Carey - Making It in the Art World: New Approaches to Galleries, Shows, and Raising Money

MAKING IT

ART WORLD

New Approaches to Galleries, Shows,
and Raising Money

Brainard Carey

Copyright 2011 by Brainard Carey

All rights reserved. Copyright under Berne Copyright Convention, Universal Copyright Convention, and Pan American Copyright Convention. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Allworth Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Allworth Press books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Allworth Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or info@skyhorsepublishing.com.

15 14 13 12 11 5 4 3 2 1

Published by Allworth Press,
an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Allworth Press is a registered trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

www.allworth.com

Cover design by Brian Peterson
Cover photo by Richard Bolger

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.
ISBN: 978-1-58115-868-7

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Acknowledgments

T his book grew out of The Art World Demystified, a business designed to help artists that I cofounded with my wife, Delia Carey. I personally coach and advise artists on developing a professional career in the arts, and my wife designs and runs the entire business with me, with the goal of producing an educational resource for artists that continues to change and modify itself to the current art world.

The stories in this book, like getting into the Whitney Biennial, are the personal stories of the artistic success that my wife and I have had as a collaborative art team. There are also stories that come from working with many artists as a coach and seeing what works when trying to develop a career in the arts.

Yale University has been generous with its majestic spaces, which I am grateful for because this entire book was written there.

Yale radio WYBCX hosts my show, The Art World Demystified, and many of the interviews I did for that show have also made their way into this book in the form of research and stories. Thank you to WYBC and the DJs and the G-Board.

I am also grateful to James Wintner, a patron and supporter of the arts; Tad Crawford, the visionary publisher; Lady Luck, who is a very good friend; and Shiva Carey, for his unending sunshine.

My wife, Delia Carey, is the reason I love what I am doing. She is half of everything I am, and without her, I would be a very different person. Rather than write a Valentines card here about it all, I will only say, I love her.

I also want to thank all of the artists who have subscribed to The Art World Demystified paid newsletter, because their ongoing use of the newsletter has enabled it to grow, and the information in this book is also a result of their input and their suggestions for what they need the most through the newsletter.

Introduction

I am writing this book to change the world. Artists are at the forefront of creative tactics that can alter not only how we perceive our lives, but how we live them.

This book is for the professional artist or the artist who wants to learn to be a professional.

If you are an artist, you are a leader. If you are a leader, you must make a stand and tell everyone who you are and why they should listen to you. In this hypercompetitive world, you must be brave, and embrace your genius, or your voice will be silenced by those around you who are not afraid to speak up.

When I grew up in the 70s, my parents were teachers, and like all the other parents I knew, they worked a lot, bought a house, and made a modest living. I was told to go to college, get a degree, and pursue my interests. But since my interests were art, when I graduated, there were no jobs in the arts except for teaching, and I didnt want to teach. Also, I wanted more: I wanted to be an artist and live by my own rules.

The New Economy

Lets look at the economy. In the last century, we have been taught to get a job, go to work, pay the bills, and everything will be all right. The capitalist system needs workers, and schools turned them out. People took jobs they didnt like and dealt with it until they retired. For the majority of the working class, their life was devoid of realizable dreams, of plans, because no one encouraged it. After coming home from a soul-crushing job, there wasnt time to pursue what it is you love or even to explore what it is you might love. What is the answer? Fantastic state-sponsored advertising told us the new answer for many was the lottery. Buy a ticket and you can quit your job, then the dream begins. Unfortunately,the lottery made things worse, because now all your dreams are in one basket, and the chance of them coming true is practically zero. It is no wonder we see a rise in antidepressants;life is laid out to be a mediocre exercise in making money,managing stress, and taking care of your family. Now the economy is even worse, and when you get out of college, even getting a mediocre job is very difficult. The competition is growing all the time. So now people go around grousing about how the rich get richer, and all that serves to do is keep them in their place of mediocrity,of not taking risks, and getting a prescription for antidepressants or worse. Dont play that game; its just what the man wants, and it will keep you down and stop you from doing anything creative.

What this new economy needs is innovators. Dont look for gallery approval, hoping to be taken care of like a pampered pup; those days are long gone. The artists who are really making money, like Damien Hirst, are finding ways to bypass the gallery system. Even graffiti artists like Banksy are finding ways to bring their work to market without a gallery, without a middleman.

Creative Ideas Are Needed

As an artist, you stand on the edge of a new frontier. The world is waiting for your ideas. Companies everywhere are looking for creative ideas, and people all over the globe want to be inspired by something new; they want an example that they can follow and do by themselves. As an artist, it is your job to generate new and creative ideas. Galleries can still be useful, but they are a small part of the game now.

In the middle of one of the worst economies in decades, a website came along called Kickstarter that was launched in April of 2009. The idea was to provide a platform for creative people to show off their ideas and raise money for it. By 2010, Kickstarter was the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world; millions of dollars go through it every month, right into the hands of artists. Where did all that money come from in this terrible economy? From people everywhere who want to see creative ideas and projects like making music, inventions, and artworks be part of this culture.