Art
Marketing 101: A Handbook for the Fine
Artist
by Constance
Smith
ArtNetwork, Nevada City, CA 95959
350 pp. Paper, $24.95
ISBN: 0-940899-32-9.
Reviewed by George Shortess
3505 Hecktown Road, Bethlehem, PA 18015,
U.S.A.
george.shortess@lehigh.edu
This book and others like it raise an
interesting question about the nature
of art. This is somewhat unintentional,
I think. While there are some disclaimers,
the book assumes that art can be treated
as a commodity, like a washing machine
or a pair of shoes. This, of course, is
not necessarily bad, since many collectors
also approach art as an investment and
as a commodity to be bought and sold,
hopefully at a profit. But in order to
use the book effectively, the artist must
accept this mentality. If, however, you
believe that your art is primarily an
expression of yourself, and you are the
sole arbiter of what you produce, you
will have trouble getting the most from
the book. You may also have more difficulty
making a living from your art. The assumption
is that since you will sell what the market
wants to buy, you must do some form of
market research and try to find a market
for what you produce. If there is no available
market for your work, you might want to
consider changing what you produce in
order to sell. This is, of course, what
successful shoe companies do.
Therefore, for anyone who intends to sell
art work and especially if one wants to
make a living at it, this is a very useful
book. It is not limited to just marketing
and advertising help, as the name might
imply, but it covers legal protections,
taxes, record keeping, shipping and other
related issues. It is very thorough in
treating these subjects. By following
the suggestions, an artist should have
no problems in setting up a business and
promoting ones work. This will increase
the likelihood that an artist will sell
work, but as the author points out, there
are no guarantees of success.
It is admittedly weak on the treatment
of computer systems and web based marketing
tools but does refer the reader to other
sources.
Surprisingly, there is no discussion of
short term art residencies in schools
by teaching artists. It, of course, takes
a special kind of artist to do this successfully,
but there are many artists who supplement
their income with these opportunities.
As I have found out, these teaching experiences
often have the added benefit of forcing
the artist to rethink his or her own art.
I would recommend d the book to any visual
artist who wants to sell art work and
is willing to accept the idea that art
is a commodity.