To live the
artist's ultimate dream – to make money, and to live off the works
that you love to create – is not an opportunity you often come by.
Commercial galleries play a vital role in the art world. They
stimulate the artistic economy, and provide a serious platform from
which established artists can regularly display and sell their works.
But commercial galleries are subject to a lot of criticism, usually
surrounding issues of the artists they support 'selling out' to them;
their works becoming progressively more vapid.
The
commodification of art has always been fraught with scepticism from
artists and art critics alike. Works
guided by the whispers of a commercial curator surely could never
carry the artist's pure message or intentions. How can a work
generated purely for commercial purposes have anything valuable to
contribute to the local artistic discourse? Upon a recent visit to
Brisbane's Milani Gallery to view Jemima Wyman's latest collection, I
went to find out.
The general
atmosphere of commercial galleries is one of the biggest factors in
determining how much the exhibiting – nay, selling – artist has
'sold out'. You often hear of commercial galleries where the staff
shush loud viewers indignantly or of spaces that dominate the works
they contain. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Milani
space at Wooloongabba was quite understated. Versatile, too. It
looked just like your regular institutional space, with a little
office off to the side. There was plenty of breathing room for any
set of works that might have found its way into the space. On this
occasion, Wyman's latest collection Piecing Together Core Concerns
was that set of works. Due to the sheer scale and high level of
visual stimulation in Wyman's vivid drip-on painting style, the size
of the space provided adequate breathing room, without leaving any
single piece castrated from the exhibition.
 |
| As seen by Dicky Chapelle, US special forces and their interpreter drink tea and discuss politics with a South Vietnamese Buddhist monk, near Khanh Hung, South Vietnam, 1962 Click through to source |
The second
encouraging factor of the afternoon was the assurance that Josh
Milani, the gallery owner-director is passionate about the health of
the Brisbane art scene. Wyman is one of many artists Milani
hand-picked as art students to support throughout the development of
their career. Having monitored her progression from art student
through to fully-established artist, there was a sense of pride in
his voice as he spoke of her. I suppose in art, the commercial really
does have a personal side.
But at what
cost? Wyman's works are stimulating to look at, sure. At a glance,
they appear to be highly politically charged, referencing the
military and images of war and hostility. But it isn't immediately
clear what the conceptual motivation behind the works might be.
Besides the obvious – to make money. Commercial art is subjected to
a level of scepticism not seen in institutional collections or
artist-run initiatives. The questions everybody wants to know the
answer to are: is it really as politically- or conceptually-charged
as it appears? Or is it merely appearing so as part of a
well-developed sales pitch? Does the entire body of work for a
commercial artist change due to the motivation to keep selling their
art? Does it limit how much they can experiment and innovate? What
are their works really able to contribute to the wider artistic
discourse?
 |
Running a
commercial gallery seems a risky operation in our modern age too. As
proud as he was of the works on the walls, Milani did admit that
apart from occasional one-off buyers, his solid customer base is only
four or five collectors strong. In a volatile economic environment
like the one we live in today, that is a precarious fiscal leg to
stand on. What if a collector or two moved interstate, or out of the
country altogether? The gallery would no longer be able to support
itself, or its artists. That it still manages to do so in our day and
age is something of a miracle.
No one wants to
be accused of selling out. At the same time though, it isn't
surprising that artists see the opportunity to sell commercially as a
crucial one. Generating works that don't really say much at all,
but look very appealing gets
them by and allows them to spend your days doing what you love
instead of getting by in a day-job. The cost is that they run the
risk of generating a lifetime of work that never adds to the rich
cultural discourse of the local art scene. I suppose not even artists
can have their cake and eat it too.
Hi Lucy,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your thoughts about my exhibition at Milani Gallery. But i would like to just fill you in on the reality of being an artist and that is I do work day jobs (usually multiple). I completed my bfa 15 years ago and since then have invested all of my time, energy and money into developing my practice. i am very passionate about being an artist and have worked hard (and still do). I work hard researching, making and thinking about a body of work for an exhibition regardless of the space. I also know that work can be visually arresting and intelligent at the same time, and I also believe that commercial galleries can contribute to local culture (and international art culture).
Art has never been a breeze for me, in fact it is a very difficult profession. I am lucky to have supportive friends, colleagues, family and an arts community that help, otherwise i wouldn't have continued practicing. I guess i won't be counting you within that support network.
Please remember in future that what you say and do, does have effect in the world so be considerate and thoughtful.
Regards
Jemima