Read on Twitter
Collectors do, of course, have a say about a great deal in the art world.
Indeed, from a distance, their influence can appear overwhelming... leading to the reluctance/resistance many artists feel.
@Ioannis_AG @pablorfraile @colbornbell @xray9876543210
/1 https://twitter.com/Ioannis_AG/status/1338224918270533635
Indeed, from a distance, their influence can appear overwhelming... leading to the reluctance/resistance many artists feel.
@Ioannis_AG @pablorfraile @colbornbell @xray9876543210
/1 https://twitter.com/Ioannis_AG/status/1338224918270533635
Yet I do not share the degree of their concern, because I see the bulk of the power being fundamentally inalienable from artists, no matter what.
Collectors vote with their wallet, as should we all, and beyond that the influence they exert is a kindness...
/2
Collectors vote with their wallet, as should we all, and beyond that the influence they exert is a kindness...
/2
... giving artists, who might otherwise be blind to the nature of the demand in their marketplace, insights into what their potential collectors seek.
BUT none of us are beholden to treat expressed or implied preferences as commissions!
We're free to resist, or even ignore!
/3
BUT none of us are beholden to treat expressed or implied preferences as commissions!
We're free to resist, or even ignore!
/3
Yes, there are consequences to ignoring the expressed preferences of collectors within reach, as indeed there are consequences to all things in life.
Yet ignoring trends is perhaps less problematic for an artist than it would be in most other professions...
/4
Yet ignoring trends is perhaps less problematic for an artist than it would be in most other professions...
/4
... because, of course, for some artists, ignoring the prevailing trends and norms is literally the key to their eventual acknowledgment, success, and celebration!
So I would suggest there is something else at the root of anti-collector antipathy and negative success-envy...
/5
So I would suggest there is something else at the root of anti-collector antipathy and negative success-envy...
/5
It is, in my opinion, *fear*.
For some, just the fear of never "making it (big)".
For others, the existential crisis of delayed success can quite literally be at once a crisis of survival, especially in this mercilessly trying year.
/6
For some, just the fear of never "making it (big)".
For others, the existential crisis of delayed success can quite literally be at once a crisis of survival, especially in this mercilessly trying year.
/6
If your rent, your meal, or even just something as "non-essential" as holiday gifts for your loved ones depend on making sales... perhaps it's understandable that a "You know what I like? X!" psychologically transmogrifies into something that feels like an inflexible dictate.
/7
/7
To me though, neither the collector nor the artist is at fault.
Strangers as they are, neither is responsible for the other's happiness, well-being, or even survival; except in the broadest sense of humanity being one giant family of brothers and sisters, who *should* care.
/8
Strangers as they are, neither is responsible for the other's happiness, well-being, or even survival; except in the broadest sense of humanity being one giant family of brothers and sisters, who *should* care.
/8
I, like many of you, have had a DIFFICULT year!
At the worst of it, I spent some time rationally fearing running out of food and becoming homeless, endured months upon months of separation from my wife and children, along with many other stresses.
Guess what though!
/9
At the worst of it, I spent some time rationally fearing running out of food and becoming homeless, endured months upon months of separation from my wife and children, along with many other stresses.
Guess what though!
/9
Collectors are the reason I was able to avoid the worst and found ways to ameliorate the harshness of the rest.
And it wasn't from desperately following collectors on Twitter and slavishly compromising my artistic integrity to eke out every new sale.
On the contrary...
/10
And it wasn't from desperately following collectors on Twitter and slavishly compromising my artistic integrity to eke out every new sale.
On the contrary...
/10
I absolutely ignored expressed and implied wishes by collectors more often than not.
Yet whenever I came across a collector who seemed to want something that was within my artistic vision to work towards... I yielded. Just a little.
Not by changing who I am or what I do.
/11
Yet whenever I came across a collector who seemed to want something that was within my artistic vision to work towards... I yielded. Just a little.
Not by changing who I am or what I do.
/11
But by shifting my priorities to empower me to take advantage of the opportunity in front of me, to impress upon the world: I exist, I create, & I am relevant *in the here and now*!
It didn't always pay off. I sometimes flopped.
But every time I succeeded, even a little...
/12
It didn't always pay off. I sometimes flopped.
But every time I succeeded, even a little...
/12
... whether or not it lead to immediate gratification in the form of a sale, it moved me forwards and upwards, and expanded my horizons and my range of options and moves going forward!
/13
/13
So personally I want to thank my collectors, past, present, & future!
Thank you for the insights you gave, the lessons you taught, the support you gave, the purchases you made, & for respecting my independence & integrity as an artist every step of the way, as they all did!
/14
Thank you for the insights you gave, the lessons you taught, the support you gave, the purchases you made, & for respecting my independence & integrity as an artist every step of the way, as they all did!
/14
