Tag Archives: artists

This Past Weekend

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Kathryn B. of Live Unchained strikes a pose in front of Shantell Martin’s artwork.

This past Saturday, I had a chance to catch up with my fellow Live Unchained colleagues and meet the enormously talented artist Shantell Martin. Kathryn, our chief editor, interviewed Shantell about her work and her current exhibition at Black & White Project Space in Williamsburg.

I was in charge of shooting the video of the interview and got a chance to enjoy Shantell’s perspective’s on art, life and soul. It felt so good to do something different on a Saturday morning.

As soon as the interview is uploaded on the Live Unchained site, I’ll be sure to share!

Working Day and Night

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©Jaimee Todd

 

I wish I could say it was because of an art-related project, but instead I am doing the day job grind. I’ve read articles that say that you should downplay the fact that you have a day job if you’re an artist but I think that’s such crap. Having a day job to keep a roof over your head and food on our table doesn’t diminish who you are artistically. There are times when it doesn’t allow you to create as often as you like but it doesn’t, in my opinion, make you less of an artist.

Anyway, I will be back to post more soon and share more creative projects. In the meantime, I thought I’d share a pic that I took to cheer me up. I bought some dahlias to brighten up my work space/studio (at least I get to work remotely for one of my day job contract gigs) and thought I’d have a little fun with it.

Until next time!

Want to Know What It’s Like to Live Unchained?

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In addition to being a featured artist, I’m also proud to say that I’m also the Legal Advisor to the fantastic artist collective Live Unchained. If you haven’t check it out yet, now is definitely the time to do so and learn more about the fantastic female artists of the African Diaspora and what it means to Live Unchained!

The Low-Down Artist Commission

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I recently started my newest photography project for one of my biggest patrons, Elle. I really enjoy taking on her projects because it allows me to explore new creatives avenues via my photography style. Sometimes, however, taking on commissions can be a bit harrowing. A lot of my fellow artist friends usually balk at taking them on and after talking to them and drawing from my own experiences, a few ideas as to why this happens come to mind:

The Burger King Approach:

Remember those Burger King commercials from back in the day where they had that famous slogan “Your way, right away?” Great motto to have in mind when ordering that whopper but it really doesn’t apply when commissioning an artist. Some patrons treat art commissions like they’re hamburger orders. They dictate every nuance of the work so much so that want it no longer feels like artist has the creative freedom that is necessary to work. A fellow photographer friend of mine told me that he hated taking on photography commissions because his patrons frequently constrained the creative freedom that he needs to do his work. I think that unless you’ve both agreed that it’s going to be a creative collaboration, you have to stand back and let the artist work. Having faith in an artist’s abilities can really pay off, which leads me to my next point….

Not Respecting an Artist’s Style

When I tell people that I’m an artist and they seem interested in my work, I immediately hand over my business card to give them an idea of the kind of work I do.  Sometimes this doesn’t work because people’s ears seem to kind of glaze over when they hear “artist” and they expect you to create what they want in a style totally unlike your own. For example, someone who visited my site came up to me the following day complaining that he didn’t really like my abstract paintings and that he was more into landscapes and paintings of French countrysides. Rather than respecting the fact that we had different tastes, he went on to insist that I should paint him a French countryside, “Monet-style”. Changing my style just to make him happy with be inauthentic; I don’t do inauthentic and neither should any artist.

Not Really Having a Clue as To What You Want:

I really hate this one. I do. These are for people who want to brag to their friends that they’re commissioning an artist to do a painting for them or something without really knowing what they want. It just sounds cool. It’s also highly annoying because, aside from being the complete opposite of the Burger King Approach, it is also likely to backfire on you and the commissioner when the end product doesn’t meet their standards. I had someone beg me to paint something for them after they glanced at some of my works. I asked her what she wanted and her response was, “Oh, I don’t know, it could be anything. I know I’ll just LOVE whatever it is you’ll do.” Being a clueless 18-year-old, I went ahead to do a watercolor painting that was not at all what this person wanted. How do I know? Because when she saw the piece, she twisted up her face and said something about how she was expecting me to do something else.  When I went over her house a month or so later, I saw the painting shoved in the corner on the floor, tucked away behind some stacks of clothes. What she really wanted was a print of another piece that I had done. It would’ve been better if she had told me that from the get-go before I put in the effort of creating the other piece.

