For once, I’m going to tell you about a book I’m reading without telling you to buy it. Unless you want to experience a range of emotions from mildly annoyed to downright frustrated, that is.
You see, I’ve spent the last day or so reading Michael Findlay’s book The Value of Art. On the surface, this should be the perfect bit of research for my new class, Sell Without Shame. And I guess in some ways it is, but only because Findlay’s perspective shows exactly why the public at large has such a skewed perception of art and why so many of the makers and creatives I work with struggle to call themselves artists or claim what they do as art.
Findlay comes from the world of elite galleries and auction houses, and it’s clear he has no idea that art exists outside of those spaces and museums. He tells stories of record setting auctions and talks about wealthy collectors. And he implies that the only way the rest of us (ie. non-wealthy people) get to experience art is to see it in museums. (Plus the occasional other public institution, and if we’re feeling really brave, by stepping into a fancy gallery.)
Beyond the fact that most of the art Findlay references and shares throughout the book was created by white men (of Western European or American descent), and that most of it falls under the umbrella of “fine art” (ie. painting and sculpture), what frustrates me most is how unaware Findlay seems to be of the art market that I inhabit every day.
The other art market, as I’m now calling it, is, first of all, filled with women and people of color. It’s full of artists of all stripes from all across the globe, from painters to photographers to ceramic artists and jewelry designers and textile artists to multi-disciplinary artists experimenting in lots of different media. It’s a world filled largely with everyday people buying the work of artists they’ve connected with online, at shows, or in small galleries, not because they expect that art to turn a profit when they resell it later, but because they truly love the artist and their work.
It’s the world I inhabit every day online, whether that’s scrolling Instagram or mentoring others in my online community, Artists and Profit Makers. And more importantly, it’s the art world I live with every day as I slip on my favorite jewelry, sip my tea from a handmade mug, and look at the art adorning my walls and shelves.
That is the art world I know and love.
And that’s why Findlay’s book makes me so mad. Because the art world I love is accessible to almost everyone. You don’t have to be wealthy to own, experience, and enjoy art in your own home. And you don’t have to produce work for fancy galleries in order to make a good living as an artist.
But when we only hear about the perspective of the art world from someone like Findlay, our perception is skewed. It’s why regular people feel so disconnected from art in their everyday lives. It’s why people in Singapore, responding to a survey about the pandemic, feel that artist isn’t an essential job. It’s why the makers I work with struggle to call themselves artists.
Fortunately, thanks to the Internet, more people have come to know this other art world. But it’s clear from the Singapore survey that we’ve still got a lot of work to do.
And that work starts by letting go of the cultural narrative that if you don’t make art for Findlay’s art market then you aren’t making art. It means standing up and calling what you do (whatever that is) art. It means calling yourself an artist.
I know these words can be scary. (I’ve been reading the welcome surveys for Sell Without Shame, and I’m seeing the words “imposter syndrome” pop up A LOT.) But if we want to change the public perception of the art world, it has to start with us.
Because the more of us who exist in the other art market who are willing to stand up and proclaim ourselves as artists, the more likely we are to shape the public’s opinion that art is not an elite and unessential commodity created only for a privileged few, but something that is vital to our everyday experience and well-being.
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My new class, Sell Without Shame, starts today, and we are addressing a lot of these issues right from the start. Module 1 dives deep into claiming yourself as an artist, acknowledging that art is your job (regardless of your background or current situation), and busting through the money road blocks that keep you from confidently selling your work. That module is available now, so you can jump in and get started right away! (And you get lifetime access, so you can work through the content at your own pace.) Head to sellwithoutshame.com now to join!