ART WORLD

The Caribbean's First Contemporary Art Museum Opens in Jamaica

Henri Neuendorf, Friday, December 4, 2015

The project is led by the Jamaican-born art advisor Rachael Barrett.
Photo: Nile Saulter

Jamaica's first non-governmental organization for arts and culture, and the Caribbean's first exhibition space dedicated entirely to contemporary art, opens today in Kingston with an exhibition of works by Jean-Michel Basquiat.

The museum—called space caribbean, is located on the historic Henzell family estate—the former home of filmmaker Perry Henzell—which was delicately renovated by David Adjaye. The renowned architect kept much of the house's original features, including the frame and tiling, which he offset by stylish outdoor pavilions.

Titled "I Feel Like a Citizen," the opening Basquiat exhibition presents 30 works and documents examining the Haitian-American artist's Afro-Caribbean heritage in his work.

Kingston's art scene focuses primarily on local artists.
Photo: tripterra.wordpress.com

The project is the brainchild of Rachael Barrett, a 33-year-old Jamaican-born art advisor from London. In 2013, she relocated to Kingston with the aim of bringing “a minimum of five to six" contemporary art spaces to the Caribbean islands, the Art Newspaper reports.

Although government-backed art institutions exist in Jamaica, they tend to exclusively showcase emerging local artists. Consequently, the island lacks an international outlook and discourse with contemporary art, something Barrett hopes to change. She intends to shape her program “loosely like a contemporary art 101," she told the Wall Street Journal.

The institution's first exhibition focuses on Jean-Michel Basquiat, shown here painting in Jamaica.
Photo: Lee Jaffe via Hypebeast

Barrett's primary aim is to educate and provide access to contemporary art. “What I'd love to see is a child of eight now growing up knowing they can always pass by a gallery on the weekend and walk in and sit there," she said. “That the space and the work are theirs to experience."

To achieve her objective, Barrett recruited the educator and anthropologist Muna Lobé to shape the institution's educational program. The organization formed partnerships with 27 local schools and has devised a program of free lectures, workshops, and talks. She also enlisted high-profile board members including the artist Hank Willis Thomas and collector Francesca von Habsburg.

Barrett hopes to open her next Caribbean contemporary art space in Trinidad.

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Harry Belafonte: Black Artists Must Do More 

As African-Americans achieve fame in the arts, their obligation to help the community grows ever stronger—and so far, that obligation is not being fulfilled. By Harry Belafonte

Legendary actor and singer Harry Belafonte has never met a social cause he couldn’t fight or a question he wouldn’t answer. After decades of fighting social injustices around the world, Belafonte clearly believes he’s earned the right to say whatever whenever he wants. History books will surely document the popular actor’s significant contribution to the civil-rights movement, during which he marched and fought side by side with good friend and confidant Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Belafonte was so devoted to the late civil-rights leader that he financially supported the King family long after King was assassinated. The popular actor’s commitment to ending suffering and abuse around the world has continued well into his later years and so has his critique of those who he feels have done far too little.

 Recently, the 85-year-old song-and-dance man turned his civic-obligation meter toward the popular celebrity couple Beyoncé and Jay-Z. On their own, both the singer and rapper are arguably two of the best-known entertainers around the world and, with little doubt, two of the most successful African-American entertainers on the planet. Forbes named them the highest-paid couple of the year just last month.

 When asked recently about African-American artists and social responsibility he saw little reason to bite his tongue. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter last month, Belafonte was quoted saying this: “I think one of the greatest abuses of this modern time is that we have had such high-profile artists, powerful celebrities. But they have turned their back on social responsibility. That goes for Jay-Z and Beyoncé, for example. Give me Bruce Springsteen, and now you’re talking. I really think he is black.”

