Gallerella

A Few of My Favorite Things

Okay so it’s official, a lot of artists are on the bandwagon to embrace money and get control over their finances. Cool, I’m not alone. Now the question is how do we accomplish this together. I’m a lover of many things. And I truly believe you should use the things that you are into to help solve problems. I’m not sure if it’s the chicken or the egg, but I think you are drawn to certain things (you are given amulets, if you will) for a reason. Either you are drawn to them or they are drawn to you so that you can use them in the future to help you conquer fears and doubts and ultimately help you move to the next phase of your life. Okay I know, voodoo again (or some Dungeons and Dragons BS). But hear me out.

Here are a few of my favorite things: science fiction literature, popular science, yoga, meditation, eastern philosophy, psychology and contemporary art. Because I love sci-fi nothing is out of the realm of possibility. I will explore even the seemingly ridiculous and fringe side of things. Because I love popular science, my reality has to be bound by physics and quantum mechanics. That seems at odds with one another, but what I’m getting at is that I root myself in reality, but I allow the fantastical and the bizarre to help me solve problems. I cannot help but tackle things from all conceivable sides.

Because I love yoga, meditation and eastern philosophy I feel like I have a set of real tools to deal with the very difficult aspects of taking on an enormous problem or obstacle that’s larger than myself. I see money and finances as an immense issue so I need help. When I start to have doubts or I start to feel desire for let’s say a new pair of boots or if I start to hyperventilate when I look at how little is in my bank account or how large my student loan debt is I can breathe and focus and come back to a balanced calm. Sometimes turning the mind off can actually fill us with creative energy to solve problems. Because I love psychology I know that the brain is both the root of our problems and the solution. My childhood belief that money was uncontrollable and unknowable was only revealed through the exploration of my past. It is where most of our deep-rooted fears and beliefs, our mythology spawns. And you have to know where things began in order to eradicate them.

And because I love contemporary art, when the shit hits the fan, and I absolutely can’t think about money and finances, or I feel like running for the hills and scrapping this whole ridiculous experiment, I can lose myself in art. I can go to a museum (sometimes free) or gallery (always free!). It’s not just a place to escape, it’s a place for me to feel normal and at peace again. It is my center. And maybe once I get control over my finances, I can support the art world in a totally different way and actually start doing the work that I do to help artists for trade! I really love the barter system too.

Okay so now that I have all of my weapons and amulets in hand. I am well equipped with all of the things that I know and love so that I can feel confident to take on something that I fear and loathe and that seems like an insurmountable obstacle. And then ultimately how do I go about making money one of my favorite things? Isn’t that what happens in video games, the thing you conquer now becomes a resource, it becomes your talisman. What are a few of your favorite things? What are the tools that you will use to take on this monstrous task of conquering your fears and doubts about money?

The New Year: An Experiment with Money Part 1

The New Year always makes me want to attempt something new. Not like a New Year’s resolution that could eventually be broken or forgotten, but something much more transformative. What real problem or issue needs to be addressed and resolved now? What issue has consistently come up this past year with my clients that needs solving immediately? The answer is clear: Money.

I know you’re probably thinking: Wow! That’s obvious. Or Wow! That’s an overwhelming topic to cover. Or Wow! This doesn’t apply to me because I’m an artist, and I don’t do what I do for money. I actually hate talking or even thinking about money much less reading about money. And you’re right it’s all of these things: obvious, overwhelming, annoying and banal. BUT artists love dealing with the taboo. And what’s more taboo than money? So please indulge me. Let’s experiment together and go down the road of the most taboo topic in our culture, and in the art world.

Now let me preface this whole thing by saying, I’m not going to discuss how to make money from your art or argue about the relationship between making art, the art market and making money. This will be a year-long experiment with the Gallerella blog. I’m giving myself one year to reinvent the way we think about money, manage money and control money so that it doesn’t control us. And why does this matter? Because being in control of your money makes you more independent and being more independent gives you more freedom and having more financial freedom might allow you to have more creative freedom and having more creative freedom, well, it just might make you a better artist.

