Oh where to begin when I hear these sort of words uttered at any artshow I’ve ever been a part of or just overheard being said to a fellow artist. But it’s not just comments like that, that can send people who work artshows into a bad mood. See the thing is what is being said behind those innocent words and actions is what counts. Case in point, I present what I hear and see, and what I am 99% sure you mean and are doing:
1) “Hey I was wondering if I could get one photo, or two maybe! I’m a blogger you know, and it can help your art get more visibility after I write up an entry on this show!”
I hear this one a lot, and I mean a LOT anymore. Chances are, I will still tell you no. Why? Because I have never heard of your “blog” (which for all I know could just be a series of facebook posts). AND your efforts to write about me would probably hold more water in my possible decision to allow you to photograph my art if you were to take the time to I don’t know, ASK ME MY NAME, maybe buy a print, you know… show some real interest in what I do aside from just taking my business card and later shoving that into a pile of other prospective blog worthy artists you’ve not written about either.
2) “Can I get a pic? I’m not going to print it out or anything!”
This is one that screams guilt right about the time the last syllable leaves the persons tongue. Of COURSE you’re going to print it out, or at least have the option to because you are carrying around an iphone and anyone with half a brain and a decent knowledge of printing on a lexmark printer will have an acceptable printout of the work they weren’t going to print out for their cubicle at work or just pinned up somewhere for them to appreciate for a few weeks.
Really, the biggest thing is that I don’t know WHO you are. In this world of I can be anyone, only after I’ve seen you at multiple shows, maybe had some people we know in common bridge the gap of strangerland and we get to know each other better… I would hope you WOULD STILL NOT opt to to ask me for a $#@*ing photo of my work. Buy a print. Seriously.
3) People who stand 150 feet away with a foot long telephoto lenses and a camera that could take low level candle shots from earth of a Hanukkah celebration on Mars.
HEY! Yeah you with the 80 megapixel canon super elite, Mr. “I should be photographing gazelles in the serengeti in Africa with Bono”, camera. Stop it! I can see you. You are not fooling anyone by pretending to take “crowd shots” or overview shots of the convention hall. The super OLED screen you preview your last shot with should allow you to zoom in and see that I have a sign that says no photography. If not, scroll over a bit on your preview. Yep, that middle finger and me looking right at you? That’s for you. All in hi res glory for you to enjoy.
4) “Oh my GAWD! These prints/illustrations/buttons/comics/sketches are so AWESOME!!! But I’ve only got twenty three cents on me… and I still have to eat the other 2 days of this convention…”
WHO the $#@& let you out of the house then!? Are you even sure your parents are coming back to get you?! If you can’t manage your money because you had to buy $24 of crap within the first 10 minutes of being at an art show or comic convention, and all you had was $25 to begin with, then you need to get your priorities straight!
You know, I appreciate genuine liking of my work, and I’m lucky enough to have people that are interested in it, that do pay compliments and will occasionally pick up new stuff I’ve created. I live for that. But I am not in the business of cutting deals. I can’t be. I USED to do it all the time. I’d feel bad about it, especially kids that were between the ages of 12 to 17 or so, but after so much free stuff being handed out over time, I started to feel as though I was being taken advantage of. And I was! And it’s not just kids, plenty of people do the “so can we work out a deal, or well, I think I’ve only got $10 on me, I know it’s $35 for that book though…” If it won’t work at Phillips 66, it isn’t going to work for me, since chances are I will BE at that Phillips 66 on the way home and they won’t take sympathy checks for gallons of gas.
5) “Yeah, I’d buy some art and stuff, but I’m an artist too.”
SHUT. UP. That sounds harsh but guess what? Any jackass considers themselves an artist nowadays, and as long as I have to share that job title with the likes of people like Gene Simmon’s hack artist son, I’ll believe it when I see it. Here’s the thing. So you’re an artist. Great. Have YOU put down $300 for a table/booth at this show? Do you make art supplies a priority to your livelihood? Where’s your portfolio? You got a website?
And who the hell cares if you are an artist? You should realize that AS an artist, you would be willing to support others in their endeavors and showings and if not purchase anything, at the very least engage us in decent and thought provoking conversations about our styles, techniques, and I don’t know maybe bring some of your friends along that can’t make art or who are interested in art to the show and we all win.
Here’s the thing. You might consider yourself an artist, but using that as justification to not support or at least engage in the sense of community that other creatives have,… you’re better off just keeping quiet.
6) “I wanted to be a comic artist, but it looks so hard and takes so long… I wouldn’t want to do it.”
Yeah. Stop texting 9 hours of your day away and you might just realize that you could do this too. The fact of the matter is no longer how good you are (that helps in the long run though) but how long can you outlast the others in this field? I don’t care if you want to be a gallery artist, a tattoo artist, or a comic artist. This sort of comment only infuriates me because it seems that the great sense of youth is that if it’s hard, why do it? Being an artist is rarely about instant gratification. It’s about the journey of honing your skill, reinventing how you see the world, imbibing life into your visions, and true pride in one’s craft. Hearing someone didn’t want to do it gets old, we have enough self doubt to deal with.
7) “That painting cost how much?! I can get the same thing at Target!”
If you believe that, then I grieve for the children whose genetics you will brand with. I usually hear this from people with no art background at all. With no clue as to HOW paintings are done, they instead tend to work the angle of empowerment amongst their present company by downplaying a creative effort or technical skill they do not possess.
A lot of these people though also think that what they do is important, and it well might be. But art is ever present, from the logo on your toilet cleaning business, to the design of that thermos you are drinking out of, to the graphics on that app you are messing with on your phone. All had to be paid for, and all contribute to your everyday life not being bland and the same.
So, sure, by all means, go buy that art at Target. Support Chinese imports you blue blooded American, you! And be like the other 4,000 people that bought that same “painting”.
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Mario, the Artisan Rogue