Belafonte’s strong words didn’t sit well with one half of the dynamic duo known as Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Shortly after the comments hit the Internet, Beyoncé’s camp sent an email to The Wall Street Journal offering an “abbreviated list of the unselfish work Beyoncé has done and continues to do.” The list included her $100,000 donation to the survivors of Hurricane Ike in 2008 and her performance in MTV’s Hope for Haiti Benefit. She also donated generously to that relief fund as well. But Belafonte isn’t backing down and in a letter written for The Daily Beast to all artists—but in particular African-American artists—the icon explains exactly why to whom much is given, much is required. “

Artists are the gatekeepers of truth. We are civilization’s anchor. We are the compass for humanity’s conscience.”

 Sitting in a tiny theater in the basement of the Schomburg Library in Harlem in 1946, Paul Robeson, one of the great men of the 20th century, delivered these words to a group of young aspiring African-American actors. I was one of them. Most of us in the group had served in the war that had just ended. Very little from the victory of World War II rewarded the majority of black Americans who served in that conflict. In its aftermath, the continued denial of our human rights, the alarming number of black veterans being murdered in America, and the escalation of oppressive laws prohibited participation in the democratic affairs of our nation, setting the stage for the social upheavals that ensued.

 In the years that followed, Robeson would pay a terrible price for his commitment to our struggle. Those of us who loved and respected him would become the beneficiaries of his courage and sacrifice.

 African-Americans have had little other than the arts to inform us about the truth of our history and the treasures of our legacy. Our ability to survive the cruelty of centuries of oppression is nourished through the stories we inherited from our gatekeepers. The songs and tales of heroism and dignity handed down to us from our truth tellers guide us in our continuing pursuit of the American Dream. 


The merchants of art, the controllers of systems, are first and foremost merchants. For them, art is a commodity and artists are measured not so much by the content of their creations but by the price they bring in the marketplace. If their offering challenges the myths and distortions about black existence and threatens the status quo, most artists learn soon enough that they’re hired to entertain, not to jolt consciousness. No room for message. There are exceptions but so minimal are they that the power of those whose intention is to suffocate truth and stifle change obscures the existence of the exceptions.


Today these architects of the new empire have learned much from their mentors. No need to reveal themselves in shiny black boots and large banners with huge swastikas. All that is needed is to play the chord of the greatest of human flaws…greed. It is the destruction of our moral compass and, at a terrible cost, we accommodate. Unbridled capitalism is the mantra and we sing its song. Everything and everyone is becoming a commodity, and we struggle with the burden of its consequence. Art and artists have become its pitchmen. We adorn its most vulgar demands. We glorify greed, we honor violence, and we make heroes of the slaughterer. To raise a voice against this destruction is a costly adventure. Yet hope springs eternal. Great empires have come and gone, and now our unraveling has begun. While we self-destruct, we continue our arrogant dance with greed.


At a recent film festival in Locarno, Switzerland, I was asked by the press if I thought that the world was better off today than during the civil-rights revolution of the ‘50s and ‘60s. I responded by saying that there was little doubt that our movement changed the world, as we knew it. Dr. King and the nonviolence revolution altered the global landscape. I told them that in the goals we set for ourselves in our movement, we never lost a battle. Martin Luther King Jr. knew and revered the artist. Even as he enriched our legacy with his own storytelling, he knew and believed that the service rendered by artists was critical to our movement and, among other things, would inspire while filling the well of knowledge needed for the children of generations to come.


As history has evolved, our individual and collective indifference to the vast suffering of our fellow beings is, for me, unconscionable.


The press interviews lingered awhile on questions of artists and activism, and in responding to inquiries I, at one point, identified some of the artists I most admired as activists. Danny Glover, Sean Penn, Mike Farrell, Susan Sarandon, Alfre Woodard, to name but a few. But then the exchange began to focus specifically on high-profile African-American artists. Because they sit at the top of the list, I was asked in particular about Jay-Z and Beyoncé. I made the point that the absence of high-profile blacks in the political struggle concerning the issues of race, poverty, and the disenfranchisement of the poor is disappointingly evident. From the highest pinnacles of Wall Street to the kings and queens of entertainment, to the gods and goddesses of sports, never before at these levels have we boasted such large numbers of black participants. All this at the same time black America is condemned to be the harvest of the largest prison population on the face of the earth, the most destroyed by the diseases of poverty, the most undereducated, the most diminished for lack of self-worth and the most punished by the prejudices of an unworthy justice system. The list goes on.


