How to break all the rules and gain the adulation of curators
Published: Sat, 05/13/23
The story that always comes to mind is one that Paige Wery told me when I interviewed her for Yale University Radio (she’s the director/curator of The Good Luck gallery, which is the only commercial space in Los Angeles dedicated to showing self-taught art).
She’s a curator who has a reputation for liking outsider art - people who are not trained, who are “unschooled.” And at the time that’s what she looked for in her gallery.
“About a year [after I launched the gallery], I fell in love with somebody’s work - named Jacques Flechemuller.
... and I saw his posts on Facebook… and it was making me laugh out loud… and I just *LOVED* it… whimsical and funny and dark…
We ended up setting a studio visit and he had this whole story that he told me:
He had dropped out of school… his father wouldn’t let him make art… and he joined the circus…
I mean I was just salivating at the wonderful story… and then it turns out it was all just a joke. He just wanted to show at the gallery. He told me, ‘I made up all that stuff. I know that’s what you like to hear.’
I fell in love with his work though, and he’s an amazing artist, so I gave him the show. I still work with him.”
Go to 11:30 to hear the story: https://museumofnonvisibleart.com/interviews/paige-wery/
She not only talks about the artist that lied to her, but also what that artist taught her, which was to change the description of the gallery!
“I changed the description of my gallery. It used to say ‘exclusively self-taught’. Now it says it ‘focuses’ on self-taught. So if I find an artist that I fall in love with, and think their work fits in with the other artists that I work with, then it’s okay. I’ve learned that lesson. I don’t want to completely shut myself off.”
That’s a wonderful story.
He was actually giving her what she wanted, and at the same time it wasn’t true. She was shocked, but she also gave him a show. Very funny.
I like this story because it shows that the arts are not like anything else.
Artists can be eccentric.
Artists can break rules to make a memorable impression.
That said, there are certain boundaries you need to stay within.
If you transgress those boundaries, you destroy a relationship or burn the bridge permanently. You ruin the chance you had, and you invite ostracism from the Art World. Curators put you on the blacklist.
And that’s often the challenge of the artist -
How do you continue to push boundaries, and make a memorable impression, but don’t go too far?
That’s why these monthly Zoom Studio Visits we host for members at the Praxis Center are so crucial.
They give you a safe space to practice your presentation, to develop and perfect your go-to monologue or theatrical ritual, and even to experiment with outrageous ideas, and see how it is received BEFORE you burn the one chance you have with the curator.
Of course, help with studio visits is just a fraction of the support and resources you have at your disposal as a Praxis Center Member.
Read more about it here and enroll if you’d like personalized support and “almost done-for-you” resources to help with every aspect of your art career:
>>> Join Praxis Center Membership
I hope to see you in the Center and help you achieve the success and recognition you deserve in the Art World.
Sincerely,
Brainard Carey
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