Not Wanting to Pay The Artist What They’re Worth:

I know times are tight and you are not trying to mortgage your house to have a nice piece of art but creating art is work, whether it’s a painting or a photography commission. Artists have to account for cost of materials, time, equipment and plain labor. There’s nothing wrong with a little bit of haggling, but trying to stiff or short-change an artist is not cool. I try to be very upfront with my commission prices and I usually find it  pretty helpful to give a flat price when it comes to paintings and hourly rates for photographers. It does get hairy, though when people start nagging me about how many hours it will take and saying over and over that they don’t want to pay too much or get gouged. Ouch! It’s okay to state that you’re on a budget but walking into an agreement with that kind of presumption that the artist is out to gouge you can set a negative tone for the commission. This is when having a written agreement comes in really handy because both parties are mutually protected. Add to that, I’d also suggest that artists ask for a deposit before starting the work. This has worked very well for me and it  lets the patron know that you mean business. It will also increase the likelihood that you won’t have as much trouble collecting final payment when the work is completed.

Being commissioned to create a piece can be a flattering and exciting experience when there’s mutual respect between the artist and the patron but it can be a real drag when there isn’t. These are just my thoughts about the difficulties with taking on commissions. What are your thoughts?

Artists and The Business of Doing Art

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Last night I went to a talk hosted by WNYC’s Leonard Lopate at the Greene Space that was a discussion about what it’s like to be an artist in New York City. I had been pretty excited to go to the event all week and apparently I wasn’t alone; the event completely sold out.

The vast majority of the audience members were fellow artists who seemed eager to unearth some insight about what it takes to be successful in the Art Capitol of the World. All of the panelists were well known artists that include the likes of Fred Wilson and Jean Shin as well as  curator Sean Kelly from the Whitney Museum of Art. Many of the comments were interesting, some amusing, but a lot of what was said didn’t seem new to me.

My biggest issue with the event was that it was told from a perspective from people who had “made it” in art world; i.e. they had gone to art school and had gone on to have their works featured in major museums, art galleries and were selling or being commissioned by people with deep pockets. What about people like me, who didn’t go to art school and have decided not to wait for validation for galleries and are making fostering their own art career, grass roots style?

Aside from this qualm, I did appreciate a few points that were made about some artist realities. Peter Campus, one of the featured artists observed that the artist world has become too “artist-oriented” in that students feel like they should become stars and making art becomes less important. His point goes back to a fundamental ideal about artists; that they create because they feel they have to, not because it will make them famous but because it’s about self-expression. Nowadays, everyone is caught up in being on the front page of every magazine or being the toast of the town. His point reminds me of an idea I was getting that in a prior post.

Another good point that artist Joan Snyder made was that the astronomical cost of living in New York City made it impossible for artists to devote a significant time to their creations because they were too busy trying to make a living. She argued that artists need that solitary, uninterrupted time to create. While that’s true, I still don’t believe that it diminishes you as an artist. What makes you an artist is not the fact that you do it as a 9-5, it’s the fact that you’re doing it, period. Making a living from your art is a luxury that many of us can’t afford, no matter where we live.

The overall panel was informative but what I really took away with from it was that you don’t need a bunch of curators, collectors and other artists to determine whether or not you’re an artist. You don’t need a gallery show to validate your abilities (and here’s a little tidbit of information that I learned last night: collectors and gallerists usually rely on other collectors and fellow artists recommendations to “discover” potential artists for their shows). You have to make your career and your passion what you want it to be, even if it means hosting your own shows and creating your own opportunities.