I have no animus for those who are touched by such heights of fame. I was one of them. But as history has evolved, our individual and collective indifference to the vast suffering of our fellow beings is, for me, unconscionable. The gift of art is a gift of opportunity to change the landscape. Artists can do remarkable things.


Robeson entertained us by inspiring us as all great artists do. With 21st-century technology, we can now reach the farthest regions of human habitation and through our art learn to love the quality and abundance of our diversity. Artists are the gatekeepers of truth and we should keep open its gates forever.

WARNING:This vid vividly shows the variety & splendor of African Wombmen.#MustWatch #Bruhhh

Posted by Jason R-a on Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Artists need to have the OPTION to purchase their workspaces and to gain a foothold in the neighborhoods they work in, instead of being continuously displaced.
Thank you
-- www.ArtCondo.com!

Free Artist Career and Business Development Workshops

TJ is this week's top YAP artist!

From the Sketchbook Series...

From the Sketchbook Series...titled "Them Old Sheets".

Sponsored By YAP

Arthur Dawson's CMI-YAP, Forensic Art Class students

Lift Up Every Soul

"Lift Up Every Soul"...."Umoja." Umoja is the Swahili word for unity. I personally feel this is one of the most important works of art I have ever created. Hope you like it!

-Arthur L Dawson

To purchase the print go to www.arthurdawson.com

"Seeking Refuge"

I stopped by MickeyDees this morning for some oatmeal with fruit (Yummy)...I was feeling creative so I pulled out my sketch book and created this quick sketch. It's called "Seeking Refuge". It still needs some finishing touches.....hope you like!

"Flesh & Blood" by Arthur L Dason

                                 From the "Resurrection" series

How The Art Game Works.....

Clare McAndrew
www.paulmccarthyphotography.com.

29. Clare McAndrew, cultural economist and founder of the Arts Economics consulting firm, creator of the annual TEFAF market report (see Clare McAndrew Explains How She Prepares the TEFAF Art Market Report)
While personal taste seems central to purchasing art, many buyers are very reluctant to rely on their own. The “superstar phenomenon" we are seeing in the art market, where works of a narrow group of artists achieve extraordinarily high prices, is being driven in part by risk reducing techniques and the pervasive desire to “consume as others are consuming". Many new collectors will only purchase well-recognized works or those by famous artists, essentially relying on the preferences already established by previously successful buyers, hence reducing the risks of relying on their own taste. Collectively, this tends to reinforce the position of successful artists while letting other lesser known, but equally talented, artists go unnoticed. This (along with scarcity) is why some prices are so high, rather than necessarily a difference in quality. You do not need to be a millionaire to access high quality but you do need to put a bit of time and effort into your own research or gaining access to some objective advice.

SWANN WILL AUCTION WORKS FROM MAYA ANGELOU’S ART COLLECTION

Faith Ringgold, “Maya’s Quilt of Life,” 1989.

COURTESY SWANN AUCTION GALLERIES

Swann Auction Galleries in New York will hold a sale of work from the art collection of Maya Angelou, the celebrated poet who passed away last year. The sale, which will be held September 15, includes 43 works from Angelou’s private collection, “much of which has never been publicly exhibited,” according to the auction house.

Among the works are a quilt by Faith Ringgold, commissioned by Oprah Winfrey for Angelou’s birthday in 1989, estimated to sell for $150,000 to $250,000. A 1962 painting by John Biggers, estimated at $100,000 to $150,000, is also included in the sale.

