Starting Your Career as an Artist

A Guide for Painters, Sculptors, Photographers, and Other Visual Artists

Angie Wojak, Stacy Miller

• Publisher: Allworth
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9781581158533
• eBook ISBN: 9781581158540
• Topic: Desarrollo personal
• Subtopic: Arte general

Starting Your Career as an Artist is a comprehensive manual full of sound advice for artists seeking to advance their professional careers. Veteran art career professionals Angie Wojak and Stacy Miller show aspiring artists how to evaluate their goals, create a plan of action, and use their talents to build a productive life in the art world. Chapters cover topics essential to the emerging artist, such as building community through networking, collaborating, and finding mentors; setting up a studio; health and safety for artists; artist's resumes and CVs; developing marketing plans; finding alternative exhibition venues; and refining career aspirations. In addition, the book includes inspiring and insightful interviews with professional artists and well-known players in the art scene.http://www.facebook.com/StartArtCareer

PART I

Self-Assessment and Developing a Career Plan

Myths about Artists

There are many preconceived notions and myths of what it is to be an artist. These ideas, which have grown into well-established myths, can inspire emerging artists, but they can also create psychological roadblocks that prevent you from taking charge of your career. In the following section, consider which myths apply to you and how these ideas may be stopping you from taking action to improve your creative life. All artists at one time or another in their careers grapple with these myths, and we all have aspects of these legends residing inside us to varying degrees. We are interested in the aspect of the myth that keeps you from moving forward and accomplishing your goals.

In this chapter, we invite you to take some time and explore artists’ myths we’ve identified, each with both positive and negative ramifications. We’ve also included some counterpoints, which may help you to adjust any negative mind-set you may have regarding your life as an artist.

Myth #1: Artists need to suffer to make good art.

This is one of the most common and enduring of all myths about artists: that of the romantic, idealistic, isolated, starving artist on a mission to make great art. The idea is that the artist is pure, concerned only with the creation of his or her art.

The positive side: This myth gives you an ideal to aspire to. It’s who you are at the core and speaks to the transcendent nature of your work. It gives you meaning and guides you on a path to creativity. You feel connected with the great artists in the history of the aesthetic tradition. It gives you reason to live and to work every day in the studio.

The negative side: Adhering to this myth can isolate you. Nothing is ever good enough for you to engage in because it may tarnish your artistic integrity. It can make you feel like any activity other than your work amounts to selling out to the system. Financial concerns are at the bottom of your life goals or list of priorities because money is tainted with a sense of compromise, and it will negatively affect the quality of your work. The system is corrupt, and the art world is a machine that will consume you.

Adjusting your mind-set: Artists need to make money from their work in order to support the creation of more art. The minute you sell a piece of artwork, you are in business for yourself. It is counterproductive to assume that your art will lack authenticity just because you earn income from your work.

Myth #2: Artists are loners.

A common myth is that artists must always work alone. This isolationist myth is rooted in the need for control and can be used to promote the idea that artists can’t be a part of a community because their ideas will be stolen. It also evokes an image of the starving artist, working alone in a cold-water garret (see Myth #1).

The positive side: You get a lot of work done if you adhere to this myth. It allows you to concentrate and maintain complete control of your surroundings and your environment.

The negative side: Isolation and control go hand in hand with a lack of community and social network. Isolation can be alienating, numbing, and may lead you to disengage from the outside world. Taken to the extreme, it is physically and emotionally unhealthy.

Adjusting your mind-set: The legendary personas of famous artists promote this myth: Pollock, the rebel artist, secluded himself to paint (and drink); Paul Gauguin lived on an isolated Tahitian island to get back in touch with nature in order to paint. But if you scratch the surface of these artists (and many more), it’s a much more complicated picture. Yes, they struggled, but they always remained connected to a community for the sake of their art itself: Pollock never stopped promoting his work, and Gauguin was a brand unto himself. The “back to nature artist,” writing letters to his dealer to sell his paintings, is part and parcel of this myth. Innovation rarely comes through isolation, and ideas need community and dialogue in order to be developed and refined.

Myth #3: Artists are victims who need to be rescued.

This myth also relates to the idea that an artist’s talent and work should speak for itself.

The positive side: Artists find this appealing because they can avoid taking responsibility for the myriad problems posed by everyday life and financial necessities.

The negative side: This myth encourages a passive attitude toward your career and does a disservice to emerging artists, who may not yet have the tools to be self-reliant or the strategies to succeed on their own terms.

Adjusting your mind-set: The fantasy that someone else will rescue you can keep you from developing the basic business skills needed to support your life, art, and can prevent you from building a community necessary to helping you succeed on your own terms. You need to actively stay involved in your work, no matter where or how you choose to show. Take control of your life!

Myth #4: Artists don’t have to deal with business or money in order to succeed.

A common misconception is that artists shouldn’t have to concern themselves with the financial side of art. Some artists think that their art will lose its integrity or that they are somehow inauthentic if they take responsibility for their finances. Real artists don’t make art to put over the couch.

The positive side: You’re focused on your work, temporarily freed from the anxiety of dealing with finances and the future.

The negative side: You don’t have the money to fund your art. You can’t afford studio space or materials. Projects may go undone. In the long run, is this kind of anxiety worth it?

Adjusting your mind-set: Think of money as fueling, funding, and supporting your art. Financial security gives you the energy to do your work and the stability to grow your art practice. Distractions stemming from lack of financial security can be worse than giving up a day in the studio to focus on these concerns.

Myth #5: Artists are discovered.

This myth presumes that talent inevitably leads to discovery, which inevitably results in fame and fortune.

The positive side: The dream or fantasy of recognition, fame, loving fans, money, status, and your work in important collections motivates and encourages you. It keeps you in a state of exhilarated anticipation.