Hey, it’s an experiment so just roll with it. So this is what I’ve always said and heard: I don’t have any money so why worry about it now? I will worry about it or better yet hire someone to deal with it once I have it. I don’t manage money very well because I believe it’s beneath me. I don’t want to be consumed with it because I feel like it holds very little value. I don’t want to think about it because if I do it’s like opening a can of worms. I don’t want to think about it because then it will consume my every thought. Because who wants to count pennies and worry about something as lame as money. That’s what my parents did, and I don’t want to be them.

Why am I so afraid of money? Why do I hate to think about it or talk about it? Where does my relationship with money come from? I always grew up believing that money was like magic, and not the good magic but like voodoo. I really thought money was something that came and went, feast or famine, you couldn’t hold on to it. You couldn’t predict it. It was elusive. I always felt like I couldn’t put too much stock into keeping it. It was like water in my hands, it just always disappeared. And what do you know it always DID disappear. So obviously the first thing I have to do is change the way I think about money.

First step: Change the way you think about money. New way of thinking: Money is predictable. Money is tangible. I can hold onto money. Money is in my control.

I know what you’re thinking, the power of positive thinking, that’s bullshit. Yes, I agree, it takes a lot more than positive thinking before it rains money. But this is just the first step. This is about rejiggering your brain so that you think in a new way because let’s face it, the old way isn’t working so well. Let’s just admit that money plays an important role in your art making. It might not make you a better artist but it will definitely put you in a place of control. And that’s a much better place to be than asking your gallery for an advance. So isn’t it worth attempting? Isn’t it worth trying something new in the New Year? Isn’t your art and your career and your peace of mind worth trying a little voodoo?

Tell me, how do you think about money? 

Day Jobs and Selling Out

Art making is often times a solitary endeavor. Most of the artists that I’ve worked with believe that they alone struggle with problems that pervade only their lives. I currently work with about 20 artists at various stages in their careers, and I get asked a lot of the same questions and run into a lot of similar issues and situations. Sometimes artists think I’m blogging about them specifically when I’m actually blogging about a different artist entirely. Because they believe that their situation is unique when in fact a lot of artists and galleries struggle with very similar issues.

So I want to dedicate this blog to addressing 3 common types of problems with artists that I’ve seen over my 15 years of working in the art world. I’d be surprised if you haven’t experienced one or more of these issues along the way. A word of caution, the following blog doesn’t offer many answers but sometimes finding solutions is not really the point. Sometimes it’s enough to know that you’re not alone.

Here are 3 artists with 3 different problems:

Artist A works diligently in his studio. He doesn’t have a day job. He gets up in the morning and works just on his art. Part of the reason he doesn’t have a day job is because he’s worried that it will compromise his work. But he worries because he can barely afford his rent much less materials, gas, food and all of his other costs of living. He suffers because his financial situation is out of his control.  

Artist B has a day job and she fits in her art making in the small amount of time that she has left over. She pays the bills and has control over her finances, but worries that her identity has been swallowed up by her day job that she barely tolerates. She worries that she doesn’t have the time to really make the work that she wants. She suffers because her identity is usurped by her menial job and her limited amount of time.

Artist C has seemingly achieved the Holy Grail of artistic success: he makes money off of his work and doesn’t have to worry about having a day job. But he worries that he sold out. He’s concerned that maybe his work is too safe, too commercial or that he’s a one trick pony. He suffers because he believes he’s compromised.

This brings me to a very important concept within an artists’ career: the idea of compromise. Compromise is thought of as selling out. But what about thinking of compromise in a different way? What about thinking about compromise as minimizing duality in your life and art making. I believe that duality, as a mode of existence, wastes energy. You’re constantly in conflict with yourself. And that conflict sometimes feels like it’s necessary, you can’t make good work if there isn’t drama or conflict. I get that, but I think it can also be self-defeating.