So with that said, take my observations with a grain of salt and go create and share!

The Dark Side of Creativity

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For like an unrecovered alcoholic who lives only to drink and who will effortlessly toss all other parts of her life aside to do it, artists who care only for their art, who neglect important relationships, will find themselves at risk for living lives that, while pleasurable in many moments, are ultimately miserable.

This excerpt came from the recent article, The Problem with Creatives  from Psychology Today that someone shared with me. When I posted the link on my fanpage, it immediately got a lot of buzz and retweets in Twitter Land.

Any creative will tell you that the artistic life is a solitary one; an artist can easily pours hours of herself into all-consuming projects that take them away from the rest of the world. While this rush of escapism can be addictive and enjoyable, it can also be lonely. I think this is especially so when you come up for air after a spell of utter absorption and realize that you’ve been out on what’s going on in the rest of the world.

In my own personal experience, I’ve found that whenever I’ve come up for air after a temporary bout of creative obsession, there’s a strange feeling of emptiness when the work is done. It’s kind of like looking around the room, realizing that there’s nothing left to do and then wondering, “Now what? What’s next?” This was especially true when I was doing a lot of painting. I would agonize and constantly think about every detail of the strokes that I laid down, anticipated what would come next, like a general trying to strategize against an enemy in combat, and then finally torment myself over what I should have done differently. It was a beautiful struggle but I would frequently find myself emotionally (and sometimes physically) drained after the process. I think that’s probably why I can go so long between painting because I have to psyche myself up for the next go run.

The refreshing thing about photography is that there’s more room for balance. For me, it’s spontaneous, carefree and joyful. Because the encounter between the photographer and the subject matter is often fleeting, there’s little room (at least for me) to get caught up in the agony and there’s more room to do other things in my life. It’s a wonderful balance that I didn’t feel when I was painting, which is probably why I’ve become so enamored with photography.

I think this is also  why artists can be unbearable, self-absorbed and downright ornery. I’ve witnessed this at many an art show when the featured artist (or artists) felt entitled to act like a complete turd because their need to make “their art” overshadowed the importance of interpersonal relationships and just plain manners. Case in point, I almost got into a shoving match with this obnoxious twit a few weeks ago who felt entitled to elbow me and repeatedly bump into me as he tried to talk about his artistic process to a potential buyer. Clearly, the man was able to see me standing there and could have made room for me, but I suppose he felt that my personal space was secondary to his talking about his art. Other shows that I’ve done with artists have left me wondering why so many of them can be so self-absorbed and disinterested in what other creatives have to contribute.

The other interesting point that article makes can really take a toll on personal relationships. We all remember the stories of famous of artists like Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. They probably were pretty dysfunctional to begin with but their obsession with their art probably didn’t help their tumultuous marriage.   In the engrossing book Black Cool: 1000 Streams of Blackness, contributing writer Rachel Harper describes the dark moods of her father, a poet:

We knew he loved us; we knew his periods of silence and the dark moods that accompanied them were not our fault, but the result of stress, from his students and the politics of academia to the frozen marriage that no amount of sunshine could thaw to the demands of creativity, the result of worshipping at the altar of the muse, whoever or whatever that have been.

I think when you become so identified with being an artist, it can swallow you whole and everything you do or don’t do is defined by what you’re able to produce. If you derive your only sense of self from what you create, interpersonal relationships just aren’t fulfilling enough.While I think this idea is pervasive in any line of work you choose to pursue, there’s something different about deriving a sense of who you are by what you make.

An acquaintance once told me that she admired people who chose to create art while they maintained a full-time job because they seemed to have a better sense of balance in their life, leaving less room for self-absorption and that it takes a special sense of dedication to be able to commit to an art practice while committing to a full time job. I don’t know if I totally agree but it does take the pressure off when you do have another source of income that allows creativity to enter and you don’t have to worry about whether or not it will financially support you. Doing so will allow some lightness and joy to come in while you practice.

