This New Yorker magazine cartoon by William Haefeli’s made me LOL.
This cartoon offers us a great teaching moment because it’s illustrating what most artists have been led astray to believe. “It’s all about me and my creative process.”
All of this emphasis on creative “process” in art school is why we are stuck with long self-involved artist’s statements that go on and on.
Here’s what I tell the artists I coach. “The first thing that you are going to have to learn if you want to sell your art, is that it’s not about you, it’s about them. Them being art collectors. The more you make it about them, the more it will become about you.”
In other words, the more you serve your collectors by providing value, the more you will benefit by their collecting.
It’s not that collectors are not curious about an artist’s creative process; it’s just that this is not what triggers a collector to buy your art.
They are buying your art because it makes them feel. You are selling feelings. Yes. That’s right. Not objects.
What feelings you ask? Ask your collectors. “How does my art make you feel?”
Ask yourself. How does art make you feel?
- Why do you listen to a song over and over again?
- Why do you anticipate a new designer’s collection?
- Why do you look through a volume of your favorite artist’s work?
Some art collectors will struggle with articulating how they feel. Why? Because many people struggle expressing their feelings. I know that’s not news to you.
If a collector can’t articulate their “feelings” they can often talk about what the song, the painting, the hand made ring “means” to them.
Buying investment grade art on the secondary market is not what we are talking about here. Obviously there are financial motivations at play. Art appraisals and provenance is relevant to this category of art.
Artists Who THRIVE is not about artist’s estates. Those artists are dead. They are not thriving… anymore.
Artists Who THRIVE is about serving living, entrepreneurial, emerging artists. Whatever “emerging” means. I prefer “arriving.”
So your assignment is clear. Ask yourself.
- What am I selling?
- How do you express what you are selling?
- What do your collectors say about why they are buying your art?
If you are still not 100% sure of what you are selling, you need to get clear.
Why? Because if you don’t know what you are selling it’s going to be near impossible for your collectors to guess.
If you are struggling with this assignment then book a consult.
Did you enjoy this article?
I don’t understand your point or what you are referring to when you mention a “snobby collector?”
Yes, it’s almost too obvious to mention but it is about selling feeling first & foremost.
Sure there are collectors who require the reassurance of letters after a atists name, and a long self indulgent piece about the artist, a list of where they’ve exhibited & sold etc. but all of that is for a insecure & somewhat snobby collector.
Other people see great art that moves them & know they have to have it.
What a wonderful thing to “sell?”
Ann,
Your statement “You are selling feelings.” is very true. I had read about it before but now I have experienced it myself. These are the words of a client who commissioned me to make a pendant for him to give as a gift:
“Yessss! That sounds awesome. I am literally shaking because I’m soo excited. Its beautiful. I couldn’t ask for a better looking pendant. This is incredible. Thank you sooo much…I am counting down the minutes till I receive this gift!!!”
Wrong Brian.
I’m NOT suggesting that collectors are not interested an artist’s creative process.
I’m suggesting that is not all that they’re interested in.
If an artist is interested in “selling” their work, versus just “showing” it, then they may be very interested in the marketing principle of “features versus benefits.”
The reason the comic is funny is because we recognize the irony in it. But maybe you don’t?
Again, JUST discussing “features” is communicating only about the “process.”
An artist must communicate the “benefits” of their work outside of the benefits to themselves.
In other words, it’s not all about you.
Got it?
There is no need to address me as ‘dear’.
You said, “This post is about effectively communicating to collectors, not galleries or grantors.”…. all I’m saying is that MANY art collectors DO want to know about process. Thus, they may really, really, really enjoy reading a statement. You might want to reconsider your approach in that regard.
You said in your article , “In other words, the more you serve your collectors by providing value, the more you will benefit by their collecting. It’s not that collectors are not curious about an artist’s creative process; it’s just that this is not what triggers a collector to buy your art. They are buying your art because it makes them feel. You are selling feelings. Yes. That’s right. Not objects.”
I’m saying that some collectors value information. Some DO want to know about the process involved. In fact, some potential buyers may end up appreciating the piece more if they understand that process a little better. They may discuss these details with others if the artwork ends up in their home or office. Thus, artist statements and other artist writing can be vital.
You seem to be suggesting that artists should ignore those details concerning art collectors. That is only correct if we assume that ALL collectors don’t care about said info. That is why I suggested that we should not lump all art collectors together (we should not assume that they don’t want information… when maybe they do)… anymore than we should lump all artists together. Not to mention that art writing can help an artist to improve… buy digging deeper into what exactly he or she does.
Dear Brain,
This post is about effectively communicating to collectors, not galleries or grantors.
There’s a BIG difference between these “target markets” and artists can not connect with them all the same way.
If artists want to sell, not show, they must understand a “Marketing 101″ principle, “features” versus “benefits.”
That’s the distinction. Droning on about “features” is what makes up the majority of artist’s statements.
Grant seeking is absolutely part of the scarcity and permission based model of the traditional art establishment.
There is nothing (wrong) with grants. They’re great! If you can get one.
Spinning your wheels seeking grants, is just not what an Artist Who THRIVES spends their precious time doing.
An Artist Who THRIVES connects directly with collectors and patrons.
Again, I invite you to Start HERE so that we may be on the same page, or not
https://artistswhothrive.com/get-coached/welcome-to-artists-who-thrive/
Kindly,
Ann
Ann — I’m not referring to just ‘art establishment’ collectors. There are collectors from all walks of life who like to read statements — and other writing offered by the artists they love. That was my point. I’ve seen my fair share of rural / small community art events… trust me — some collectors, far from the ‘art establishment’ want to read statements.
As for grants, seeking a grant does not necessarily mean you are part of the ‘art establishment’. Artists from ALL walks of life seek grants… and in general, statements are expected. Thus, if you want to seek grants… you need to be able to write a statement and write about your process. No excuses.
Dear Brian,
No one is lumping everyone together.
It’s true that the art establishment is very interested in artist’s statements but that’s not what we talk about here at Artists Who THRIVE.
Here we talk about side stepping the art establishment and building an enterprise where we connect directly with collectors.
So before you read more you may want to “Start HERE…”
https://artistswhothrive.com/get-coached/welcome-to-artists-who-thrive/
Kindly,
Ann
We can’t lump all collectors together… anymore than we can lump all artists together. It is true that some art collectors don’t care about artist statements or details about process… but others DO care. In my opinion, it is better to have that info — cover all the bases — than ignore it outright. Furthermore, those details may attract writers (I’ve interviewed over 500 artists… and most of them provided a statement on their website)… the artist statement might be a requirement for grants as well. Last I checked… both the Warhol Foundation and Pollock / Krasner Foundation request said info grant-wise. Those grants are not just for ‘big name’ artists….