I think at one point or another every working artist has been one or more of these people. And moving from A to B or B to C or C to A is not really the point and doesn’t really solve anything. There are problems and difficulties with all these scenarios. And because I try to help artists, I can’t not offer up a possible solution. It might be corny or trite but here goes, if all these scenarios are undesirable, how can you make them desirable, how can you make them work? How can you find fulfillment in your existing situation? Changing the situation is easy, but finding true fulfillment is harder because it takes a shift in a way of thinking, it would mean accepting the idea of compromise not as a form of selling out but as a sign of maturity and seeking balance to make your art practice and your life whole rather than disparate.

Be Prolific Be Loved

I recently met up with an artist client of mine and we were discussing his tepid relationship with one of the galleries that represents his work. He’s been somewhat concerned about why he feels like his gallery basically blows him off. He wondered if he was just being paranoid or had actually made some kind of artist-gallery faux pas.

At first I thought maybe he was being paranoid but after we got to talking, I realized he hadn’t given his gallery any recent inventory. He’s working on a show for his other gallery and since he works slowly and incredibly methodically, he’ll just have enough for the upcoming exhibition.

So I remember working with a gallery years ago and we would go down the list of every artist and print out all the available inventory and create lists of offers we would make to clients. Of course, we would skip over artists that we didn’t have any inventory for. Not out of rudeness, just because that’s what galleries do, they sell art. And if there isn’t any art to sell, then they move on to the next artist on the list.

Now obviously I’m being a bit crude, galleries do a lot more than just sell work. But when you’re in a sales meeting and every time a particular artists’ name comes up and there isn’t any “extra” inventory outside of their exhibition and the occasional art fair, they start to get passed up a lot. The artists that had no inventory just really weren’t on our radar.

I suggested to my client that maybe the reason that he felt like they were blowing him off was because they were. No inventory, no sales, no love, again very crude but not far from the truth unfortunately. But what we were really uncovering thru this process was that he needed to make more work if he was going to be represented by two galleries. He needed them out there showing the work and talking to curators and excited about new projects and drumming up commissions. And in order to do that they needed to have something to work with. They needed inventory. And not just any old inventory, new, fresh, current inventory, hot-out-of-the-studio inventory.

So we made a plan, after his exhibition, he needed to revamp his studio process: hire an assistant, outsource part of the production, enlarge the studio and start making more work. Now I’m not advocating for every artist to become a factory but there is something to be said for being able to handle the demands of being loved. And sometimes in order to get love you have to put more love out into the world.

Paper Trail

A few weeks ago I was listening to NPR and heard a story about a remarkable paper trail. The paper trail related to a Renoir painting that had been bought at a flea market for $7. The only way the Baltimore Museum of Art may be able to recover the work is because it kept a record of the work in their card catalogue. Since 1937 there was a card indicating that the BMA had the work at the museum from 1937 – 1951, that it was on loan from Sadie Mae and that it had been stolen in 1951.

“All the way up through 1951 you have it listed in the (museum) card file. Then it disappears … and the thing shows up in somebody’s garage,” said Wittman, the former FBI agent. “It’s remarkable that the museum would still have that catalog card. That’s fabulous.” - AP

Obviously I’m not saying you should start an analogue card catalogue but keeping track of each work’s “fact sheet” is important. Keeping an accurate record of an artwork’s history not only helps when making an insurance claim, but more importantly it helps you manage future sales. You can use any number of databases to do this. Just make sure it has a way to clearly identify each item on a fact sheet.

A fact sheet has three components: Provenance (who owned the work previously), Exhibition History (where was the work exhibited), and Literature (in which publication was the work reproduced).

Here is a sample fact sheet:

Caitlin Masley

Untitled, 2011

Acrylic on paper and pencil

28 x 15 inches

Provenance

Alison Smith, New York, NY

Amy Davila, Los Angeles, CA

Exhibition History

Caitlin Masley, Wirksworth Art and Architecture Festival, Derbyshire, England, 2011.

