This is a mild bitch with a question at the end. Why is it hard for me to find an establishment that displays local artwork for sale? Have I just lost all touch with the Arts? I have a child/teen who has such an amazing eye for photography, it makes me shiver. The pics are so beautiful that I would like to display them in Halifax (Dartmouth?) with hopes that they will sell, for her. I believe, also, that this would be a fantastic opportunity to 1) support her belief that she CAN do this and 2) aid, as a parent, in increasing self confidence, and 3) continuing to promote her artistic side, which I feel is so incredibly important. I have contacted the Art College (no names here…) along with the Gallery of Art (no names, again…) and no one seems to be able to send me in any direction of where I might be able to help her post/display her framed artwork. Can anyone out there shed any artistic light?
—Counting beans
This article appears in Sep 3-9, 2009.
I think it’s great that you want to support your child’s creativity! Kudos!!
That said, I think it’s a sad state of affairs when neither a city’s art college or gallery can direct you to anywhere that displays local art. I hope you find what you need.
It is all about the web now. People are not willing to pay for digital photography anymore. It is simply too common and too easy for everyone to have ‘an eye’ with unlimited access to digital pictures. We will still pay for framing but the image itself needs to be free. Maybe she could start a website so that we can see her images?
There are plenty of small independent art galleries across Halifax. Basically, get her to do up a portfolio and take a tour around Halifax showcasing her artwork to the galleries to get her name out there. Just meeting the curators will go a long way. Even coffee shops might be interested in displaying her work (with a small percentage of profits). She might want to look into making a portfolio website she can direct people to.
But more importantly, and this is *important*! Is her artwork / photography “really” that good? I mean, photographers are a dime a dozen these days. There are two types of artists. Ones who respect their work and create what they want at the cost of being poor, and those who will sell out and become wedding / baby / sunset / flower photographers because the harsh reality these days is anything with real artistic merit DOES NOT SELL. Not in Halifax at least.
Now, I’m not making any judgements because I haven’t seen any of her work, but I can almost guarantee her “amazing eye for photography” is simply knowing how to use a camera and good composition, and you being a proud mother who doesn’t know any better thinks her work is simply incredible when in reality it is mediocre.
How old is she? If she is really going to do this as a career I’d suggest looking into a photography degree at NSCAD or NSCC. Those degrees are essentially worthless in terms of getting a job afterwords, but the knowledge and artistic integrity gained taking a course will help your daughter in the best ways possible.
Another option for her is stock…. You can sell photos that way – and the first time you find your shots being used on a national level, is pretty darn cool
There are sooooooo many good digital photographers out there (some who have been doing it for decades), OP, as well as Photoshop users who can enhance the hell out of any pic. Either design a website and flog her stuff on the fence at the Public Gardens.
So many artists out there (with and without art/music degrees) and so many McJobs waiting for them. Bottom line… if you think the life of an artist is about doing their craft, think again. The only way for artists to make it is to become proficient in marketing themselves and that usually requires some kind of business/marketing degree. Just look and listen to what passes for music and art these days and you’ll know I’m right, the marketing machine makes the artist.
You could try asking around at some of the coffee houses in Halifax. I know the place the rhymes with Tired Skunk at the corner of Hollis and Morris displays some art/photos on their walls.
Other Cafes often do the same. Ask around there. Otherwise, make a website….
Don’t waste your time…. go directly to a publishing house seeking permission to submit your works.
My boyfriend is starting his own photography business and in helping him with that I have learned that it is important to get your photographs out there for the public to view in the easiest ways you can. That might include setting up a website that has copyrights built into it so people can’t steal your daughter’s photos, creating a portfolio and approaching local businesses, or selling photos online via stock websites that either pay you for the rights to your photos or give you a percentage of sales. There are a lot of options but as mentioned by other posters, the competition is fierce. Good luck!
Dear OP,
I hope you have taken note of all the advice here; as it is excellent. (The points about the coffee shops, stock photography and publishing houses are worth re-reading.) There are several approaches and points of view, but please notice they are all telling you one thing: there is no one “magical” place in Halifax (or in the world) where a person can show up with artwork and be guaranteed any kind of “exposure” or even a positive reception.
The world is awash with art and photography of all kinds. It has very little (perceived) “value” today and I say that as a person very involved in the arts and in arts education.
Think about what you are asking: it is the same question that MILLIONS of aspiring artists, craftspeople, photographers, musicians, dancers, actors—many of them EXTREMELY TALENTED, and who have been working at it MUCH LONGER than your daughter — ask themselves every day: “How can I find success in this field?”
And there is no one right answer other than: “You have to find the way to do it yourself because no one is going to do it for you.”
