A while back I was introduced to an art rep whom I couldn’t help but tell about an article in the April 2008 issue of “Art Calendar” by Jack White, who in 1976 (don’t laugh) was made the official artist of Texas. The article was entitled “12 Reasons Artists Fail,” and all 12 reasons were very sound. In this article White threw out some interesting statistics that, if only half true, would still boggle one’s mind: “There are 17 million artists in North America today” (I would imagine that covers anyone who can hold onto a paintbrush) “who make less than $1,000 annually on their art and only .02% who earn over $50,000 per year.” The rep’s reaction? “That’s all negativity,” she said, sneering with contempt, “you need to be more positive.”  Now, how does she make her living?

I have a book on my coffee table titled “501 Great Artists – A Comprehensive Guide to the Giants of the Art World.” The book begins in the year 900 with artists Dong Yuan and Fan Kuan then jumps to the year 1155 with Ma Yuan (remember them?) before settling down to Cimabue in 1240. One of the last artists in the book is Jenny Saville, one of my all time favorites.  Thus a thousand years  of art would  require only an average-size auditorium.

Ratios between recognized and non-recognized artists have always been staggering.  For example, in seventeenth century Netherlands there were at least 3000 artists out of a population of two and a half million. Most people would place Vermeer at the top of that heap but such a pecking order almost failed to happen. Vermeer had, in fact, been barely known until 1866 when the French art critic Etienne Thore published several articles about Vermeer’s paintings that grabbed the attention of the Impressionist painters. If not for a Monsieur Thore, Vermeer might be an unrecognized artist today instead of ranked with Rembrandt and Frans Hals. For some reason, such occurrences bring to mind Carrie Fisher’s comment that “celebrity is just obscurity biding its time.”

A few months ago I received e-mail from Jason Horejs, owner of Xanadu Gallery, entitled “The Six Most Common Mistakes Artists Make When Approaching Galleries.” His six suggestions were all very good and I’m quite certain that his new book “Starving to Successful – The Artist’s Guide to Getting into Galleries and Selling More Art” is also chockfull of sound advice.

But I just had to e-mail him my own list of suggestions that emphasized the importance of creating art over marketing it, and asking, “Am I wrong?” No, he agreed with me, except for my suggestion that  “An artist should never rely on art sales to survive.” I later clarified, to his satisfaction, that if an artist doesn’t expect profit, there will be little if any disappointment, and if a profit is made then there’s obviously no disappointment– a Pascal win-win wager if ever I saw one.

Finally I received an e-mail link from Jack Rutberg (Jack Rutberg Gallery) to a You Tube video of a lunch discussion he had with Mat Gleason (Coagula Art Journal) at Barbara’s Restaurant in the Brewery. It was particularly interesting to me because I’ve often met the artist Roland Reiss at that very restaurant for good discussions.

Jack and Mat are not slow in giving their candid take on any art subject and if the Emperor forgot his clothing these are the guys that let him know about it: to me that’s refreshing, so I jotted down a few of their statements to share:

• (Mat) People learn that there is a practical (side) to this art world and that (but) if one simply adheres to that protocol produces (for an artist) an assurance of anonymity.
• There are many lessons people will try to give you and tell you how to behave. They keep you an audience member rather than put you on stage.  When they say, “here’s how it really works”(they provide), a blueprint on how they didn’t make it. When you meet artists who have made it in the art world, they usually say it was simply luck.
• (Jack) Contemporary art today is an adult version of a child saying, “look at me, look at me.”
• The conceptual trumps the actual; it’s an easy out.
• Galleries (to many today) are not the places an artist wants to be and grow with but merely to use as stepping-stones.
• I look for the artist that has passion, conviction and a personal vision.  You have to do more than show up to be an artist.

I believe it might have been Keats who said something like, if you find yourself in a lake, the object isn’t getting to the shore but enjoying the water in the lake. See, that art rep had me all wrong, I’m really a rather optimistic artist but like to be thought of as a realistic optimistic artist; if I make it to the shore, fine. If not, I plan to enjoy myself in the lake.

I never heard it better put than from the mouth of the ultimate emperor of art marketing Damian Hirst, who recently said,” The spot paintings, the spin paintings, they’re all a mechanical way to avoid the actual guy in a room, myself, with a blank canvas.” Isn’t that a bit of irony!