On Monday, August 31st Charles Saatchi’s book will be released by Phaidon. It is titled “My Name is Charles Saatchi and I Am an Artoholic” (Everything you need to know about art, ads, life, God and other mysteries – and weren’t afraid to ask……)
Amazon describes the book thus:
Art collector, gallery owner and founder of a global advertising agency, Charles Saatchi is famously publicity-shy, a reluctant interviewee who never attends his own gallery openings, let alone anyone else’s. This book brings together his unflinching responses to questions he has been set over the last few years by leading journalists and critics as well as members of the public. Whether the questions are related to art, advertising, money or his personal life, Saatchi answers them all with disarming and sometimes brutal frankness, creating an enlightening and entertaining first-hand account of the most influential art collector of our time.
A sample of the questions and answers appear in the Guardian. Some answers I disagree with such as “Art collectors are pretty insignificant in the scheme of things. What matters and survives is the art.” The problem is, that the art that survives is usually what the major art collectors pick and donate to museums.
However other answers, I think are really well thought out and spot-on. “I buy art that I like. I buy it to show it off in exhibitions. Then, if I feel like it, I sell it and buy more art.” “Much more important is to back living artists (that saving old masters for the nation).”
Many of his answers are very glib but from an interview in The Times that I posted back in March, I’ve come to realize he is a man who doesn’t really care what other people think, he does what he wants to do, what he thinks is the right thing to do. I may not always agree with him, but I think he’s an intriguing individual that I’d like sit and chat to one day soon.
I know that times are hard. Financially whatever the bankers and realtors may wish us to think, jobs are still being lost, consumer confidence hasn’t returned and galleries especially the smaller ones that specialize in new and mid career artists are closing down at a rate that I can’t quite keep up with. Buyers seem to be gravitating towards the safe known artists and untested contemporary artists don’t seem to anybody’s first choice.
So what are we to do?
The only thing you as an artist can do is to keep going. There probably isn’t any real choice in that respect. What is important is that we need to maintain that confidence in own abilities and potential. As Bob always says, if we don’t believe in ourselves how can we ask anybody else to believe in us. Nobody else can give us that confidence. We have to dig deep into our souls at times like this and shore up that confidence in ourselves.
If nothing much is happening, I think it’s a great time to devote some time to improving ourselves. Whether it’s something art or skill related, or something personal. It may be time for trying out some new ideas which we wouldn’t have the spare capacity or time to do when we’re busy, or clearing out the studio or home. It’s an excellent time to clear out, take stock and plan for the future. It may be time for a bit of a break or a change, finding something to kick up the energy a notch and finding new motivation.
After that, it’s time to start working harder and smarter. Network. Look for new and better ways to promote yourself and your work. Refocus on your goals. Leave the negativity behind, it’s not about being unrealistic, but everything needs to be focused on what you can and want to achieve. There shouldn’t be any time or effort for those things we can’t change. Accept things and move on to those things that we can challenge. Just make sure that you aim high.
It’s what I’m doing. Why don’t you join me? I believe in you.
Labor Day is very late this year falling on September 7th this year. This tends to make a mess of the scheduling for many galleries. New York galleries and in particular galleries in Chelsea like to start their season on the first Thursday after Labor Day, which would make this year’s starting blocks September 10th.
Although this probably means that most galleries will open their new shows on Thursday, September 10th, which is two weeks tomorrow. However a quick look through many gallery websites shows quite a hodge-podge of starting dates this year.
Pace Wildenstein is hosting an opening reception on Wednesday, September 9th from 6-9pm for James Turrell. Luhrig Augustine hosts their opening reception on Friday, September 11th from 6-8 for Janine Antoni. Tony Shafrazi starts their Dennis Hopper show on Saturday, September 12th. Paul Kasmin starts their show of Claude and Francois-Xvier LaLanne’s sculptures on Sunday, September 13th as it is in conjunction with The New York City Parks Public Art Program and the Fund for Park Avenue Sculpture Committee. Cheim & Reid on the other hand have a women’s group show on until September19 and don’t start their new show until October.