I am glad that your daughter has an interest in, and is showing some ability in photography. But you have to realize that “interest” and “ability” are just teeny tiny first steps to any kind of “something” in the arts —a hobby, a career, a craft, a practice, a vision . . .
My job actually involves commissioning photography, illustration and design for professional clients, and so I see a lot of good and bad portfolios. I know that there are some brilliant self-taught “geniuses” that do exist “out there” in the world, but I have yet to meet one. Everyone I work with has YEARS of training and study, and they have sacrificed and sweated to get and keep their skills at a competitive level.
Keep encouraging your daughter, by all means. Let her practice getting better at it, let her read about the great photographers and photojournalists, let her see brilliant works of art in books and in galleries and at the theatre. But remind her that she, like everyone else she will have to “start at the bottom” and make a committment to “doing the work” IF that’s what she wants to do. (Keep in mind that she might also just want to continue to do this for FUN. Don’t kill the fun in it!)
But also remember, by showing art works to the public , she is exposing her creations and her self to criticism, which can be very cruel, and she might be far too young right now to deal with that.
Not everyone is going to like her work, and not everyone will make allowances because she is just a child. If she studies photography seriously when she is older, dealing with feedback and criticism will be part of what is learned in a program.
I do hope that your daughter keeps her creative love alive throughout her life, but please remember that once any art moves beyond a “fun hobby” it becomes an extremely difficult, demanding and often frustrating path that has challenged—and defeated—some of the greatest minds and talents who have ever lived.
Good luck, and hopefully we will see her work in the future!
I don’t have anything to add except that besides coffee shops, there are a number of high-end bars/clubs downtown who would display her work, for a small commission.
“a website that has copyrights”… I just had to have myself a little giggle over that.
OP, observe Creative Commons Licensing before you post anything anywhere.
Ruby, just one thought (great post, by the way) but I’d argue there is one magical place to be published to achieve overnight fame and a lasting career… the cover of Time.
My boyfriend has his pictures on the web, and one day he found a photo of his being used by a company in Hungary to sell airsoft guns. He contacted them and they took it down immediately, but still – be careful.
Ah, Kay,
The cover of Time magazine . . . one of the holy grails for designers/photographers/illustrators.
A far away dream for me for now . . . but with practice maybe someday . . .
But I just remembered this this very second: even the rates for such prestigious assigmnents have plummeted drastically over the past decade. I can’t remember what the back outside cover of Time costs to buy (I believe well over a million dollars) . . . but the front outside cover doesn’t pay anywhere near that amount to the person who creates the key image that actually SELLS the magazine.
Arg, the race to the bottom is dragging us all down, talented and untalented alike.
The glory days of the 60s thru the 80s has long passed, and still we persevere . . .
I suggest taking a look at the website Flickr, to get an idea of just how many talented amateur phtographers there are out there before getting too into this.
Also, there are small art galleries in the city like Argyle Fine Art, The Eye Level Gallery, and incredibly small and randomly run galleries like the Upstairs Gallery. Don’t talk to administrators at large galleries and schools, talk to students and artists to find the best places. And don’t expect it to happen anytime soon, artists wait years for a prebooked exhibition.
Make sure your kid stays in school, develops other interests and hobbies as well as photography, and stay away from “artsy” types at the NSCAD etc…they’re mostly chronicly under-employed, high on drugs and delusional about their own talent…
Ditto Bastard Fish and RubyJane. OP try smugmug.com
They protect your photos from “theft” and you have the opportunity to display your daughter’s photos in any number of communities. The photos will be viewed by thousands of people all over the world and rated. We have our photos displayed at banjon.smugmug.com Some sell, some don’t. We haven’t given up our day jobs yet LOL. Above all, just let your daughter have FUN (as others have said) and encourage her artistic flair, but keep her far away from the commercial wolf pack :).
Anomie, how are these photo’s protected from theft? I ripped them off in about 90 seconds.
From smugmug.com:
http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy296/L…
From banjon.smugmug.com (Did you shoot this? Nice shot!):
http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy296/L…
Sorry, Mr. Frosty—can’t let you get away with dissing NSCAD!
Having been through a degree program at a large mainstream university (50,00 students, lectures with 800 people, some sitting in the aisles, etc.), and then doing design at NSCAD I can tell you that the quality of education at a good art college is second to none.
Studio-based learning is a fantastic way to learn, and I was very fortunate to have some incredible, dedicated instructors, some of whom have become friends and colleagues.
As for the students—well obviously you get a mixed bag at such a place. In my experience, the students who stick it out beyond the Foundation year, after they get all that teenage “look at meeeee I’m an artist” stuff out of their system, go on to do some pretty amazing things. Some of the people I admire the most have an art/craft/design background and are using their skills to do very innovative things. And they are being well-paid for what they do.