Mark Bradford’s ‘Smear’ Sells for Record $4.3 Million at Sotheby’s

TEN BIDDERS VIED FOR A NEW PAINTING by Mark Bradford at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Auction on May 12. The sale price for “Smear” was ultimately $4,394,000 (including fees), a record for the Los Angeles-based artist, according to Sotheby’s and Iris Index. A brilliant nexus of color, technique and materials executed in 2015, the mixed media canvas is an excellent example of Bradford’s signature approach to abstraction.

A brilliant nexus of color, technique and materials executed in 2015, the mixed media canvas is an excellent example of Bradford’s signature approach to abstraction.

It was a full auction week in New York with day and evening contemporary sales at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips. At Christie’s, Pablo Picasso’s “Les Femmes d’Alger (Version ‘O’)” shattered expectations when it sold for $179.4 million (including fees) on May 11, the highest price ever recorded for a work of art at auction, the company said.

Seven artists broke records at the Sotheby’s sale, including Bradford, who donated “Smear” to the auction with the proceeds benefitting the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles. Bradford, who founded Art + Practice, an arts and education foundation near his Leimert Park studio last year, was also elected to the board of MOCA LA in 2014.

A special “Artists for MOCA” catalog was produced featuring works by Bradford and several other artists whose lots raised funds for the Los Angeles museum

Sotheby’s describes the Bradford work thus:

“‘Smear’ courses with a stunning vitality that evinces the complex evolution of its phenomenally variegated surface. While the noun form of “smear,” a horizontal drag of a substance across a surface, seems to be evoked by the eponymous work’s composition, the painstaking technicality of its execution belies the connotations of ungoverned abandon that accompany ‘smear’ as a verb.

“‘Smear’ courses with a stunning vitality that evinces the complex evolution of its phenomenally variegated surface.”

“Instead, ‘Smear’ is the direct result of a protracted method of collage and décollage that transforms Bradford’s canvas from simply an arena in which to orchestrate an aesthetic arrangement into a highly constructed, autonomous object. Like trenches running through the artist’s formulated landscape, the repeated series of horizontal and vertical demarcations of pictorial space convey Bradford’s methodical physicality, their edges projecting outwards from the canvas ground, conferring a striking three-dimensionality to the surface.”

Three other African American artists were also featured in the Sotheby’s evening auction of 63 works: Glenn Ligon (Lot 26), David Hammons (Lots 23 and 40), and the late Jean-Michel Basquiat (Lots 27, 41 and 42).

Bradford’s painting was the first lot in the sale. Estimated to sell for $600,000-$700,000, “Smear” garnered more than six times the anticipated price reaching nearly $4.4 million (including fees). Bradford’s previous record was set a few months ago, in February 2015, when his 2013 painting “Biting the Book” sold at Phillips in London for $3.87 million. CT

BOOKSHELF
A wealth of scholarship on Mark Bradford’s work has been published over the past several years. In 2010, “Mark Bradford: Merchant Posters” and “Mark Bradford” from the Wexner Center for the Arts, which accompanied his first major survey exhibition, were released. “Mark Bradford: Through Darkest America by Truck and Tank” was published last year and “Mark Bradford: Scorched Earth” (June 2015), a new forthcoming volume, captures his latest work exploring “the body and the performance of identity.”

Installation view of “Scream,” 2015 (mixed-media and collage on canvas) by Mark Bradford.

Stony Island Arts Bank will launch during the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial

Theaster Gates bought the former bank for $1 in 2013

The artist Theaster Gates plans to open a major new cultural venue in a 1920s building, formerly a bank, on Chicago’s South Side during the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial (3 October-3 January 2016). The Stony Island Arts Bank will “offer both an international platform for contemporary art and a cultural space for the local community”, the organisers of the biennial say. The City of Chicago sold the site to Gates for $1 in 2013 and the space has been refurbished by the artist’s non-profit Rebuild Foundation.

