When we open a show we are dying to know what the critics, gallery directors and museum curators are thinking about the work.  We are waiting for the review in our local paper to see if more people will be drawn to the exhibit or it we need to head back to the drawing board, at least according to them.  Obviously if you're trying to make a living as a working artist then these are the considerations you need to take into account, but are you getting the information from the right people?

As with any First Friday I was out and about seeking the big, the bold, the beautiful, the avant garde, the new big splash.  I love the opportunity for an artist to stand in the spotlight and shine.  It's a great opportunity to people watch, but more importantly to gather information.  Do I have your attention now?

I said, gather information...that's right, you can gain lots of information or in the business world we call it market research by going to art openings.  I decided to change how I do things last week and instead of going in and making my own notes on the exhibit at Weilworks, (one of my favorite galleries and one of my favorite artists, Tracy Weil), I decided to throw caution to the wind and create a more passive experience.  Let me tell you, this passive experience yielded an enormous amount of information.

I decided to follow people around the exhibit.  I didn't know who these people were and they didn't know me.  Anonymity works best when it looks like you're stalking people.  As I followed groups of people around the gallery I took in their comments.  I listened to what attracted them to the work.  I heard things that would draw these potential collectors to buy the work.  Another important factor, you can't do this for you own show, but you could have someone else do this for you. 

One of the things I learned at Tracy Weil's show was in reference to some of his smaller pieces he's created.  The pieces are about 14 inches square but with the same vitality as his larger pieces.  The conversation I was following was enamored with the smaller pieces because they seemed to draw the viewer in, made sense to me and it was something I hadn't responded to previously, but realized I had been drawn in by the smaller pieces.  It created a level of intimacy with the art that one might not have with a larger piece.

It's incredible what we can learn by simply listening.  It's a lost art because we feel we have to get our point of view out to the world.  Sometimes the more passive experience screams louder than any words uttered.

Basking in the silence of new thought...
Greg

helping artists create successful and sustainable art businesses