BURNAWAY » Why Don't Artists and Arts Festivals Mix?

Why Don't Artists and Arts Festivals Mix?

Written By Jeremy Abernathy on May 26, 2009 in COLUMNS

The Decatur Arts Festival last weekend (Photo courtesy the Decatur Arts Alliance).

A very simple, but serious question for practicing artists: Isn’t it strange that arts festivals are some of the least hospitable places for career artists? It seems to be the prevailing wisdom around town that showing on the festival circuit is not a good idea, or that it isn’t practical, due to obligations of time, paying festival fees, and either a real or perceived … risk of one’s reputation?

Artlantis flyer (Courtesy Beep Beep Gallery). Artlantis outdoor arts festival takes place June 6; check it out before GATHER ATLANTA at Eyedrum!

Then again, it’s hard for me to imagine a less intimidating and more celebratory environment than being outside, in the open air. And after opening night after opening night, again, there seems to be a lack of quality daytime events to break up the gallery hop routine. At least two local galleries have come up with solutions: Beep Beep’s Artlantis arts festival and Alcove Gallery’s Art B Que. Both events take place in June, and both feature food and music. (Beep Beep’s musical lineup includes Judi Chicago, The Killer and the Martyr, The Back Pockets, Book of Colors, El Fossil, Dewar Brothers, and Mule Skinner McQueen; Alcove’s flyer, on the other hand, promises burlesque performances ….)

For me, the revelation—that two venues are hatching nearly the same idea, with little to no knowledge of each other—further underscored the profound lack of communication between our disparate “subcultures” of Atlanta art. Of course, I discovered this tidbit a mere hour before visiting the Decatur Arts Festival … where to my horror, one of the Decatur Arts Alliance volunteers asked me, “So, where is Eyedrum anyway?”

The question was innocent enough … and despite my cringe, maybe it just means that we need to do a better job: Isn’t it embarrassing that the public doesn’t know who or where we are?

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Category: COLUMNS |
Tags: Alcove Gallery, Art Be Que, Artlantis, Avondale, Beep Beep Gallery, Decatur, Decatur Arts Festival, Eyedrum

http://www.gatheratlanta.com Susannah

Unfortunately, it is easy for galleries, etc to not reach outside of their established mailing lists and the close knit art community we have. But, on the same note, it is also hard to reach out to people that don’t seem interested in what is being offered around their city. With all the arts writers disappearing this will probably get to be even more of a problem. Without being told by the AJC to go out and see a gallery, a majority of Atlantan’s won’t have any idea that the place even exists. Certainly is something to be discussed and addressed. Involvment in the community and from the community is what makes an art scene relevant.
Jerry Cullum

Magic City Art Connection in Birmingham was, as of a few years ago, noted for the presence of Atlanta artists with Atlanta gallery representation whose work could survive all the dangers of an outdoor venue (and of course, longtime festival exhibitors have figured out how to protect photographs, watercolors, delicate clay sculptures, what have you). Because of what was then the lack of a developed gallery scene, it was assumed that the best of Birmingham artists would present their work in booths in the park.

In general, mainstream outdoor arts events emphasize cheerful, innocuous art, though at least one photographer in Birmingham had more in common with Joel-Peter Witkin than with the well-done knockoffs of Ansel Adams one is used to seeing in art festival booths. (And some festival exhibitors, as in Greenville, SC, could easily get commercial-gallery representation…Artisphere is trying to raise the bar for outdoor arts festivals.)

I believe Art B Que is at least in its second year, or at least there was an art barbecue of some kind in Avondale Estates last summer…it’ll be interesting to see if the general public will react positively to the kind of work that’ll be exhibited next door to Urban Outfitters down on Ponce.

btw, Cathy Fox now has a blog, along with Pierre Ruhe, to fill in part of the reviewing void I just made note of again in an essay on Counterforces. But how many AJC readers will know it exists?
Flannery O’ Derrida

I do not believe in pure idioms. I preach there are all kinds of truth, I think there is naturally a desire, but behind all of them there is one truth, for whoever speaks or writes, to sign in an idiomatic, irreplaceable manner. Where you come from is gone,
where you thought you were going to never was there, and where you are is no good unless you can get away from it. To pretend, I actually do the thing: I have therefore only pretended to pretend.
Jimmy Squats