Frida Kahlo was so much more than her unibrow. A famous artist, Diego Rivera's wife was also a fashion icon. Without her, music festivals would be without flower crowns, mini skirts would always prevail over maxi skirts, capes would just be for superheros, and corsets remained in the archive. Interestingly enough, most of her sartorial savvy was just that. She had polio as a kid and later in life was injured in a bus accident, both leaving her impaired. Kahlo used clothes, such as full skirts, stacked boots, and long gloves to conceal her body's imperfections. "She had a tremendous self-confidence. She was convinced that what she wore displayed who she was inside," Alejandro Lopez, the art restorer of her home, told the Associated Press. 

And while her artifacts could be seen at the Frida Kahlo Museum, some belongings were locked away by Rivera following her death in 1954. Placed in a bathroom at "The Blue House" in Mexico City, he demanded the door with her stuff inside remain locked until 15 years after his own passing. The room remained shut until 2004 and at that time photographer Ishiuchi Miyako was given the opportunity to shoot its contents. The images, which will be on display throughout May in London, capture around 300 unseen relics from a pair of cat eye sunglasses to a Tehuana dress.

Experiences Of Art, Nature And Spirituality May Help Prevent Disease, Study Finds

Taking in the glory of nature at the top of a mountain peak, joining in a song of worship or viewing a breathtakingly beautiful piece of art are some of the experiences that fill us with awe and make us feel most alive. And according to new research, moments like this are both spiritually invigorating and good for our physical and mental health.

A University of California, Berkeley, study, published in the journal Emotion in January, suggests that the feeling of awe we may experience during encounters with art, nature and spirituality has an anti-inflammatory effect, protecting the body from chronic disease.

The researchers found a correlation between feelings of awe and lower levels of cytokines, markers that put the immune system on high alert by triggering a defensive reaction known as inflammation. While inflammation is essential to fighting infection and disease when the body is presented with a specific threat, chronically high levels of cytokines have been linked to a number of health problems, including heart disease, Alzheimer's, depression and autoimmune conditions.

“That awe, wonder and beauty promote healthier levels of cytokines suggests that the things we do to experience these emotions -– a walk in nature, losing oneself in music, beholding art -– have a direct influence upon health and life expectancy,” Berkeley psychologist Dacher Keltner, a co-author of the study, said in a press release.

In a previous paper, Kelter defined awe as a feeling "in the upper reaches of pleasure and on the boundary of fear," that is often inspired by encounters with the beautiful and the sublime. Study co-author Jennifer Stellar told The Huffington Post that experiences of awe are most commonly inspired by being in nature, followed by witnessing the impressive feats of others, participating in spiritual and religious events, and engaging with art and music.

To test the effect of awe on physical health, Keltner's team asked two separate study groups of young adults how much they experienced positive emotions such as awe, amusement, compassion, contentment, joy and pride on a given day. On the same day, the researchers took samples of participants' gum and cheek tissue to measure cytokine levels. The samples revealed that in both groups, those who had experienced awe, wonder or amazement that day had lower levels of cytokines, and therefore less inflammation, in their bodies.

While awe is relatively under-studied compared to other emotions, previous research has found that feelings of awe can also boost creative thinking, help create a sense of having enough time in the day, and inspire profound personal transformation.

The UC Berkeley study's findings join a growing body of research suggesting that positive emotions play an important role in promoting physical health. Studies have linked positive emotions with improved heart health and longevity, and some research has suggested that mindfulness practices -- which are known to improve emotional well-being -- can reduce inflammation.

"Rather than seeing a walk through the park or a trip to the museum as an indulgence, we hope people will view these kind of experiences as important ways to promote a healthy body in addition to a healthy mind," Stellar said. "Folding these kinds of positive experiences into your daily routine may be more important for health than we previously realized."

Tuskegee Airman...Pilot..Bomber..and ...Hero, Mr. Daniel Keel with artist Arthur L. Dawson

Special Invitation

Late News But Great News.....

Kehinde Wiley Will be Presented the State Department Medal of Arts by John KerryJanuary 14 2015

Kehinde Wiley, Shantavia Beale II, (2012). (Photo: Jason Wyche courtesy Sean Kelly, New York, via the Brooklyn Museum.

