12 useful tips for emerging artists... from an emerging artist.

Recently a couple of friends asked me for some advice on how to get into a gallery and make a living out of art. They asked me what art galleries I would recommend them to submit their work. This is something I hear so often from artists to artists and the question, I noticed, is often misguided. Instead of asking yourself how to get into a gallery, why not ask yourself first of all, what kind of artist am I, what defines my work, and I mean what really defines my work and sets it apart from the rest? What qualities does it share with others? This is something you learn by visiting art fairs, galleries, museums and open studios. Every artist path is different because every human experience is different and there are different sensibilities and different tastes and that is why it is very hard to even start recommending galleries to colleagues and friends. And finally where do I wish to have my work be seen? Then you can start thinking of galleries if this is what you want. And I always have a strong desire to help others but I also think every individual makes his or her own path and in the process discovers that there are no written set of rules really. You write the rules and you write your own story on your way and if you stick to it and believe it to the end that is where success often appears. But there are a few hints that may be common and agreeable among many of my artist’s friends in order to become successful as an artist. Here are just a few to keep in mind before you ask yourself where do I wish to have my work be seen and what art gallery is right for me?  :

1. Success, Define Success. Before wishing to be a successful artist, you should ask yourself, what do you mean by success? Is it having a solo show in an important gallery in New York, selling your work at a global scale or just being recognized in your own city? Is it about fame, money, live off your art or simply being able to keep it as a side job? Define Success, and then you'll know your destination so you can draw the map.

2. Find good role models and take a good look at them. Look at art and visit museums, galleries and shows as much as you can. Once you find an artist you really like, study him or her, learn about their career, where they studied, where they have shown their work. How does their work relate to yours? Do I identify personally with this artist and why? And can I see myself taking a similar path? Why? Meet them personally if you have a chance and listen to what they have to say. Like I said, everyone makes their own path but it doesn't hurt to have some inspiration on the way and learn from others different ways to walk.

3. Become a perfectionist.

Some artists reach a point where they are completely satisfied with what they paint, sculpt or draw. These artists are the ones that make a dozen or two paintings in a week and they all look the same. They discovered a formula to repeat themselves and stop evolving. At this point they stop being artists to become machines. A true artist strives for perfection and tries different things in order to become a better artist. His/her curiosity is that of a child, therefore he/she doesn't get bored and every new blank canvas represents a new challenge and an opportunity to make something new. Train yourself and work hard to become better and better each day.

4. Stop looking at the art world as if it was a reality show competition. 

We live in a sick society that idealizes competition and is obsessed with winning. Competition is a step towards violence and war and if we kindle this feeling inside, we will always see everyone around us as a possible threat. Instead learn, cooperate and help others because by doing so you help yourself grow even more in the process. If you really want to compete, compete against yourself, it will give you far better results. Art is so subjective to taste that it makes no sense to compare yourself to others so you better focus your energy and attention to making art that grants you peace and harmony within yourself. As a consequence this will be contagious and others will be positively affected by your art.

5. Train yourself with self discipline.

Instead of competing, it is much more healthy and effective to discipline yourself. If you really wish to be good at what you make, put some strong discipline into your work schedule. Avoid distractions and things that might keep you away from making art at the time you have assigned for creation. Keep a clean space or studio and make it a job. Once you start treating your creative leisure time as a real profession, it eventually becomes serious and people will eventually take notice and take your art with more respect.

6. Learn everything you can about what you do. Many artists are self-taught and it often shows in their work. Artists with serious art training also show it in their work. But whether you are self-taught or have some artistic training, never cease to learn everything you can about your passion. If your passion is to paint miniatures with tempera, then learn all you can about miniature painting in history, how to paint with tempera paint, the many styles and schools, the pigments, the mediums, the supports, the artists in history and their techniques, etc. By learning the most of your artistic discipline you will be steps closer to becoming a master.

7. Be open but also careful to criticism.

One often hears in school that one must be open to criticism and as much as I agree I should also add, be very careful with it also. It is very easy to fall into the trap of listening to all advice and criticism and abandon your own path in order to please others so be very selective about what you take and what you leave. Pay careful attention from who is it coming from. Ask yourself the following questions before you take any criticism too seriously. Is this person a model I admire and wish to follow, is he or she an accomplished artist? If it's a child, you'll often get the most honest and straightforward criticism you can find. If it's an elderly person, tradition will more than often strongly influence their judgment of art. Be aware of the source and learn from everyone considering their own background and accomplishments.