^ Masturbatory!
eggtooth

Interesting that “masturbatory” would come up,even if it was directed at a comment,rather than what the comment was directed at. Which,by the route the comments prior to that took- leading away from the original post-it generally speaking has to do with the relationship art has with its viewers. One could say that the art is forced into a kind of…uuum, oh…i dunno, masturbatory relationship with itself?
This post is curious. i will admit i spent some time showing my art at festivals. the curious thing was,the stuff i was doing was rough and tumble,but obviously never shook a base aesthetic that informed the innocuous stuff you see at the festivals. In other words,my paintings sucked…(and still suck)
Juried festivals such as this decatur thing will show Talented Stuff,but here’s the thing:
It’s not art.
The casual reader of the AJC strolls through the pages of the paper in the same manner the folks strolling around the decatur arts festival perambulate the veritable gauntlet of overpriced fried crap and “art”. They are not there for the “art”. Which is somehow ironic due the fact that ostensibly that is why everyone is there.
The reaching of viewers of art. Those of interest will find it. Presently the duty is on the artists. I could also jump anywhere on the wheel,the symbiosis artists have with curators,gallery owners,art writers and critics, and blame any of them as well.I tend to like ot focus on the writers cuz they have a direct route to putting pressur eon the art,while supplying a view and perhaps even reason. The bottom line is expectations need to be felt and blame falls on the art itself for not attracting attention. Change needs to be felt billowing through the air,even if its a “lie” that tells a truth….know what i mean?
Hey. Maybe art needs to hire an ad agency with a Top Notch Creative Director to tell it what kind of art to make- and how to market it. and even go ahead and tell it who its target audience is. it’s just art,right? I mean..what do people who make art know about touching people on fundamental emotional levels? (heh)Maybe they need some artistic help making art.

I see so many who are so much more mature than me in their realizations about their locale and their art…isnt art also about timing..knowing what to show where when,how to position it, space it ,etc…what to say…how to react to real life situations..
so yeah,go on blaming the same avenues for why nobody is showing up. I really feel that basically everybody that cares has heard.
and if they say something like “where exactly is eyedrum?” -which by the way, i too have heard and used to find myself stunned,but now i understand- the by and large truth is there is a mentality out there that has its right to feel how it feels and ya know-they dont really care.
i really think that a core of artists have found each other for a reason and will continue to attract like minds and they are finding a patience and awareness of each other. They are teaching and working together and forming an unseen bond. It is happening. The happiness with simply masturbating together must be gratifying for a bit, i say. that will stir energy that is honest and closer to life and real experience and real feelings…which will attract attention. real attention. not just some one week article for somebody to cut out and stick on their mom’s fridge or show to an apathetic co-worker.
and.
It will happen while Cathy Fox continues writing about learned architects dining in overpriced pretentious museum restaurants. which is fine. its necessary,but so is the decatur arts festival.
http://charleskeiger.blogspot.com/ charles Keiger

As a past judge at some of these festivals (not in Atl.), I have noticed that the farther you are from a “cultural center”, the higher the quality of art work presented. The local buyers come out and spend, they have their favorites and wait till they come around each year, (I guess the quality of work beats the frame shop offerings).
A “career artist” jumping into the Festival scene presents many problems; you probably have a dealer that wants to protect their “cut”, and the price point for the buyers attending, is way below the gallery norm. Wandering around the Atlanta intown festivals, I always see work that is a variation of what most galleries here show. I often wonder how the gallery paintings would hold up if they were outdoors next to the funnel cakes, without the halogen lighting, air conditioning, white walls and resumes. The answer to that question might be the reason the two worlds never cross.
http://tomzarts.com Tom Zarrilli

Speaking for my wife a painter and print maker she glad to not be in the festival circuit anymore. Besides the fine art vs not so art art issues discussed it was mostly a right of passage for her. She made some money at festivals but never a lot. We never got into the hard core festival life of traveling city to city but I think the gypsy aspect of this is enjoyed by some artists. Its a very social experience as well if you like that sort of thing. But it starts the tail wagging the dog as some artist start tailoring their work to what will sell rather than what is good. So A lot of artist may have an unintentional slide towards cute or decorative small works. (It’s an easier sale if the buyer can carry the art in one hand and a snow cone in the other.)
To the public at large I think some people think this how real artist should live and market their wares.
The final straw for Cindy that ended her involvement in these venues was “too many sweaty people eating turkey legs while looking at your art.”

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