Kehinde Wiley will receive the US State Department Medal of Arts, in honor of his “substantive commitment to the U.S. State Department's cultural diplomacy outreach through the visual arts," the artist's gallery, Los Angeles's Roberts & Tilton, announced.

Known primarily for his large scale paintings of young African Americans, depicted in the style of European royal portraits, the Los Angeles–born artist truly embodies the international spirit of the award, splitting his time between Beijing, Dakar, and New York (see "Kehinde Wiley on Art, the Art World and Being Stylish"). Secretary of State John Kerry will present the medal to Wiley on January 21.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton honored Cai Guo-Qiang, Jeff Koons, Shahzia Sikander, Kiki Smith, and Carrie Mae Weems as the inaugural Medal of Arts recipients in 2013. The biannual award was introduced on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Art in Embassies (AIE), founded by president John F. Kennedy in 1963 at the suggestion of New York's Museum of Modern Art. 

Remarque

ART DEALERS FROM HELL, PART II

THE BULLET POINTS

What you are about to read is a follow-up to the article Art Dealers From Hell and How to Spot Them...

As in any profession, the large majority of art dealers and art galleries are totally reputable, responsible and considerate of everyone they do business with. Unfortunately, a despicable few are anything but. So in honor of that small but sleazy cadre of scoundrels, what follows is a list of behaviors to watch out for and hopefully to avoid, regardless of whether you're an artist or a collector. Knowing how to identify and avoid art-dealing jerks keeps them from infecting your life. Thanks to all the artists and gallery owners who provided the following information. And now for the list...

* Art dealers from hell constantly remind artists how important they are and how important their galleries are (the inference, of course, being how unimportant the artists are). They rarely pass up an opportunity to proclaim their magnificence.

* They tell artists they're doing them huge favors by representing them or showing their art.

* They insist on controlling and micromanaging the careers of their artists even to the point of making creative decisions for them, aka telling them what their art should look like. This may even include interfering with successful or longstanding pre-existing business or personal relationships. When an gallery owner doesn't allow you to make you own decisions, that's trouble.

* Bad art dealers want a cut of everything-- past, present and future-- even transactions taking place within previously established relationships.

* They refuse to negotiate and instead dictate everything. If they have this attitude with you, they likely have it with other artists, dealers and collectors as well. Inabilities to compromise or be flexible are often detrimental to the success of a gallery... as well as to its artists.

* They're almost always too busy to meet or speak with their artists, often coming up with pathetic or insulting excuses like they have "much bigger deals" they're working on.

* They give evasive answers to matter-of-fact questions about gallery policies, about who covers shipping, whether they're insured against loss or damage, how and when artists get paid, whether they've sold any of an artist's work, how much they're selling the art for, where an artist's unsold works of art are being kept, and so on.

* They don't pay their artists on time. Always interview artists who are represented by any gallery you're considering showing with-- before you sign on-- and no matter how desperately you want a show. If you find out that they owe money to either one or more of their artists, ask those artists why. Nonpayment is almost always a bad sign, unless within the accepted guidelines of a contract. Nonpayment coupled with refusal to either negotiate or discuss the matter is typically a terminal sign. And don't think the situation's going to be any different for you than it is for the other artists. Delusional thinking is never conducive to success.

* They don't tell their artists in a timely manner when art sells, but instead wait until the artist asks and even then, they'll still try to put off telling them for as long as possible.

* Without telling their artists, they either keep pieces of art for themselves or sell them, and then instead of returning them when the artists ask for them back, claim they've already been returned. (In other words, make sure you have complete written records of all consigned artworks and that both parties sign off on every single sale or transfer.)

* Art dealers from hell secretly raise prices beyond the amounts agreed upon with their artists, and then pocket the extra profits for themselves.

* They ask artists to substantially reduce their prices for no specific reason, but are either evasive or refuse to discuss if or how that affects the commission split with the gallery. You want to make sure price reductions are equally split between you and the gallery, and not that the gallery makes the same amount on a sale while you agree to make less.

