Testing, testing
I have been away from Paris since Sunday evening, so despite being over 500km away from the studio, I have thought long and hard about several things that I want to try for the first time in my art practice, before acting on some of them. Quite a few of these risks are possible to test while working in Geneva, and others need wait for my next studio visit, when I can be reunited with my canvases and paints and get elbow-deep in a lovely new mess! So, before listing all the risks I tried taking while in Geneva, I would like to quickly highlight a risk I took on Friday in Paris:
Fig.1 = Risk 1
This was my first 7k+ run. EVER. After last week’s first 5k.
Bearing in mind that I cannot run - at all - this was a massive risk.
Thank god I ran with a good friend of mine who is quite the marathon expert. It felt so good to break down my own barriers and I will try and keep it up!
Consistency is key and I am loving this period of vast motivation and enthusiasm I am feeling.
Onto the next subject:
This was a visit to Musée Ariana, one of the lovely places I have never visited in Geneva, despite working here now since 2022 almost. I have visited all the other lovely places several times, from Musée d’Art et d’Histoire so many times, MAMCO, MEG, et al. I would love to have a show here in Geneva one day, and it is a clear possibility with the charity association For The Art which whom I already had a show at the MR80 Gallery at Rue de Turenne in Le Marais Paris this year, as well as a few other contacts I could activate later down the line. In Musée Ariana, this was my first time concentrating on ceramics and glass, and in addition, the building itself was gorgeous, nestled between Neo-Classical and Neo-Baroque. All of the shapes, colours, hybridisation of modern and contemporary with traditional and focused on heritage and craftsmanship - was exactly what I needed to digest one of my first “risks” taken on Monday. Let me tell you what happened.
Fig.2 = Risk 2
Something I have never done before:
I met with a gallery owner in Geneva to talk about my work and to get his honest feedback on where I am today and where he suggests I could go tomorrow. He is a contemporary art market specialist, art advisor (collectors, artists, professionals), as well as teacher, speaker, and plenty of other things, and I was introduced to him through the Geneva creative business school at which I teach. Now this is whole conversation was a huge risk for me in several ways:
I may have sent a portfolio for Central Saint Martins, but I have never shown or sent any sort of portfolio to a gallery owner in person
I may have 15 years of professional work experience under my belt, of which 3 of those years have been spent teaching in 8 business schools, but I have NO idea how to present myself as an artist
I may have been introduced by a contact who loves my teaching and consulting work, but it is therefore not my art work, and this art market specialist has no reason to be “nice” to me
Finally, I may have an agent in Paris, but I still feel like I am finding my way, and while I am very open to all feedback and constructive criticism, I am also terrified of hurtful feedback
With these points in mind, this is how the risk-talk went.
After some small talk, about our common contacts in art, education, business and so on, we moved on pretty quickly to me, my art practice, my portfolio, and my aspirations for next steps. He was enthusiastic and positive about my energy, ideas, artworks and plans for the future, especially emphasising on how Central Saint Martins came at a perfect time for where I am today and where I am going (I agree!). So far so good, we were aligned on these points.
Then the discussion started to diverge into his experiences as an art gallery owner, advisor, and member of the larger art community. I learnt a few things that I had already “felt”or “assumed” about the art industry, that he confirmed with his experiences, which included the “categorisation” of artists in three main categories: A, B and C.
He defined upper tier artists represented by blue chip galleries as the “A” grade, and described how his own plan from now on was to focus on working with these artists. He had represented “B” grade artists before, and even some “C”, but was changing strategy. He also told me about the definition he gave for “A” grade artists, as already represented by upper echelon galleries (so, a bit of a chicken or egg situation). The definition he gave for the “B” and “B+” grade artists was those who were already selling, getting shows, commissions etc, and moving onwards and upwards, but not yet the artists that the top galleries would want to represent or involve in their shows. He explained this through risk management, and the safety net that “A” grade artists represent for their benefactors. The definition he then gave to “C” grade artists was commercial artists, so - those who worked on easy-to-sell pieces that followed trends, did not create anything new, and never made you feel uncomfortable or unsure looking at them. Safe art work that sells to those looking for something safe, common and trendy in their home, in other words.
