Today I want to talk a bit about some of the coursework we’re preparing for Aripa Arte, our new nonprofit created to help Romanian artists compete in an international art market. The idea is for us to raise money to offer Romanian artists grants, residencies, exhibitions, exposure, and educational opportunities. As Americans, we realize that here in the States we have a very different approach to marketing entrepreneurial endeavors, and for some raised in other countries, these methods seem a bit pushy, or extreme. We can accept that criticism, and yet many of the artists I meet abroad say that they long to expose their work to an American audience. I don’t suggest that our way is better, but I do think that approaching the American art market may require some acceptance of the psyche of the American art buyer.
One of the first classes we will attempt is to address how artists define themselves. How does anyone claim to be an artist? On the surface that may seem to be an simple question, but actually it’s quite a loaded concept. I have spoken with many artists from outside the USA who come from environments where people are not considered artists unless and until they have completed extensive training programs, schools, or apprenticeships. Here, and as far as the buying public is concerned, anyone who says they’re an artist, is an artist. Personally, I believe that to be true as well. That is where I come from in my own artistic journey. I am an artist because I make art, and I have had no… zero… training.
Part of me is proud of that pioneering spirit, that entrepreneurial drive and self-determination that allows me to boldly declare that I am an artist. Another part of me realizes that my brazen confidence may make a lot of people angry. While I can appreciate the fact that others, and for many good reasons, find that approach facile and possibly unrealistic, that’s the environment that I work in here in the US art market. Don’t misunderstand me, I value and admire those who have vast training and expertise in art, and that level of commitment and talent is admirable. Unfortunately, here, it is not a necessarily a requirement.
I was chatting with an artist I know from Venezuela, who does have all of the background and training in art. He told me that it is so much easier to make a living from art here in the States expressly because you can shave years off of your art career by simply saying you’re an artist, and getting on with the work. Even though all of his training and experience tell him differently, he must compete in a market with others who are considered his equal as artists. Others who have not done the preparatory work that he has done. Others who have not earned the right to that title.
So as we begin our coursework in how to approach art as a career, it is not too simplistic to ask yourself, “Am I really an artist?” I would encourage you, regardless of your training and pedigree, to answer that question with a resounding, unwavering “Yes, I am an artist!”
The next hurdle for many of us who declare ourselves to be artists is the more frightening question. “Am I good enough?” Let’s address that more complex question in the next blog entry. Stay tuned.
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