Literature

Silman, Eliza. “Caitlyn Masley.” Time Out NY 11 Oct 2012: 32.

And remember when it comes to an insurance claim a picture is worth a thousand words so make sure you have an image attached. The BMA didn’t have one so they had to go by dimensions and description to match it up with the 1951 police report. 

Stimulating Your Economy

I don’t think it’s possible these days to avoid the barrage of news about the staggering economy and the various dismal job’s reports that seem to roll out on a weekly basis. Lately every time I tune into NPR I get depressed. But it got me thinking about my own economy. How could I stimulate my own work life and do more?

And then it hit me: I could become an employer. How much better would my life be, work or otherwise, if I had an assistant that could get me organized and help my life run smoother? But then I thought I’m not rich; I can’t afford an assistant. But could I afford a part time assistant? Maybe…

I thought why the hell not? So I put a simple ad on craigslist: Seeking Smart PT Office Assistant. Believe it or not in a matter of 5 hours I had 200 resumes in my email inbox. After getting over the initial shock of having to literally find a needle in a haystack, I began to realize that there were actually a lot of needles in this haystack. There are a lot of highly qualified people out there looking for a decent job even if it’s part time.

After a few days of sifting and narrowing it down, I lined up 15 interviews in 15-minute intervals for one day only. Yes, I was dreading the marathon ahead of me. Yes, it was a bit grueling searching for my ideal person, but at the end of the day, I had my top 4 candidates.

I asked myself who would grow with me? Who would be the ideal person to not just be an assistant but that could eventually be my right hand, maybe a manager one day? I decided on the one person. I called her promptly to offer her the position. She was so excited to start working for me. I couldn’t believe it: in one week I had an assistant. And one week after that I had an organized office, a revamped mailing list, a functioning calendar, and lists upon lists of more for her to do.

Having an assistant actually allowed me to think bigger. I now had someone that I had to keep busy. I needed to think not about tomorrow but about a month from now. I was planning and strategizing in ways that I couldn’t allow myself to do before. I needed to figure out what to delegate and what I couldn’t delegate. I had two brains instead of one. I had 4 arms instead of two. It was the most amazing revelation I’ve ever had! Yes, I had not only stimulated THE economy, I had stimulated MY economy.

To all those artists and galleries doing everything themselves, I have a message for you: you don’t have to do it all by yourself, in fact, you shouldn’t do it all by yourself. For the love of the economy and your own sanity become an employer. 

Benefit Art Auctions

Since I’m currently ensconced in planning a benefit art auction right at this very moment, I figured why not blog about all the reasons participating both as an artist and a gallery matters.

If you’re a gallery or an artist, I’m sure you’ve been hit up by various institutions, at least a few dozen times, to donate work to help raise money for the arts. Since we don’t live in Germany, the art community is responsible for seeing that we don’t fall into a cultural void. So the question remains, do you participate or not?

My answer is unequivocally, yes! And I’m not just saying this because I’m organizing one myself.

Artists, even though you don’t get to write off the fair market value of your work on your tax returns, you still get a ton of benefits from donating your work, here are my top 3:

1. Purpose – gets your creative juices flowing, your work has an immediate purpose to help the organization
2. Exposure – gets the work out of your studio and into an exhibition space, people see the work, it gets exhibited and reproduced, shot out into universe on websites, press releases, checklists, posters and ads.
3. New Connections – gets the work in a reputable venue along side other reputable artists and your work is seen by collectors, curators, gallery dealers, and press.

Galleries, you actually get to write off the full fair market value of the work on your tax returns, so participating is basically a no brainer. But here’s how you can take it a step further:

1. Invite your collectors  - make sure you promote the event to your collectors and mailing list, this ensures that the work you donated will get bought and if no one buys it, step in and buy it yourself, double tax benefit.
2. Host an event – pick a non-profit that you like and ask if you can host the auction at the gallery, it’s great for press.
3. Donate money – like I said before, this isn’t Germany, so if we want our most prized cultural venues to stay alive we have to play an active roll.

