HEY WHITNEY

In response to my rejection in the International Show 2008 (Summit,NJ), a show I really wanted to be in - the juror was from the Whitney and from the department of Drawings, I drew "Hey Whitney." The Best in Show award for the Int'l show was a meeting with the juror at the Whitney, and a Cash Award of $1,000. I entered that drawing in the Madison National Show in Madsion, GA, and it won a $1,000 Best in Show Merit Award, one of three awarded. The juror was Sylvie Fortin, Editor of ART PAPERS. Lesson: Take that artist's angst and channel it.

But the story doesn't end there. I sent a copy of this drawing to the Whitney to see if they wanted to purchase it. It's been months and still no response, which means there is no interest, because if there was they would certainly contact the artist. I sometimes find if a story is too good, too appropriate, or too relevant, it isn't wanted. Perhaps those that make the decisions prefer something they don't understand, which would make a big ego feel that it is important because it is after all, unexplainable by their cerebral cortex, and if it was easy to understand then it would be an insult to the inquiring mind if it wasn't easily grasped in the first place. Perhaps sometimes an artist should not try to explain the art, thereby making it mysterious, and exciting. But then doesn't art history try its dam nest to make our expressions understandable. Isn't that the point of lectures, books, and exhibitions, to a degree?

At any rate, there are a lot of reasons that determine an acquisition, and some may have nothing to do with the sheer freshness or spiritual value of the work. Look at dealers who may sometimes only look at the existing monetary "value" of a work as the informing factor in their acquiring of it. So, back to this fresh vision where an artist is gaining curatorial favor via juried art winnings, yet not one work has sold, and an artist has to struggle, searching car seats for coins, just to afford the most basic of materials, paper. Do collectors not have vision????