8. Make art with a strong sense of conviction

Conviction of what one does is one of the most important qualities that accomplished artists can posses. Conviction comes in time with experience in life and art coming together and justifying one another. There is a sense of purpose in life that is expressed in art that comes at a time when you discover what makes you, you. Make sure every line you draw every thought, every part of your energy goes into discovering your true nature because once this becomes clear, you become master of your own universe and conviction is just a consequence of this self discovery. Once attained, nothing stops you from doing what you do and in the way you do it. In time this is the art that gets most rewarded.

9. Know what makes you different and use it to your advantage

One of the good reasons for joining a group and exhibiting with other artists, besides making friends and sharing together, is that it is much easier to find what sets you apart from the rest. If for some reason you feel isolated and as an eternal outsider, don’t let this put you down. On the contrary, see what you have that others don’t and use it as an asset. Many of the greatest painters in history did not fit into the group but they exploited what made them different and used it to their advantage. With so much competition out there, the more you become good at something that everyone else ignores the more chances you have for success. So stick to yourself and what makes you different may be your most powerful weapon in order to stand out.

10. Make a killer presentation and keep a strong presence

Preparing a very strong portfolio and an artist website with your strongest work is no doubt one of the first things you should do before approaching any art gallery or anyone interested in seeing your work. Always carry business cards with you. Make these as professional as possible; they should say loudly that you’re an artist without even reading them. Once you get a very good artist website up and a solid body of work out there, make sure you keep a strong presence on social media and artist portfolio websites. Let the world know what kind of artist you are and what kind of art you are working on at the moment.

11. Know your audience, know your place.

As in life, one must learn to recognize where one fits, and where one doesn't. When I was much younger I remember trying to fit in and be accepted into certain groups that were obviously very different from what I now know who I am. Childhood and adolescent experiences usually teach us that piece of information. We then find our clan or our particular group that share our same interests and aspirations and we stick to this group. This is human nature and it happens in religion, politics and art as well. Before you start knocking doors on art galleries, you should know what kind of artist are you and what kind of gallery is right for you. I wouldn't waste my time as a pop surrealist painter trying to get into a conceptual art gallery and vice versa.

12. Carefully select your battlefields and get yourself and your work out there.

Finally, be selective of your environments, where you will show your work and how you will show it and participate in those group shows, exhibits and opportunities that better describe who you are as an artist. Don't waste your time participating in events that are not professionally curated or have little to do with the kind of work you do. Stay informed, meet people and find the right places for your work to shine. Being out there is as important as being in your studio/cave creating work. We are all social creatures and this is a big part of being an artist, like it or not, get used to talking about your work and experiencing the world outside the studio

Well, hope these ten hints are useful to my friends, colleagues and emerging artists out there that like me always look for more ways to emerge and improve as an artist. There are many more things to be said, like copyright issues and not showing it all at once, but I’ll keep these for my next blog posts. For now, best wishes to you all and keep at it!

The Disneyfication of history, culture and everything

 "When Paradise Arrived" (1988) Charcoal on Paper by Enrique Chagoya 

To see more work of this artist click here

Ever since Emperor Trajan ordered his famous column depicting his triumphs in the Dacian wars, erected in 113 AD, the history of art has focused its attention in making narratives out of events from mythology, religion and human history in general. Of course history painting and sculpture existed long before 113 AD, but this column certainly foretold things to come, mainly the art propaganda. 

 Emperor Trajan's Column, 113 AD

As we all know, the retelling of a story comes with an agenda and after all, history is written by the victors. Throughout the age’s kings, popes and the powerful elite decided what was going to be created and celebrated in art and today is no exception. Every artwork is subject to the economic forces of its own time. Any successful artist that pretends to live off his art, knows this and often has to paint or sculpt for a patron the ideas that indirectly of directly promote the power structures of their time. 

                                        "Chac Mool"  (1999) Stone scultpture by Nadin Ospina

                                           To see more work from this artist click here

Of course there is space for dissent and revolutionary art but as soon as this art is discovered, accepted and adopted by the powerful and elite, the art itself is transformed, re-packaged and redistributed by the same institutions it once voiced against and therefore the meaning of it is irrelevant as it becomes just another empty commodity. This is self evident in mainstream contemporary art. A good example of this in music is hip-hop, which once represented the voice of the marginalized urban communities; it then became corporately owned and as much of the mainstream music today is influenced more by the market than by pure creative spirit.

  

Pinocchio Heroin By Jose Rodolfo Loaiza Ontiveros

To see more of the artist work click here

It is not so different with the all too well known Disney re-telling of ancient legends, myth and Grimm brother’s tales. By this re-branding of the classics, Disney becomes the owner of its content, stripping the recorded place, event or person from its original meaning.  By repackaging and disseminating their own sanitized versions of the stories of Hercules, Pocahontas and Aladdin they sell a product that removed or waters down any vestige of the original narrative in question. In doing so they replace it with an empty shell deprived or any thought provoking content, serving a corporate driven agenda that intends to homogenize and generate passive consumption and cultural perceptions on all level of our society and at a global scale. Its success lies in the fact that they make beautiful pictures easy and pleasant to grasp that reach out to the masses in ways traditional literature or art cannot compete with.