So, where did this conversation go?
Now, before revealing the grade he gave me based on my portfolio, I should point out that he had already made it clear that he enjoyed the presentation I gave of my portfolio, and supported the choices I had made in terms of testing bigger, more colourful pieces that were much more expressive than the previous “comfort zone” black and white ink pen line work. These smaller, detailed past pieces represented my skill, for him - “we get it, you can draw, and you draw well!” - but did not necessarily have to be my signature - I have potential to go further, if I let my energy and personality take me there. He also mentioned that he really wanted to see me create pieces that would “disrupt” or “disturb” the onlooker in some way, to make them question reality or have an emotional reaction with the work, and in order to do that, I should look deep into my own soul, my being, my “reason to be” on Earth. “We all have a dark place” he said, and the best artists - for him - were those who managed to tap into this darkness through their art, without freaking everyone out. A sort of remixed darkness, a disguised madness, a monster masquerading in plain daylight as a philosophical concept. Somehow, my gut knows exactly what he means, and he pointed out that my recent pieces for Clarins were a beginning of this - the Surrealism, the weird aliens, be we needed more. He also added that working with brands was not necessarily a good thing, and - depending on the brand - could even lose an artist points rather than win any. The big difference between a Cartier and a Foundation Cartier was also something to keep in mind. So far, I agreed with most of everything he was saying, even before going into the grade he gave me.
Taking all of the positive comments into account, he did wish to be honest and transparent, and clearly categorised me as a B grade artist (not yet B+) and really insisted that he did not want to hurt my feelings (which I hear all the time from men in certain positions, so I am used to it!) - this time, I also agree to a certain extent. Clearly, I am not (yet) represented by Perrotin or White Cube. I am also not yet showing in fairs like Art Basel, so it would be bizarre for him to categorise me “A” - he would be lying and I would be blind. He also said that he believed that I was at the beginning of my art career (which, in some ways, I also agree with! My gut feeling does tell me that this is my obvious energy, and, until I believe myself that I am no longer at the beginning of my journey, others will feel that too). So, the grade “B” rather than “B+” makes sense in this way. Of course, my ego would rather be “A” or at least a “B+”! That is what I want, and that is what I will get. For now, I need to keep trying, experimenting, failing, loving, laughing, and trying again.
What does it all mean? Well, I am going take it all with a pinch of salt, and I also am not going to let this theory get in the way of the next two years of experimentation, because I want to focus on improving my practice, making a positive impact to my immediate sphere of influence, and stay motivated and positive about what is coming! I feel that this categorisation could in some ways be unhealthy, while it might be true that blue chip galleries will never take the risk with a C-grade artist, or a B/B+-grade artist who has not yet done any major gallery shows, it is also time that this changed. We are starting to see a growing love and appreciation of emerging artists, so there is definitely hope! I will be at the Art Basel opening tonight and the other openings tomorrow and throughout the week, so I shall keep an eye out for the ratio of A/B/C artists. My intention in the next few years: To be part of Art Basel, but with a gallery that does not control my production, and trusts me to create works that continue to reflect our joint vision for art.
Going back to the categories and grades though, on a deeper, philosophical level, it really is daft that humans have this need to categorise everything. Why can’t we just enjoy life without pushing some people down in order to lift others up?
I might even answer that with a few philosophical possibilities myself, before moving onto the next risk I have taken this week.
If we do not take note of where we are at the beginning of a journey, how can we take note of the improvement and new life lessons we have gleaned by the end of that journey?
This is how everything works: The Olympics, the music industry, architecture, entrepreneurship, everything. There is always a best, therefore there is always a worst. Hello binary species.
If we move away from the idea of a binary black and white yes/no winner/loser situation, we also live in a reality of scales, from - to + and everything in-between. Subjectivity vs Objectivity. So, based on that way of thinking, there are simply various types of artists we can be defined as, and until we are clearly represented by major galleries, we could be sliding anywhere between A/B/C depending on who is doing the defining
One last answer to that question, is psychological comfort, and organised thoughts, in order to communicate and share messages. Without categories, how can we agree or disagree? This answer is the easiest for me to digest as it is just a question of communication and alignment between two minds, if we can take out the ego.
