On Art As A Career

Letter

Now that the preparations for my May exhibition at Cath’s are behind me (Infinity Loop and Images of Eggs at Cath Alexandrine Danneskiold-Samsøe Gallery, 2012 – ed.), I once again have time and energy to write about the work that we do. There are a lot of ways to describe what art as a career is and at least just as many opinions on its results. What does it mean to pursue art as a career? And for whom? In the following, I’ll present three perspectives of art as a career in Denmark today: one is from the public sector, another is from an artist and the third is from a financial advisor.

MINISTRY OF CHILDREN AND EDUCATION

www.ug.dk is a website created by the Ministry for Children and Education. I recently paid it a visit and did a search for information on becoming an artist.

The job description highlights that ’Artist’ spans a wide range of potential fields, which often results in artists going down their own paths. As for the working conditions, artists often work alone or in shared spaces. The actual work process begins at the drawing board and progresses to models which are then realized by colleagues who have mastered the relevant techniques, if the artist chooses not to immerse herself in such technical aspects. Finished works can be sold by the artist directly or on commission through a gallery. Another alternative is to loan out works to art societies.

According to www.ug.dk, the majority of artists rely on work unrelated to art for their sustenance and one’s prospects for earning a living as a freelance artist are ”poor”, as are the prospects for the future of aspiring young artists in all of Denmark – from Gedser to Skagen.

SØREN ULRIK THOMSEN

In 2012, the renowned Danish author and poet Søren Ulrik Thomsen opened a chronologically arranged presentation of a century of Danish art history at Statens Museum for Kunst. In his opening speech, he delivered a perspective on the calling ’Artist’ quite distinct from ug.dk’s bleak outlook for aspiring artists. For the sake of my English-speaking colleagues I’ve taken the liberty of including longer excerpts from SUT’s speech in this translated essay.

He begins:

”Your majesty crown prince Frederik, ladies and gentlemen!”

[…] How often haven’t we stood before a sculpture or listened to a composition whose intentions we couldn’t begin to explain, but from which new significance courses upon each visit nonetheless?

Might we glean more from art if we began by forgetting all about what it may signify and allowed ourselves to simply experience its form […] We may then discover that something that can neither be reduced to a definition nor be defined as meaningless begins to trickle out, and that is what I call meaning.

In art, it is not thus that works express thoughts which existed before form, but the opposite – it is the work that thinks as it takes form. The creation of art is ’thinking in material’, which is why the thought cannot be separated from the form and the meaning placed in a silver spoon to be borne about triumphantly outside of the museum walls.

[…]Although it may be accepted that pruning a work of art down to a manageable definition is unproductive, it is quite natural to question the way in which art can contribute to society and why it should be supported. I can’t blame politicians or taxpayers for posing the perfectly reasonable question of why their money should be laid out for the art world when funds are limited and clearly could be truly usefully implemented somewhere else. [It] is also rather tempting to start justifying the role of art in society – by arguing perhaps that it makes us better, smarter, freer and maybe even more tolerant, innovative and democratic citizens. But even if we are warranted in raising our glasses for the new exhibition, we must resist the temptation of such toasts.

If the Beautiful – as art was called in the olden days – were the same as The Good and The True, we would have no trouble in justifying it. For even if a lot of art has taught me things about myself and others and about the world in which we live, there’s just as much art that hasn’t made me a smarter, much less a better person, nor has it endowed me with other characteristics useful to anyone or anything at all, but which has nonetheless been of great importance to me.

When a work of art has fortuitously made us more insightful or ethically responsible it is tempting to generalize the effect, but despite our intentions to defend art we are instead demoting it; for in that very second, one begins to think about other works of great aesthetic value, but perhaps without its good and true effects: An author can very well speak untruthfully, but in a way which makes us unwilling to be without his lies, an artist can preach a very questionable point of view, but paint so that we cannot take our eyes off of his pictures.

PENGE OG PRIVATØKONOMI (MONEY AND PERSONAL FINANCES)

Yet another view is offered in an article written by Anders Ankerstjerne. The article, which I came across online, originally appeared in a magazine called ”Penge og Privatøkonomi” (Money and Personal Finances).

Ankerstjerne begins thus:

”The first thing you need to know about art is that it is seldom worth anything on its own. Some oil paints and a canvas can be bought for next to nothing at the local hobby shop, and that is essentially all you get when you buy a painting. In other words, a painting is only worth what other buyers are willing to pay for it.”

His tone does eventually soften up a bit, but the message is the same: it’s about what it’s worth.

”You can’t always sell art at a reasonable price when you choose. It doesn’t accumulate any interest and as a rule it cannot be used as collateral. In other words, your profit margin lies in the joy of having [the work of art] hanging on your wall.

There are enough experts in the market to make bargains a rather seldom occurrence, and if you buy from high-profile established artists, the price will reflect just that. But somewhere in between it is possible to buy a work of art which will not only bring you joy, but which will also be a great investment.”

There’s no need to quote more than the superscriptions in the remaining article:

Invest slowly

Scope out the market before you buy

Classic or modern

Buying at galleries

Buying at auctions

The article is rounded off with good advice from 10 experts:

Look for established artists. The artist should have been featured in renowned exhibitions and be well known. Choose trained artists who are associated with reputable galleries and the art world. Buy few, but good paintings. Always buy the best from a lesser-known artist rather than the worst from a well-known artist. Always buy work that is of interest to private collectors. They are the ones who stabilize the work’s value. Get used to comparing works of art and understanding why you find them good. It will help you train your artistic sense and give you experience. Look for a work’s meaning*, substance and content. A solid work of art is well-constructed, challenging, typical for its era and all-right to look at. Don’t listen to trends. A lot of modern art is hyped and it’s important to preserve your critical reason. Take your time. Familiarizing yourself with the art market requires effort. Ask professionals from the field and be sure to orient yourself well. Find an artist’s price level. Auction prices are a good indicator, but look to similar works and compare with past buyers. The more expensive a work becomes with time, the more probable it is that it will retain its value in the future. Older works tend to have a stable price development.

*Note the difference in Søren Ulrik Thomsen and Anders Ankerstjerne’s usage of the word.

ON ART AS A CAREER

I find it interesting that these three descriptions of aspects of one and the same career path are so varied. The contrasts are great and they reveal how differently we experience the world.

In my work and in my descriptions of my own work I am of the view that working as an artist is in part an expansion of the foundation for new ways of manifesting this ancient trade. Therefore, for me working with art is becoming less about definitions and more about sensory experiences and exchanges filled with observations, like this letter. As an individual, I find the intimate, private aspects of work with art far more stimulating than general consensus.

So I am awaiting your responses with great curiosity. What seeds are you planting and how are you going about their cultivation? What are your thoughts and feelings on your work as artists?

I’m adding some questions that this text raised in my translator. I find them truly thought-provoking and would therefore like to share them with you.

”[...] What is a realistic approach to pursuing art as a career? Is it problematic for art/artists that the three presented here view art and/or the art industry as they do? If yes, why? Are there multiple levels of art at play here or are they different breeds of art altogether? Is this essentially the age-old question of what art is? Does art become something different because it is not considered a lucrative career choice?”