What is a little frightening is that with only two weeks to go some galleries have yet to post their new season schedule including Gagosian and Mary Boone.
If you are in New York this autumn, which shows will you be going to?
Jerry Saltz is the Senior Art Critic for New York Magazine and quite human as critics go! Are you friends with him? On Facebook as of tonight he has 4215. I’ve asked if he’ll be my friend……do you think I might become friend 4216? We have four friends in common. Do you think he vets the friends requests or can anybody become Jerry Saltz’s friend?
Even without becoming Jerry’s friend you can see his wall and the threads of conversation. Looking through it, I see that he’s gone to his limit of 5000 friends already and purged 800 of those who’s names start with the letters between J and O! At the same time he had over 1500 friends requests pending. Oh what it is to be popular! I may have a long wait!
Anyway you can read some the conversations he’s having without becoming Best Buds Forever and he has been covering some interesting topics lately, such as “When did you know you wanted to become an artist?” Jerry says he didn’t become an art critic until his 40’s…..a “late bloomer” he tags himself. Another thread is “artists stealing ideas from other artists”. Quite a lot of people join in the conversation and Jerry chimes in very regularly too.
If you don’t already spend too much time on Facebook, you may want to take a look at Jerry Saltz’s Wall. And let me know if he becomes friends with you…….
“Carhenge” was designed by Jim Reinders and built by him and his extended family in the Summer of 1987 as a memorial to his father just outside Alliance, Nebraska. It is a replica of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England with the same dimensions, except it has been created using vintage American cars instead of stones.
The cars have been painted grey to simulate the stones and the arches welded into place. Carhenge boast a “Friends” organization and a Visitors’ Center.
For more information visit their website.
I have been overwhelmed by the response that we had on the “Who Would You Pick” thread. We had over 60 comments. I really appreciate your time and effort in joining in the conversation. It’s given me the impetus to look seriously at artists that I have not looked at in a long time or as in the case of Egon Schiele, I’d never seen.
It was interesting to see what drew people to artists. Some were just interested in the process of creation, others in the emotion and the thoughts behind the work. There were those who were also keen to learn about the times and context within which the artists worked. The motivations to meet the bygone artists were varied and intriguing.
To those of you who picked living artists, I hope you make the opportunity to meet them and talk to them. Email them or send an old fashioned letter, go to their openings and lectures. You have a responsibility to yourself to make a connection with them. I remember as a little girl, I stood in line for what seemed like hours, after a Sleeping Beauty ballet performance in Tokyo, for Dame Margot Fonteyn. When my turn came to receive her autograph, I was the only one to thank her in English. She looked up, smiled at me and said “very well”. It was only two words and a smile, but in that instant, she imbued in me such motivation, excitement and pleasure that have sustained me on many occasions over the years!
So we put everyone’s name in a hat and we pulled out Joseph Swenarton’s name. He’s a dedicated artist who also does a lot to support others as well. Congratulations Joseph! Your sweatshirt will be on its way.
Does anybody have a good topic for the next discussion?
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Herbert Vogel (born 1922), spent most of his working life as a New York postal clerk, and Dorothy Vogel (born 1935), was a reference librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library. Together they created one of the world best collections of contemporary art.
The couple has collected over 4000 pieces of art in a one-bedroom, rent controlled apartment. Soon after getting married in 1962, they decided to buy art, relying on Dorothy’s salary to live on and spending all of Herb’s salary on art.
Interestingly they buy art based on intuition, art they want to live with, rather than to build a collection. In a documentary film released earlier this year titled “Herb and Dorothy” by filmmaker Megumi Sasaki, they are pictured saying “I like this”, “Its beautiful”, “I think this is important”. Richard Tuttle interviewed in the film theorizes: “something goes from the eye to the soul, without going through the brain.”