 "Disneyfication of a Hero" (2010) Oil painting on canvas by Patrick McGrath Muñiz

Acquired by the  Albuquerque Museum of Art and History

Its magic resides in its manipulation of beauty and distortion of values consolidating patriarchal gender roles, perpetuating racist views and always elevating the rich, glamorous and vain over the poor, disenfranchised and different, despite its claims to the contrary  with its "updated" revisions. It preys on the innocent spectators as well as on their parents who give in to the power of persuasion while selling us a “family oriented” experience or product. It is also not hard to find evidence of the mind stupefying strategies utilized by the corporate giant as it controls a big chunk of the mass media conglomerate and has been actively involved in political propaganda since World War II and disseminating its anti-socialist comics in Chile during the 1970's (How to readDonald Duck).

Disneyfication is a global phenomenon occurring not just in our understanding of history but at all levels of culture and society, from the suburban way of life to our consumer habits and what we watch on screen. The metaphor that comes to mind is that of the evil witch offering Snow White the poisoned apple. But an even better metaphor for this corporation is that of the magician apprentice played by Mickey Mouse in 1940's animated film Fantasia. But as those who have already seen the film know, the magical act turns against the mouse as he foolishly multiplies his "cleaning" operators and everything gets out of control in the end. 

 Disney's Fantasia: The Sorcerer 1940

A lesson we can learn from ancient Roman history is that every empire has its fall and it often comes with over-expansion and disintegration from within. Who knows how Disney will fall but be sure of it, It will fall. Perhaps future tourists will visit Disney's Cinderella castle but get a similar tour to the one we get today while visiting Trajan’s Column, and admire this powerful propaganda monument for what it really is.

Mcdonaldization in Art

 Death to the Old Gods By Patrick McGrath Muñiz

To see more of my recent work click here

Recently I re-read Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser and after visiting a couple of dozen contemporary art galleries in town I could not help but think about how much the Mcdonald's way of doing things has permeated our culture and even the art world. Everyone knows art has always reflected the culture of it's time. In art school you learn about Pop art being a reflection of the consumer culture of the sixties and so on. But seldom do they tell you about the Mcdonaldization of art, literature, music and culture in general, perhaps because the universities play into it as well. George Ritzer pointed out five aspects in his 1993 Mcdonaldization of society five primary aspects that define this global phenomenon: Efficiency, Calculability, Predictability, Control and The Irrationality of Rationality. These all seem to be quite present in much of the contemporary art presented in art galleries, art fairs and museums around the world. Of course not all art done today follows these "fast food" standards and on the contrary, they respond in a very conscious way to our zombie-like consumer culture. Here I've presented some fine examples.

 Mcshitter by Carlos Barberena

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But I must say I've already lost count of how many times I've seen art that is boringly(predictable) simple (easy to control results) rapidly produced (efficient) in a quantity over quality (calculable) equation that defies any rational judgment on what is good or bad art (The Irrationality of the Rationality) Probably the only three big difference between contemporary art and fast food culture are the obvious ones: product, price range and targeted audience, but other than those I see no big differences between the production/packaging/brand and marketing strategies between the two. Certainly mainstream contemporary art owes much more to Pop art than its big debut in art history but it does seem highly hypocritical to uphold much of what is produced in the mainstream contemporary art world as "high art" as if it was something totally unrelated to popular culture and specifically "fast food culture". This said, I do not think it is bad because much art prepared today resembles a fast food product made in a hurry by little or no skill, preheating frozen "readymades" and repackaged to satisfy the "educated" masses, but it does look far from what art used to be for millennia before modernism came.

From the series "Los Intocables" by Erik Ravelo.

Click here to view more work of this artist.

I know it would be silly to try to undo all the postwar art theories that have been taught to us in school and pain as if we were living in 1789 but at least artists should be aware of the times they are currently living in when technique and skill are disregarded, profit is primordial and the value of things don't make any sense. We should all be aware of how much consumerism and the mass media machinery has infected the art world and our cultural attitudes towards what we think is good and beautiful and this having powerful consequences reaching a global scale. Some artists have addressed these issues with their art and it is important to take notice of them and what they have to say. While many might keep blindly mass producing repetitive Mc artworks the fastest way possible, with predictable results and selling these at prices that defy any sound rationality, there are those who will insist in pointing out at the clown in the room and how he operates so others can wake up and smell the Mc Coffee.

From the series "Sum of all Evils" by artists Jake and Dinos Chapman

To see more of their work click here.