski mist on one wall and on the adjacent wall a Morris Lewis pour. You had to be there at the Rivas Yares Gallery to know the reality of the art.
-
Permalink Reply by ted stanuga on
-
Nicely stated, I enjoyed the read. You are so right about romance and reality.
-
Permalink Reply by Candice Johnson on -
Charles, I just posted a video on my profile from youtube. It is a google sponsored talk from an artist who showed that it is very possible to sell well from the internet. It is very interesting and please do check it out. I also have been watching an artist called michel keck . She began selling on Ebay maybe 5 years ago and now has a devoted fan base and has (I think) become very successful selling online. Her website certainly is created to buy from.
Yes I think it takes a lot of time but it is happening. You just need to put on a marketers hat from time to time.
Don't give up!
-
Permalink Reply by Janet Hassinger on
-
salathe certainly uses the internet as a part of the creativity. the idea is unique and gained recognition through other blogs - hence the critic or reviewer has more power by exposing the concept further. This seems true on all levels of gallery marketing- a good review in art forum goes a long way. thanks for sharing the video