I wouldn’t trade in my time at NSCAD for anything, and guess what? I don’t have a McJob, I make very good money doing what I do—thanks to the high-quality education and connections that the college has given me.
Oh, and as for the drug use at art school . . . well, I was 23 when I showed up there, so by that time I had moved beyond any interest in that kind of thing . . . but I did hear other students mention that the level of drug use was “disappointingly low.” Personally, I couldn’t see much difference between NSCAD and my old university on that point. (Only the most naive parent would think that they can keep their precious little darling away from drugs by steering them clear of those crazy artsy types.)
Hi Kay Thanks for the compliment on the one photo. My husband shot that series of photos. The method he used is described somewhere in that gallery. It’s harder than it looks :).
The photos are protected in that nobody (except the artist) has access to the originals if you do not allow it. Photos downloaded via “save as” are very limited in size and so you can’t do anything with them.
We sometimes release “originals” to non-profit groups or community groups that like our work and want to display it in exchange for a citation.
Love the photo you displayed. There are some really talented people out there. Do you display photos on photobucket? URL?
I’m attending NSCAD right now, I agree with a lot of what RubyJane said. They used to sell pot in the cafeteria under the counter, LOL. Not any more. But like anywhere, drugs are accessible, but I’d take a guess and say a very large majority don’t take drugs. You just don’t see it happen here.
Actually, just for argument’s sake. The cover of Time isn’t what it used to be. Maybe back in the 50s-90s. But I used to read time regularly past the 00s, and often they’d just take stock photos off the internet and make stupid montages on a white background with some big text. It was terrible.
Maclean’s magazine does a better job at design, and their stories are more interesting as well. Reading Time sometimes felt like hearing about a story from an Uncle who really isn’t that informed and heard about this only because it became recently popular to talk about.
Ha ha ha Bastard Fish—loved the analogy of the old uncle who doesn’t know what’s really going on.
Another thing about drug use at art colleges . . . I am not sure how a student could find the time for too much over-indulgence in any kind of legal or illegal substance and still keep their grades up high enough to be allowed back the next semester.
The costs for tuition and supplies are very high, and the workload is relentless, filling most available hours of the day and night. Once you factor in working, sleeping, eating, and getting to and from class—well, I seem to recall that there weren’t many “spare moments” available for anything stronger than coffee, and I was pretty conscious of not messing up my precious weekend time with needing to “recuperate” from anything. (The times I was able to just relax with friends over beer and pizza for any length of time were much rarer than I would have expected.)
I think there is WAY more drug/alcohol use/abuse in any “normal” university residence than at an art school. I don’t know anyone my age from art school who became an alcoholic, but I can sure name a few from my university days! And the fact that they have become lawyers and engineers has not made it better for them . . . Just something that nervous parents should keep in mind when “guiding” their children into the “prestigious” professions.
Why not just watermark the images you put on the web?
watermarking photography is like ripping MP3s at 96bit. It’s like shitting all over your work before you display it. Who’s going to buy it if it looks or sounds like crap? The artist needs EVERYTHING on the marketing front to work in their favor.
Well there isn’t anything wrong with watermarking if it’s done properly. First, when you upload the images, make sure they’re small enough to have a good look at, but not big enough to be useful for any other projects. Around 500-600 pixel width.
Second when you watermark, put it in the lower bottom corner, with some transparency on, and make it small enough so it’s not distracting. Some people put huge fucking watermarks right across everything and it looks like shit.
To all of you who have responded to my op, a huge thank you! You all have given lots of information, leads, background, etc. along with lots to think about. Not to take away from the rest of you who took the time to reply, but, RubyJane – I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being sincere and honest and well-written! I completely agree re: it being hard work and do not want to take that away from anyone. As I believe that photography for my daughter (14 yrs. old) is currently something that she finds pleasure in and is an individual who enjoys being “her own person”, I am not seriously seeking a profession for her, of sorts, but more of a direction for her to obtain some self-satisfaction from seeing some of her artwork displayed. At the age of 14, just her having the interest and ability to be comfortable enough with what she has produced is enough for me to follow through and aid by posting/promoting it the best way that I can, even if for only the personal confidence boaster that all young females should enjoy. I appreciate the input about how cruel one/some can be and I completely agree with your re: potentially not being prepared for that. We shall choose carefully what route we go with this. Again, I thank you ALL for all of your input – most, most, most appreciated!
My bf watermarks his photos; this way people can see what it looks like but can’t steal it and put it on their walls or whatever. Also, the website he uses has photo copyright built in so you can’t just right click and save an image. A box will pop up and say “This photo is copyrighted” or some shit. There may be ways around this but again, hence the watermark.