And if you’re a collector, you should also support and participate. Personally I’ve bought the majority of the art in my collection at benefit art auctions. Not only did it put me on the radar of some great galleries that I would never have had access to, but it also helped me develop my taste and get to know various artists work that I wouldn’t have been exposed to otherwise.

Do not hesitate to participate, even if you are asked year after year and nothing has come of it yet. The work, your name, and your generosity is getting out into the world and that cumulative effect actually matters and at the very least it’s good karma.

Non-Exclusive License Agreement

Copyright law is incredibly complex so I’m only going to tackle a small part that I think has the most usability for artists and galleries.

We all pretty much know the basics: if you are a living artist making work, you own the copyright to the work. You (or your designated agent, i.e. your gallery) can grant certain licenses to use / reproduce that work because you own the copyright.

If you hire someone to photograph your artwork, you do not own the copyright to the photographs, the photographer does. He/she may grant the use of those photographs, request that he/she be credited as the photographer and/or charge a fee for their use.

Now let’s say that a collector or institution now owns the work. Who owns the copyright? The collector lawfully possesses the work but You, as the artist, still retain the copyright. And you can therefore grant a license to use reproductions of that work for educational, promotional and/or merchandising purposes or not.

Here is a sample of a non-exclusive license agreement. Please note that I am not an art lawyer and this blog post is not meant as law advice. This blog post is for educational purposes only.

Sample Non-Exclusive License Agreement

I, the undersigned, represent and warrant that I am the sole owner (or the authorized representative of the sole owner) of all copyright interests in the above referenced work(s) (the “Work”). I acknowledge that Collector has in its collection the Work and that the Collector requests permission to reproduce the Work as described below.

I hereby grant to the Collector, as of the date written above, a non-exclusive license (the “License”) to reproduce the Work, for the life of its copyright and any renewals or extensions thereof, in the media specified within this document, and to display, transmit, publish, distribute of and otherwise use the Images throughout the world as follows.

The Image may be reproduced for the sole purpose of educational and promotional materials related to the collection and programs and for record keeping purposes including, but not limited to press releases, web sites, social networks, annual reports, promotional flyers, email, direct mail, invitations, posters, films, television and membership solicitations.

The Images may not appear on merchandise for sale with the exception of exhibition catalogs and brochures. It may not appear on products for sale such as posters, postcards, apparel, and other merchandise.

I acknowledge that the above-listed uses may require editing Images of the Work. I therefore grant the Collector the right to “crop,” “bleed,” “detail,” and/or otherwise edit Images of the Work only upon prior approval of the artist or his/her authorized representative.

I agree that if the Work is/are lent to a museum or organization for exhibition purposes, the conditions set forth in this License will apply to such third party museum or organization.

The License shall be binding on my heirs, administrators, executors, successors and assigns.

Whenever feasible, the Collector shall include (and cause others to include) the following copyright notice, or one similar to it, in connection with Images (but failure to do so will not give rise to liability or be grounds for terminating this License):

[Courtesy of the artist and XXX Gallery, City, State]

I affirm for the Collector that I am the sole and exclusive owner of the copyright to the Work or the authorized representative of the rights holder and therefore able to grant the License, as requested herein.

Signature_______________________________________________

Printed Name__________________________________________

(If not Artist) Relationship to Artist_________________

Date____________________________________________________

Why Consignment Splits Between Galleries Vary

What do I mean by consignment split? It’s the amount of commission that is shared by two galleries upon the sale of an artwork.

Here are a couple of scenarios that could alter the consignment split.

Let’s say an artist has their primary gallery in LA, Gallery A, and that artist has a solo show in Paris with another gallery, Gallery B. Gallery A creates a consignment of the artwork on behalf of the artist. If Gallery B has shown the work before or if Gallery B shows a commitment to the artist, then Gallery A will usually split the commission 60/40. Meaning Gallery A gets 60% and Gallery B keeps 40%. Gallery A takes the 60% and gives 50% of the sale to the artist (artist almost always gets 50%) and Gallery A keeps 10% as their commission.