They bought work from artists who were at the start of their careers, supporting and encouraging them, collecting their work aggressively for many years. Many of these artists went onto critical acclaim and success, including Sol LeWitt, Richard Tuttle and Robert Barry. Many of the artists that they collected became life long friends to the extent that many of the pieces in their collection were gifts from the artists for the Vogel’s birthdays, anniversaries and other occasions. They also bartered, notably with Christo and Jeanne-Claude; babysitting their cat for one summer in exchange for a preparatory work from the Valley Curtain project.
Much of their collection are works on paper, drawings and preparatory work, not only due to financial and space constraints, but because of their strong interest in the process of creating art. Both Herb and Dorothy had been aspiring artists before making a decision to concentrate on collecting art and so have an insider’s perspective.
In 1992, the National Gallery of Art in Washington agreed to the stewardship for much of the Vogel collection. However the Vogel’s have continued to collect nearly doubling their collection in the last 15 years. Consequently, they initiated The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States project which donated 50 pieces of work each to 50 museums in the United States; one in each state with the support of the National Gallery of Art, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Instituted of Museum and Library Services.
What an inspiration they are for anybody thinking of starting a new collection or improving their existing one. The moral is: “Buy art with your heart”.
I recently quoted the Director of the Edinburgh Festival, Jonathan Mills as saying that British life had become trivialized and that in essence art amongst other things had to be “dumbed down” for today’s public. It may be true to a degree at one end of the spectrum, but I’ve also noticed that there has been a many initiatives to make art available to many more people; encouraging the public to participate.
Pianos have been placed strategically around London allowing anybody to sit down and play. The BBC and Fallon collaborated to create the Blast Studio which allowed the public to manipulate paintball guns via the internet to fire paint to create paintings. The 4th Plinth project randomly picked 2400 members of the public to perform anything they wished on an empty 23 foot high stone statue plinth just to name a few.
Now the Guy Fox History Project Limited, an educational charity has launched a project titled “SEE an Artist, BE an Artist.” Nicola Taylor and Carlos Calvet Ortin have been commissioned to spend the summer painting in a studio located in the glass walkway on Tower Bridge high above the Thames River. The view is stunning and very inspiring following in the footsteps of many famous artists who have painted the vista before them such as Monet, Whistler and Canaletto. They have been paid to work, free to indulge their own style and interests but while they do the public are being allowed to watch them work and ask questions. Then they are encouraged to have a go themselves. Paper and materials are being made available on tables further along the walkway where anybody can have a go at recreating their own interpretation of the famous view of London.
None of these may be what some consider “high art” but it seems to be introducing more people to the concept of art and may take some steps towards de-mystifying contemporary art. I love the trend.
The Times also writes about the See an Artist, Be an Artist project
Here in New York we’ve been enjoying a few days of real summer with the humidity threatening thunder storms and heat that peels the sunscreen away. I could have goofed off and gone to the beach today, but I felt guilty and stayed at home worked. However I will be there later in the week because I was quite excited to find an international project that gives me a very good excuse to be at the beach and contributing to the art world at large.
The Victoria and Albert Museum is sponsoring Sue Lawty’s World Beach Project.
The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London is the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design. It has over 4.5million items spanning 5000 years from around the world in it’s permanent collection housed in buildings that are spread over 12 acres and encompass over 145 galleries.
One of the artists in residence at the V&A currently is Sue Lawty who is working with the Textile Collection. One of her projects is the “World Beach Project (which) is a global art project open to anybody, anywhere, of any age. Building on the experience many of us have of making patterns on beaches and shorelines, this project combines the simplicity of making patterns with stones with the complexities of shape, size, colour, tone, composition, similarity and difference.”
Taking a camera, you need to find a beach and there find some stones. Create a pattern with the stones. Take photos of the whole beach, the process of collecting and sorting the stones and a final picture of your design. When you get home, upload the 3 pictures onto the world wide map and voila! You are now part of a world wide art project.
Come join me and have some fun!
(Thanks to the Telegraph for the heads-up)