But that’s just my opinion. What say you?

 

 

 

Why Are Artist’s Statements So Damn Long-Winded?

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If there’s one thing I really dislike, it’s writing an artist statement. I usually never know where to start and what to say, but at the end of the day,  my statements are straight and to the point. I know how short my attention span is and that of the average person’s, so I try to get straight to the point so you can go enjoy the art.

That is why I really can’t stand reading long-winded artists statements. I don’t get them.

How many times have you gone to an art exhibit and tried to get through a long-winded artist statement that is so verbose and hard to follow that  you can’t get past the third sentence and are already off to just look at the art? Add to that, the descriptions don’t even make sense or don’t even seem to go with the art. At the risk of sounding cranky and haterlicious,  it feels like some artists try to make their work sound deeper than it really is.  Why? Maybe it’s because the artist or the gallery feel like it helps sells the work or that’s what they teach in art school. I don’t know.

Simplicity is everything….and that’s all I have to say.

 

Beware the Bite Off

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1. Bite off: (verb)-Term used to describe someone copying something or someone else.

Example: Aw, I know you aint wearin the same turtle neck I got on right now. Daiyam, quit BITING OFF me, dawg! (source Urbandictionary.com)

Today I got an email newsletter from fellow New York artist, TMNK (The Me that Nobody Knows), about his own experience with the bite-off, or as he alleges, possible copyright infringement. TMNK,  with whom I had the pleasure of doing a group show a few years ago in the East Village, recently wrote about an upcoming documentary called Art as a Weapon which was directed by Jeffery Durkin and features a logo designed by Shepard Fairey that looks eerily similar to TMNK’s. In addition to the logo, the documentary title is also pretty close to his slogan “art is my weapon”, which I remember  being part of his mystique ever since I worked with him nearly five years ago. TMNK also goes on to question whether Fairey also bit off of his style in several of his paintings as well. According to him, he was never contacted by the movie director nor Shepard Fairey regarding his artwork or how he uses his work as a vehicle for youth mentoring and outreach. To read more about this, you can visit TMNK’s blog here.

Several months ago, in an post on the art blog The Abundant Artist, Cory Huff  artist talks about how artists are pretty much left out in the dark when it comes to protecting their copyright. In short, he  cited several examples of artists whose work literally got jacked by big-wig corporations, such as Urban Outfitters, and the lengths they tried to go to defend their copyright. Essentially, the artist gets left out in the cold because they really can’t protect themselves when it comes to copyright due to the high costs of litigation.

Also, as Cory notes, another aggravating factor is that copyright law is pretty inadequate. It’s vague and often ill-defined and subject to interpretation that can be difficult to apply to mediums that are themselves intangible and also subject to interpretation.

Add to that, when it comes to creating visual art, a lot of it is built on “stealing” ideas. Artists often look to other artists for inspiration and frequently build upon and re-interpret an idea, which compels one to ask, where do you draw the line? Copyright law regarding fair use and derivative work tries to answer that question, but as I just stated, that can be a grey, vague area.

So what’s an artist to do?

One option is to do as TMNK and some other artists have done and raise a big stink via social and other electronic media in the hopes that loyal followers will get the word out and shame the offending party into behaving properly.

Another option, as Cory writes, is to find a way around the inadequacies of intellectual property law  so that artists don’t have to worry about constantly protecting their copyright and people don’t have to worry that they’re ripping someone off.

Either way, copyright protection and use is a very important topic that  we artists have to address and work around because sometimes slapping a copyright symbol on all of our works and sending a threatening letter signed “Esquire” aren’t always enough.

What are your thoughts?

