Public Art

Working Artist
Why is public art such an easy target for outrage? Everyone seems to feel they have the right to sound off on it without knowing anything about the art, the artist, the selection process, budgetary considerations, or even anything about art in general. Case in point, Bowfort Towers. So here I am sounding off on it too. Well, not on the art, or its cultural associations or significance, or its author, or the budget, or the selection process. No, I am going to sound off on the uproar that went out, by those who know nothing about it as well as those who should know better (namely other artists who compete for public art contracts). First of all, If you were not interested enough to participate when the call went…
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Reading: Extreme You – Part 4: Break Yourself to Make Yourself

Working Artist
IN Part 1 I explored drive, In Part 2 I looked at standing out, in Part 3 I looked at specialization, and finally in Part 4 I am exploring starting over. Or more accurately I am looking at Sarah Robb O'Hagan's chapter Break Yourself to Make Yourself from her book Extreme You. Essentially she talks about that point in time in your career where objectively speaking everything is going well, and will for the foreseeable future, but there is no growth. It is time to move on. It is time to try something different. I think that this can be very relevant to an artist career. There is a lot of pressure, if you have managed against the odds to find something that works in the market place, to stick…
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Reading: Extreme You – Part 3: Play Your Specialist Game

Working Artist
In Part 1 I covered personal drive, and in Part 2 I covered my thoughts (and worries) about standing out. Today we will look at Sarah Robb O'Hagans perspective on playing your specialist game. So, I do take a little issue with this. She talks quite a bit about knowing yourself and what you bring to the table better than anyone else, and sticking to that. BUT From my experience as a visual artist and a creative entrepreneur, sometimes you have to be flexible, open to new ideas, confident in your ability to learn and adapt quickly, and embrace being a generalist in order to find your path to making your living. Amoung the many things I do or have done to retain my independence and keep my studio going:…
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Reading: Extreme You – Part 2: Get Out Of Line

Working Artist
In my last post I shared my take a way from Sarah Robb O'Hagan's book on developing drive. You can read it here. My next take away is on stepping out of line. As part of my current 100 Rejections Project, I am sending out a lot of proposals, resumes and calls for submissions. If it were not for the aim of this project, to get over the paralyzing fear of rejection and do it as fast as possible by applying for everything I think I am capable of in the arts, I would not say that this is the best or most efficient method for me to find interesting new projects. Why? Because essentially what I am doing by responding to calls is standing in line, with everyone else…
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