* They sell an artist's art for below the agreed upon price without telling the artist first or asking whether it's OK to give an additional discount, and then after the sale, either ask the artist to take less money for the art or simply pay the artist less.

* When bad art dealers get into financial trouble, they keep selling their artists' art but stop paying the artists for it. If you stop getting paid for any reason, act immediately and get something in writing from the gallery about how and when they intend to pay you. If they won't give you that, prepare to evacuate.

* Even though the artists they screw often leave their galleries, unscrupulous dealers will keep those artists' names on their websites, making it seem like they still represent them. Before getting involved with any gallery, always check with a good number of artists on their website to make sure they're actually represented by that gallery. If they're not, find out why-- or better yet, watch out.

* They trash artists who leave their galleries, even though those artists may have had excellent reasons for doing so. If an art dealer badmouth's one or more artists, it's best to contact those artists for their sides of the story. Far too many artists take everything that comes out of art dealers' mouths as gospel. You need as much information as possible from all parties involved in order to make intelligent decisions.

* They don't know how to handle art or they handle it carelessly. Make sure you watch how a gallery handles art. Do they know what they're doing? Are they careful? Do they have a casual attitude? Do they know how to pack and ship it? How a gallery handles art is not only a key indicator of their experience in the business, but even more importantly, of their respect for art and artists in general. That said, if you make fragile or difficult-to-handle art, be sure to provide specific instructions on how to pack, ship and care for it. Don't expect the dealers to know everything especially if your work is unique or unusual in some way.

* A corollary to the above is that art dealers from hell have a history of returning unsold art to artists in worse condition than they received it. As if that's not bad enough, they often say nothing about it to the artists, and never suggest that either they or their insurance companies will pay for the damage (assuming they're insured in the first place-- which hopefully you know).

* In order to get new artists to sign on, the most contemptible dealers tell them everything they want to hear, regardless of whether they have any experience showing or selling the art. They promise the moon, tell artists they'll make them famous, talk about bumping up selling prices, AND OFTEN REQUIRE THEM TO SIGN CONTRACTS giving the gallery either substantial or exclusive rights to represent and sell the art everywhere-- before even selling piece number one. If you meet with a gallery owner like this who wants to give you a first show, tell them they can have their rights for three months or six months, or some other reasonable period of time-- and never nationally or internationally-- maybe regionally or even statewide, but not beyond that. Never sign away the rights to represent your art for extended periods of time-- no longer than a year-- unless the gallery proves after a show or two that they can sell your work and are easy to work with. Even then, take it step by step. A gallery has to prove they can make good on their promises before you enter into any serious long-term business relationships or agreements.

* A corollary to the above is that after making huge promises, bad art dealers don't follow through-- or can't follow through. For example, they double or triple your prices (or more), nothing sells, they give you your art back, and you're stuck with an overpriced inventory and a bruised or damaged reputation.

* Bad gallery owners have a history of getting involved in legal actions-- from either side-- either them going legal on their artists or their artists going legal on them. Or they regularly threaten legal action or talk about what they'll do to anyone who doesn't go along with their program. Litigation is expensive, time consuming, and hardly ever pleasant. These are not people you want to do business with.

* Even though bad art dealers may be brand new, basically untested and have little or no track record of success, they act like they're really important, a going concern, and will have no problems selling your work.

* The dealer has a reputation for strange or eccentric behaviors or for making life difficult for their artists. Again-- don't think you're going to be the exception, no matter how wonderfully they treat you at the outset.

* Bad art dealers often give ultimatums. For example, they'll tell an artist what to make, how many to make, how large it should be, and so on, the implicit message for the artist being not to make what they want to make, but rather what the gallery thinks they can sell the easiest. Dealers can certainly suggest what might have sales potential or what directions an artist might explore, especially once a good working relationship is established, but they should never insist that artists make particular types of art. There's a major difference between being demanding and being supportive.