Stupid Artist Stereotypes

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A few weeks ago, I found this pretty informative and amusing article about common artist misconceptions. It got me to thinking about other stereotypes that I’ve encountered in the art world.  A lot of them are total myths but there are some out there that are pretty true and have occupied a nagging space in the back of my mind, so I thought I’d finally get them out there in the open:

1. You’re not a real artist if you have a day job.

I’ve touched on this subject a few times but let’s be clear: it’s not easy making a living off of art alone. It’s not impossible but more often than not, you have to have something else going on to put food on the table and pay for rent (especially if you live in New York), a mortgage, etc. Furthermore,  you don’t even have to have a crappy day job you hate just so you can do your art; some people just like to create art  to add another dimension to their life or to express themselves. It’s even arguable that people who do have day jobs have it easier because they aren’t under so much pressure to produce art so that they can support themselves and can experiment and create more freely. Different strokes for different folks.

2. You’re not a real artist unless you dress like a hipster and have a massive attitude problem.

Now, I realize hipster-bashing is practically a sport these days but I do find it interesting that people who fall into that category do have certain group traits that are noticeable and at times, seem pretty irritating. I’ve noticed, at least here in NYC, that these folks seem to go to great lengths to dress in ways that they perceive as unique because they think it looks funky, or it came from the same flea market that all the artsy types shop at, or it’s vintage or something. But what kills me about this is that in their quest to look unique, THEY ALL END UP LOOKING THE SAME. Don’t believe me? Go hang out in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and you’ll see what I mean.

Add to that “look”, you’ll also have the whole attitude problem that ranges from  the dismissive to “I’m really deep because of the way I dress and my zip code”.  I’ll end this point with an amusing little personal story.  A few months ago I went to investigate an art space for a possible solo show out in Long Island City. I went over there straight after work and was decked out in my little office gear. As I sat there waiting for the gallery director, a small group of 20-something hipster looking people walked in to set up their installation. They gave me the once over, where at least one of them looked at me like I was Satan’s shepherd, and then walked off. Later on, when they realized that I was also an artist, they tried to warm their chilly reception with some fake smiles. Too late! Y’all get an F.

3. Artists are flaky/never show up on time for anything/ureliable

Being a Type B+ kind of person, this is a stereotype that I would like to see die but quite frequently come across it a lot. It’s not to say that all artists are hippies who plan their activities around the alignment of the planets, but I have seen quite a few that are just a little too laid-back and passive and let opportunities pass them by, thereby irritating  others by not meeting deadlines or appointments  not showing up when they’re supposed to, and generally being oblivious to common courtesy  and practical skills.  Some of that may be tied to personality but I also think that a lot of art education programs drop the ball on that. As a result, they come out of school clueless or they’re trapped in this whole “I’m an artist. I just want to create” mess. I’ve encountered this issue when I’ve proofread proposals, helped plan  group exhibitions, art charity events or helped  artists go over their contracts.  I have nothing against being a free spirit but if you’re really serious about taking it to the next level, you have to step up your game and get some practical skills in your arsenal.

4. Artists don’t read the fine print in their contracts

Please, for the love of Sweet Minty Jesus, read the fine print.

5. Galleries are perfectly entitled to take huge commissions because they validate you as an artist and are doing you a favor.

The great thing about the art world is that there are a lot of artists out there. The bad thing about the art world is that there are a lot of artists out there. Because there’s such a surplus, galleries can afford to be selective and demanding when it comes to what they’re willing to do for artists and how much of a commission that they’ll take from sales.Since so many  artists are dying to get noticed, they often put up with it. They don’t have to; there are a variety of alternatives, which also include putting your foot down and negotiating for a better deal. Don’t let fear of pissing a gallery director off keep you from standing up for yourself.  You’ll be happier for doing so. (This is also why it’s not such a bad idea to have a day job. See point #1)

I’m sure that over time this list will grow and I repeat, this doesn’t apply to ALL artists, galleries or hipsters. Nevertheless, I still might have to dodge some angry comments and hate mail but I had to get this off my chest.

I feel so much better for doing so.