[TheForge] Re: TheForge digest, Vol 1 #689 - 4 msgs

[theforge@mailman.qth.net]

In a message dated 02-11-03 04:02:37 EST, you write:

<< >
 > There are a number of expressions one can affect for the artsy bs crowd.
 > [...]
 > First: The Superior Sneer....
 > Second: The Knowing Look....
 > Third: Pained Indulgence....
 
 Hah!  I never thought to classify and catalog these bits.  But as I
 see them listed, I realize that they are part of my internal,
 automatic jerkball detector.  Just seeing those expressions listed
 brings to mind images of Jerks I Have Known and of the occasions upon
 which I realized they were jerks.
 
 No wonder I never managed to get it on with the Art Establishment, eh? >>

I realize Frosty was mostly tongue in cheek....let me respond seriously.  If 
you're on a Paley or Chihuly level, you can get away with acting like a jerk 
(not that either of them do -- people on their level, who have built up a 
following and "mystique" could, though).  For the rest of us -- well, maybe 
in NYC or LA it'll work, not too much anywhere else.  It DID a generation 
ago, when you could be a royal jerk a la Jackson Pollock, and still get 
wealthy patrons like Peggy Guggenheim to swoon over you and push you to the 
top.  Even then, even more art jerks starved than succeeded.

Be nice.  Most people do want to deal with nice people then with jerks.  Even 
gallery owners.  If art galleries won't talk to you because you say you're a 
blacksmith, you're dealing with the wrong galleries.  With the number of them 
out there, keep plugging.  Have your portfolio with you -- a pocket sized 
portfolio carried with you everywhere is a good investment.  There are plenty 
of galleries that won't care if you call yourself a blacksmith or a sculptor 
or a pretty little angel with gossamer pink wings,, so long as your work is 
good.  And if you really really have to be in these galleies that keep 
putting you off -- play the game -- call again, and tell them you're a 
sculptor!

And don't forget fine craft galleries.  Blacksmithing IS a craft, and an art. 
 And a science.  And a religfor some.  Pretty cool.

Jerry V