The negative side: Unfortunately, talent does not guarantee fame and recognition. Furthermore, fame presents as many problems as it may solve: the pressure to produce a large body of work for a gallery, overexposure, lack of privacy, unrealistic timelines for publicity, everyone wanting a piece of action, time spent chasing the markets or new trends, unrealistic expectations of money management, and showing work too soon. It’s a high-energy environment and it can lead to burnout.

Adjusting your mind-set: Fame is a complicated concept to manage. Just because you are known or have some aspects of market success doesn’t mean you’ll make lots of money. The reality is that few artists become famous enough to support themselves by their work alone. The untold story is that even artists who seem relatively successful are often not just making money from their art. They still have their day jobs! It takes time to mature and build a coherent body of work, to create a unique vision and then get the recognition it deserves.

Myth #6: Teaching is an easy way to support my art.

Many artists assume that when they get out of school, they will teach. It is assumed that teaching is not that difficult, that there are summers off, and that it’s easy to get a job. Artists assume that an MFA automatically leads to a tenure-track position and that there will be plenty of time to be in the studio. It’s considered a soft job that pays the bills.

The positive side: Teaching can be highly rewarding, often involving working in a community of like-minded people who are interested in the same things you are. You do make a living wage if you work full-time, and you have the security of benefits. Your teaching can feed your art and vice versa. There is a certain order and structure to the academic environment, to which many people respond positively. Schools also provide a built-in community for support and networking, as well as access to equipment, materials, and sometimes space.

The negative side: It is difficult to do your own studio work because you have chosen to have two careers, not one. In higher education, you must keep up a vigorous showing schedule as well as teach. These jobs are competitive, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to get tenure-track positions. Often, artists become adjunct or part-time faculty, with no health insurance or benefits and no guarantee of courses to teach.

Adjusting your mind-set: Teaching can be a great career choice if you have the right personality and skill set. Extra management abilities, people skills, and a love for your material will go a long way in maintaining the balance you need for this profession. Ultimately, you are helping people learn, you yourself are learning, and you can make an impact on someone’s life. If you want to teach, weigh the options carefully and make an informed decision.

Myth #7: Artists shouldn’t ask for what they want.

This fear of failure and success is a pervasive mind-set that many artists carry with them, consciously or subconsciously: “I’ll never make it, so why bother trying at all?” Fear of failure and its associated insecurities can make any artists feel that they will never be ready to show their work.

The positive side: You stay in your comfort zone and keep to the status quo. You aren’t succeeding, but neither are you failing outright. You don’t have to take risks. You get to maintain a kind of equilibrium.

The negative side: You are going nowhere fast, and you are missing opportunities by never trying. By not being open to commentary, your work may develop at a slower pace. Your confidence can erode with this kind of isolation.

Adjusting your mind-set: Without failure, there is no success. Failure gives you valuable information about what you need to do differently next time in order to succeed. Focus on the process that allows you to do your work. Be open to taking risks.

Myth #8: Artists can only truly make it in New York or Los Angeles.

Many artists believe they can only succeed if they go to New York or Los Angeles, where they think all the famous artists and important galleries are located.

The positive side: You get to think, “When I go to New York, I’ll really start my art career.” The idea of a concrete destination can motivate you to pursue your artistic goals, driving your career and inspiring your work.

The negative side: This myth narrows your field of vision to one option. You may be passing up wonderful opportunities right where you live in favor of an uncertain future in a competitive environment.

Adjusting your mind-set: While it is true that New York and Los Angeles have a number of important galleries and artists, there are also many centers of artistic activity all around the country and the world. Technology is making it easier for artists to connect and develop new and innovative ways to show their work. Don’t be tied to one place in order to create a successful creative working life.

By discussing these myths, we want to help you become more self-aware, to encourage you to believe that you determine your own fate and can take charge of your career now. We encourage you to replace these myths with positive concepts. You are in charge of your own destiny. You can make money to support your art and still be sincere and authentic. You can create a community to support your art practice.

We can think of no greater inspiration for emerging artists than the Guerrilla Girls, who have generously allowed us to share their words of inspiration for young artists. From their extensive experience speaking out for artists, the Guerrilla Girls have been able to combat stereotypes and myths that artists face daily. The following is an excerpt from their 2010 commencement speech, given at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

“The Guerrilla Girls’ Guide to Behaving Badly
(Which You Have to Do Most of the Time
in the World as We Know It).”

Be a loser. The world of art and design doesn’t have to be an Olympics, where a few win and everyone else is forgotten. Even though the art market and celebrity culture is set up to support the idea of hypercompetition and to make everyone but the stars feel like failures, there’s also a world out there of artistic cooperation and collaboration that’s not about raging egos. That’s the one we joined, and the one you can join, too. Get beyond the outdated assumption that only a handful of you will “make it.” Don’t all waste your time running after the same few carrots.

Be impatient. Don’t wait for a stamp of approval from the system. Don’t wait around to be asked to dance. Claim your place. Put on your own shows, create your own companies, and develop your own projects. To steal a phrase from the Dalai Lama, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” In other words, be the art world you want to take part in.

Be crazy. Political art that just points to something and says “This is bad” is like preaching to the choir. Try to change people’s minds about issues. Do it in an outra...

Table of contents

• Cover
• More Praise
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Acknowledgment
• Contents
• Part I: Self-Asessment and Developing a Career Plan
• Part II: Exhibition Oportunities and Community Building
• Part III: Setting Up and Maintaining a Studio Practice
• Part IV: Career Planning and Job Search
• Part V: Your Artistic Practice
• Part VI: Refining Your Goals: Balancing Life and Work
• Index
• About the Authors
• Books from Allworthpress