* Bad art galleries (and these days, art speculators or "flippers") offer artists artificially low stipends or advances to create our buy their art, then take control of that art outright and give the artists nothing more for it, no matter how much they might end up selling it for.

* They tell artists they'll take care of the numbers, inventory, payments, and all other business matters and not to worry. You better worry! And you better keep track of every single work of art you consign as well as its current status. Anytime a dealer is cagey about providing this kind of data, that's a sure sign of problems down the road.

* They're either reluctant or refuse to give consignment sheets or any forms of receipts itemizing and detailing each individual work of art they receive from an artist. They refuse to put monetary details in writing including agreed upon selling prices, how discounts are handled, commission splits between the artist and gallery, payment schedules, and so on. Verbal agreements on these issues are never enough!

* They provide consignment agreements or contracts with stipulations or requirements that were never mentioned or discussed in meetings or conversations about the responsibilities of each party in the artist/gallery relationship. For example, "Artist shares cost of shipping, framing, insurance or promotional materials such as advertisements and postcards."

* And last but not least, they sexually harass their artists or employees or make persistent, inappropriate or unwanted comments, remarks or advances that have nothing to do with art.

So there you have it. It's certainly not everything, but hopefully enough to get you started. Remember-- be vigilant and attentive at all times, trust your instincts, and the most important part: Don't ever let anybody push you around. Now get out there and get successful!

***

I'd like to thank Wendy E. Cooper, Mat Gleason, Barry Gross, Brian Gross, Alex Novak and all the artists for their generous assistance with this article, including sharing their own personal experiences.

What Have the French Thought of the 

Jeff Koons Retrospective?

BY Dan Duray POSTED 01/05/15

From the 2008 Koons show at Versailles.

COURTESY ART21

At the end of November, Jeff Koons’s impressive Whitney Museum retrospective travelled to Paris’s Centre Pompidou, and the reviews are in! American reviewers were not across-the-board positive, for sure, but it seems the often-fussy French are put off by Koons’s market, uncomfortable with the idea that he does not make his own work, and disturbed by his comparisons between Duchamp and himself.

Let’s start with Slate.fr. (All translations basically courtesy Google Translate):

But what happened to Jeff Koons? Once the agent provocateur in the late 1980s, he became one of the safest icons and especially the most profitable of an artistic scene that comes too often with financial superlatives. The contemporary artist claims that his art should be “accessible to the greatest number,” but he has won several times the title of most expensive living artist…

Now on to The Huffington Post France, where writer Colin Lemoine decries the show in a review titled, “The Unbearable Lightness of Art”:

In a word, Jeff Koons seems foolish. Insane prices attained by flashy works…This senseless master assisted by hundreds in developing gleaming stainless steel parts, outputs of vulgar mill shapes, pristine scenery populated with computers, without soot or sweat, without dust, without odor. This foolish perversion of the work of art, reduced to a vacuum cleaner (1979), a colorful pile of dough (1994-2014) or a huge lobster acrobat (2003).

And even where Libération (the newspaper founded by Jean-Paul Sartre) praises him, it makes him out to be sort of a monster:

What would we not do in the name of art? Jeff Koons: is he a bastard (to use Sartre’s term for one who renounces human freedom) or is he a saint, who donated his person to signify a life-size conceit of neoliberal ideology? Is he the designer of the arrogance of princes or the moralist that was expected?
Then there is the news site Atlantico, which takes a lighter touch, and even enjoys the gazing ball sculptures that weren’t terribly well received over here.

The exhibition ends with the “gazing ball” sculptures, plaster replicas of masterpieces of classical culture, grafted with a blown glass ball. This series opens up all sorts of questions: What is the relationship between the past and the present? What is the status of the copy facing the original? What is the role of contemporary art in the history of art? A good opportunity to remember that artists inexorably inspire each other.

- See more at: http://www.artnews.com/2015/01/05/what-have-the-french-thought-of-the-jeff-koons-retrospective/#sthash.cce0bqDk.dpuf