 |
| Tools from the Age of Slides |
For any professional artist, building one's resumé is an important task. The healthier the resumé, the better one's chance of landing a premier gallery, having a solo exhibition or getting into a museum collection—and the healthier one's cash flow. A substantial resumé validates the artist. It assures the collector that the artist has not only a proven track record but will most likely continue to do well and be a good investment.
Getting into shows and winning awards go a long way to building a resumé. But in my opinion, both are becoming harder and harder.
Think back to the Age of Slides. To enter a show, one had to know not just how to take a decent photo but also how to remove a slide from its mount, crop out the background with Mylar tape and an X-ACTO knife, and then re-mount the slide. This tiny, precious piece of plastic—film that cost money to purchase and develop—then needed to be mailed in a sturdy envelope along with a check. Many times, you'd send an image of only one or two paintings because of the labor and expense.
Right away, this process weeded out many artists, especially amateurs, who weren't so committed.
Today, with a few clicks of the mouse, you can crop your image and upload it quite easily. Anybody can do it. And you can submit a dozen images almost as easily as one. How much money you are willing to spend on entry fees is the only factor. Some shows, especially the online ones established to fund something other than awards—money-making machines for the sponsoring organizations—don't care how many images you submit. The more, the better. Some artists have a shotgun approach, and rather than submitting their finest work, submit as many images as possible, hoping that one will make it. (As a judge of entries, I've seen this over and over.)
In some ways, today's shows have become more like state lotteries than juried exhibitions. I, for one, don't buy lottery tickets.
Although I can't find a study to support my guess, I believe there are many more people painting in America today than there were back in the Age of Slides. More importantly, there are many more excellent painters. The competition has become fierce.
So, is entering shows really worth the cost? Perhaps. But before you enter, look at the numbers. If you're considering applying to an online show, especially one advertising to a national or international pool of artists, your chances will be slim to none. On the other hand, if the show is going to be in a bricks-and-mortar exhibition space, your chances are much better. Why? Artists thinking of entering understand that, if they are accepted, they will have to ship the painting and, most likely, have the painting shipped back. Because of this potential added expense and trouble, some will decline to enter.
If you want an even better shot at getting into a show, consider applying to a regional one or to one sponsored by an organization of which you're a member. These usually are advertised to a small pool of artists. Although winning a regional award might not be as impressive as winning a national one, over time you'll build a longer list of awards—and thus a healthier resumé.
