Art, business and exposure...

I became annoyed by a post on Tumblr this morning in which a young artist told her story of not having her work returned after a show at a tech firm. She was told that it was being 'rented' online at "GetUpArt.com", something that she had not agreed to as part of the original exhibition. She went on to say that while a couple of her works were returned, she was given some small sum for 'rentals' and then the money wasn't coming in at all. She didn't mention that she'd had the remaining works returned or not.

Then, I cam across a 'competition' sponsored by Asos.com, an online fashion outlet that caters mostly to 20-somethings, that has a call out for artists to design a t-shirt that and the winner would have their design printed. That was it, no compensation or other reciprocal value to the artists/illustrators was mentioned at all, other than the implied 'exposure' on the Asos brand t-shirt.

Issues such as these exist at every level and in almost every area of the creative arts, what I call the 'Exposure Trap': entering contests and competitions where there is next to no value for the artist. I'm not against ALL art-related competitions, I'm against the desperate mindset that they create in younger and sometimes, not- so-young artists. It's important to question these things and that's what I address in my post. The full text of my Tumblr entry is below:

THAT THING ABOUT BUSNIESSES, ARTISTS AND ‘EXPOSURE…

Not long after reposting and commenting on a post by Jenny Odell regarding her problems in dealing with GetArtUp.com, I see that Asos is calling on “Tumblr’s top artists and illustrators” to  enter their “awesome competition…”.

What do the artists and illustrators get? Well, “Your artwork will be a placement print, in the centre of the tee”. That’s it. No financial compensation of any kind from a company that makes millions in profits every year. 

“But they’ll get all sorts of EXPOSURE because we’re a top online fashion seller…”, they will inevitably say.

I say a company making millions can afford to pay the ‘winner’ of this competition at least a couple of hundred bucks for their time and work. Competitions of this sort are really disrespectful of artists’ talents and foster a mentality of being grateful for receiving next to nothing in return. 

If you’re going to enter contests like this, at least be really discerning about it. 

Take at least a few minutes to research the company/entity or individuals involved. Search to see if there have been any complaints about their contests in the past or to see if they are legit about their claims. 

Questions to think about:

- Is there compensation involved?

- If there isn’t, what else of value are they offering to the artist entrants, i.e., purchase of artwork, share of sales of merchandise featuring your artwork, etc…? 

- Will they post/tweet about the winner and link to the artist’s website (if they have one)?

- How much work and materials will I have to put into making the art for this? Ex: Is it going to take a couple of weeks  or more to work out an image that might get chosen to be on a t-shirt (or other item) that you’re not getting paid for?

Just food for thought…

Kesha Bruce - In The Studio: Art School Confidential: Tim McFarlane.

Kesha Bruce - In The Studio: Art School Confidential: Tim McFarlane.

Artist and blogger Kesha Bruce invited me to participate in a series on her blog called "Art School Confidential". For ASC, Bruce asks participants a series of questions relating to art schools and their roles/responsibilities in preparing art students for the business aspects of being artists.

The Rise of the Super-Rich Hits a Wall

After a 30-Year Run, Rise of the Super-Rich Hits a Wall - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/21/b... Over the last two years, the rich became poorer, and they may not return to their old levels of wealth anytime soon.

"The rich, as a group, are no longer getting richer. Over the last two years, they have become poorer. And many may not return to their old levels of wealth and income anytime soon."

(full article)

Over on Facebook, I posted a link to a story in today's New York Times about how the 'Super Rich' are losing their wealth at a fast pace these days. Case in point, John Mcafee, founder of the antivirus software company, fortune has dropped from a peak of $100 million to $4 million. The story goes on to detail how this situation is affecting other segments of the economy.

The story was ripe for snark, so I added a fictional, one-sided conversation of a father talking to his daughter to the link:

"Honey, hi, this is daddy. How are you? Good, good. Um, listen, your mother and I have discussed it...and i'm afraid that we won't be able to give you that 20-room mansion on a private island that you wanted for your sixteenth birthday.

The good news is that there is still the hotel on the Riviera. You might have to share the building with other guests, but you'll still have ten floors to yourself...I know, I know, but the economy is a little down right now and we have to pinch pennies where we can..."

The link post received a few comments, but artist and fellow art blogger, Joanne Mattera, took it to a whole other level. Her three comments are posted together here:

"Honey, hi. You know that painting we wanted to buy? The impressive large work by that midcareer artist we love? We really can't afford it. I guess we'll have to call the dealer to say we can't get it. No, I'm so embarrassed, I not even going to call the dealer."

"Honey, hi, another thought. That dealer is probably hurting. The artist is probably starving. Let's ask for 50% off and see if we can't negotiate down from there."

"Honey, hi. I have another thought. Why don't we go right to the artist? That's 50% off there. Then we can negotiate for another 50% off and work down from there. We should be able to pick up that painting for pennies on the dollar."

This was fictional, but I can imagine conversations close to it having taken place behind closed doors all over the art-collecting world this last year or more.