Comments on: jb at PRC: Questions Please!

By: Leslie Brown

Leslie Brown — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 17:10:57 +0000

Shane Lavalette provides a nice summary of the evening on his blog, http://www.shanelavalette.com/journal/2007/03/19/jen-bekman-talks-galleries-and-self-marketing/

Results soon, but first, I must get over my sinus infection. For more, visit my blog, just a click to the left.

By: David

David — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 07:25:59 +0000

Hi Jen,

For those of us who couldn’t be in the audience Monday night, is there a chance that some form of your talk will make it to the web?

Thanks!

By: Isa Leshko

Isa Leshko — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:54:44 +0000

I left last night abuzz with ideas. I especially loved the Moo Cards! I also am quite intrigued by self-publishing via blurb.com. Thank you!

By: Belinda

Belinda — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 05:12:43 +0000

Jen-
thanks for the great talk despite the Technical issues. Many great tips . WOW what a turn out..

By: Leslie Brown

Leslie Brown — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 03:57:22 +0000

Super job Jen! and thanks for rolling with the av punches. A huge crowd and huge success. Cheers, Leslie

By: Beth

Beth — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 20:13:34 +0000

Hey Jen-

Would love to know, when you are presenting a portfolio of work to a gallery or reviewer, what is the right amount of work. Should you concentrate on a specific theme or direction, or should you present a smattering of everything that you do. Breadth vs Focus?

By: John Sidlo

John Sidlo — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 18:04:00 +0000

I’ve been doing street photography for a number of years, and would like to know if there is any market for this as fine art photography.

http://www.johnsidlo.com

By: Paul Light

Paul Light — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 17:46:48 +0000

I spent many years and lots of money sending out slide portfolios to galleries, museums and magazines. I have appreciated how over the best few years almost everyone has begun to accept CDs. Over the past year though many galleries have stop accepting portfolios entirely. Is there a alternative way of getting work seen for a similar cost? Recently the Museum of Modern Art has stopped accepting CD portfolios. I really don’t want to go back to sending out slides again considering the costs of doing this with a mailing list of over 100 carefully researched venues. Is there any alternative?

By: David

David — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 15:25:57 +0000

1. What is the best format (including size) in which to submit images if you work in a large format and making prints very large is essential to reading your work because of how the viewer is able to relate to and “enter” the image?

In my case I am a landscape photographer making prints anywhere from 30″ x 40″ on up.

2. It might be difficult for you to be objective on this one, but I would welcome a discussion about how a photographer ought to enter into an agreement with a gallery. In particular, I am interested in fairness as it applies to things like the percentage of a sale that the artist receives versus the gallery’s take, and any other information related to artists’ rights.

For example: What are the industry standards for making agreements between galleries and artists? How often are those standards deviated from as a gallery perhaps takes advantage of a naive artist? Who can the artist enlist to protect her/his rights? How does one find special artists’ lawyers? How does a young artist afford a lawyer? Are there artists’ rights groups which can help instead? Also, from the artists’ standpoint, how long should a contract be for? Are there other issues to consider, like a guarantee for a certain number of shows for example?

I suspect that by the time most emerging artists confront these issues for the first time, it may be too late. They learn the hard way.

Many thanks.

By: Isa Leshko

Isa Leshko — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 14:33:44 +0000

Hi there,

I’m looking forward to tonight’s presentation. Leslie and others raised most of the questions I have. However, here are my questions:

At what point do you have a sufficient body of work to consider approaching galleries? I agree with Alison, I am curious about what constitutes a “body of work” from a gallery’s perspective.

Do you have advice for marketing fine art to other channels besides galleries (e.g., magazines, book/cd art)? Do you need a rep to break into these markets? Does success in these areas help or hinder your success in a gallery market?

When do you consider using a rep/agent to market your fine art work? How do you find a rep/agent to work with?

At what point do you transition your career from entering juried shows to seeking gallery representation? How do you best achieve this transition? Is there a point in your career in which you should no longer submit to juried shows? (Since I am still early in my career, I don’t think I’m anywhere near this point, but I’m curious about this topic!)

Thanks so much!

Best,
Isa Leshko