Sale $10,000

Gallery A $1,000

Gallery B $4,000

Artist $5,000

Let’s say Gallery B is only showing the artist in a group show or this is the first solo show with the artist, so it’s a brand new relationship. Gallery A will probably share less of a commission with Gallery B. So the split might be 65/35. Gallery A takes 65% whereby the artist gets their 50% and Gallery A keeps 15% as their commission. Now why is this? The rule of thumb that I’ve seen in most galleries is the amount of risk, commitment and time with an artist is what dominates the split. The less risk Gallery B takes on the less their cut.

Sale $10,000

Gallery A $1,500

Gallery B $3,500

Artist $5,000

There are also many exceptions to the rule. One big one revolves around Gallery B being a more prominent gallery than Gallery A. In those instances Gallery A gets no commission. They do the paperwork (i.e. the consignment) but they do not get a commission. Galleries sometimes fight tooth and nail for their commission because it’s not just about the money. It’s a power game and it sets precedence.

Here’s a scenario that might throw you for a loop. If Gallery B is consigned a work but Gallery A sells it before it reaches Gallery B, Gallery B often times will still get their commission even though they didn’t sell it.

Next blog post: Image Copyrights!

Consignment Invoices

Here is another Gallery post but as I’ve said before, it’s good for artists to understand how income is split when their work is sold, especially when there are multiple galleries involved.

If Gallery A (Consignor, entity doing the consigning and often times the primary gallery of that particular artist) consigns artwork to Gallery B (Consignee, entity being consigned the artwork) how does the income and production get split with all parties, including the artist?

All of the logistics are very clearly stated on the Consignment Form: sales prices, discounts to be split, commission allowed, production split, duration of the consignment, etc.  

Once an artwork sells the Consignor Gallery A sends an Invoice to the Consignee Gallery B.

Invoice 2012 - 035

Artwork 1

Retail $10,000.00

Less 10% Discount -1,000.00

Subtotal $9,000.00

Less Artist Production -1,000.00

**IN A CONSIGNMENT PRODUCTION IS ALSO TAKEN OFF THE TOP, REGARDLESS OF WHO PAID IT (GALLERY A, GALLERY B OR THE ARTIST)

Subtotal $8,000.00

Less Consignment Commission (60/40) -3,200.00

**IN THE CONSIGNMENT FORM IT IS STIPULATED WHAT THE SPLIT IS BETWEEN GALLERY A AND GALLERY B. DEPENDING ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES, THE SPLIT CAN BE ANYWHERE BETWEEN 90/10 - 50/50. FOR OUR PURPOSES WE WILL USE THE MOST COMMON SPLIT OF 60% TO CONSIGNOR GALLERY A AND 40% TO CONSIGNEE GALLERY B. WHAT THIS MEANS IS GALLERY A TAKES A 10% COMMISSION AND PAYS THE ARTIST THEIR 50% AND GALLERY B KEEPS 40%.

Plus Artist Production +1,000.00

*GALLERY A RECOUPS THE PRODUCTION ON BEHALF OF THE ARTIST AND THEN SUBSEQUENTLY PAYS IT TO THE ARTIST ON THEIR ARTIST STATEMENT.

Total Due $5,800.00

Then Gallery A receives $5,800.00 from Gallery B and Gallery A pays the artist.

Artist Statement

Artwork 1

Retail $10,000.00

Less 10% Discount -1,000.00

Subtotal $9,000.00

Less Artist Production -1,000.00

Adjusted Subtotal: $8,000.00

Due to Artist (50%): $4,000.00

Plus Production Artist Paid: +1,000.00

Total Due to Artist: $5,000.00

So out of the $5,800.00 Gallery A receives from Gallery B, Gallery A keeps $800 and pays the artist $5,000.00.

Next Blog Post: Why consignment splits between galleries vary so much.