Finally, not an answer but more a framework, if we think about categorisation from an Organon (Aristotle) point of view, we might clarify or confuse ideas even further, but this A/B/C talk definitely made me think of that too. So many possibilities. So many emotions - I agree, I disagree, I don’t care, I care.
Regardless of all of the above, the risk was taken, and I have now had my first experience pitching myself as an artist. I now have a contact to speak with later, when I define myself as a B+ or A grade artist. I emphasise the importance of definitely MYSELF - because when I believe it, and I have the proof for myself that it is the case, then everyone else will too. Also, I’m glad I took this risk, despite how strong my mixed feelings were afterwards, and perhaps next time or the time after, I might meet someone who is aligned with my current state of being, and we can collaborate together immediately!
OK, on to the next risk taken this week.
Fig. 3 = Risk 3
Let’s try this method for a new artwork creation tonight and tomorrow morning.
Path 1:
Reflect: COLLAGE. This is inspired by several things - Art Basel, Musée Ariana, all of the exciting shows that are on at the moment in Paris, in addition to some of the students, and of course, George Dyer (MA Fine Art: Digital class of 2023-2025), who I invited to exhibit with us in Paris, with Martina! Plus, I have never done collages, and they seem trendy enough. So here we go.
Plan: Take the “Tender Buttons” magazine from Musée Ariana, and cut it up to mix and match some of the characters for fun.
Act: Mix and match faces, heads, styles, focusing this first time on simple mixtures. For next time: Mix and match eyes / noses / features like George! Perhaps to tell a story about identity, duality, heritage, colour, femininity / masculinity etc?
Observe: There was some planning to see which faces were about the same sizes as which bodies, but otherwise, it was quite a bit of free association and avoiding overthinking as much as possible. I noticed that mixing men’s face with women’s bodies, or vice versa, or even mixing drag queens / monster-like surprises, with normal bodies, created quite the sensation, and was already addressing identity and gender expectations in some way. Going to try this again with even more details!
Path 2:
Reflect: STOP MOTION / FLIP BOOK. I have always wanted to make one, so here we go!
Plan: Something simple to start with, and next time - more pages, more detail, more humour, more sass.
Act: Cut out the pages, make sure they are staggered and easy to flip, then staple together. Draw on each page, step by step, leading up to the final conclusion.
Observe: Several interesting things. The less I overthink, the better the idea. I did not plan the story, I just drew a leaf. Then I drew another leaf, the plant was growing. I did this a few times until it seemed right to go a big bigger, and for some reason the Little Shop of Horrors popped into my head, and the last few pages drew themselves based on that! I should definitely do more “free association” thinking and creating in the future.
Path 3:
Reflect: GAME DESIGN. Last but definitely not least, I got involved in the game design testing phase of my friend’s game design company, and as I used to be a gamer when I was a teenager (but stopped, because otherwise I would never have left the house of gotten anything done, ever), it was very fun to jump back into this world for a little while, and give feedback.
Plan: Test the game, be recorded for my reactions, and also give both functional and creative feedback on how to improve the beta version.
Act: Unfortunately for me, this was a horror game. Ergh. However, it was absolutely hilarious to be so freaked out by a screen, and afterwards we had a great laugh at the footage.
Observe: I am definitely still a HUGE fan of gaming, and I would like to get even more involved. While I do not know how to design or draw anything 3D or for games - yet - this is something I would love to test, in addition to photography and film (did not have the tools to do either this week - will borrow Martina’s cameras next week).
The grand conclusion of this week’s tests?
DO MORE TESTS. THEY’RE FUN!
Photography
Film making
Sculpture
Performance
Did I mention that I was not at all tired last night (Wednesday evening), despite sleeping 4h a night since Monday?
These tests are very much in line with my definition of SOUL FOOD.
