BusinessARTtm the best kind of Art: (Don't) Give it Away, but...

[illustrating the point, awesomely, Melanie Gillman: http://www.melaniegillman.com/]


Thank you Weebly for being smart enough to save my post as a draft. I thought it vanished when the battery died.

Had a reminder of the value of an artist's time yesterday. It makes sense to say you should never give away your valuable time (knowledge, skills, experience) in a business scenario. And always paying even alittle something is better than nothing.

The comic makes a good point: why should an artist be treated differently? Well, it's because we're living IN A WORLD WHERE ARTISTS ARE NOT VALUED, (A la Don LaFontaine)

And I can tell you, people only value what they, um, er, value. What the market will bear, is another cliche but based in reality/truth.

It IS about marketing.

Sort of.

Tastemakers: Alittle Art History:
Without Clement Greenberg or Lee Krasner, or even Pegs Guggenheim, you might never have heard of Jackson Pollock, let alone seen work by him hanging in major museums. Krasner saw value in Pollock. As did Guggenheim. But it was Greenberg, who gave Pollock positive press, that made an enormous difference.

So, you can give away your artwork until you create some positive buzz. You can set your rates at a professional level and expect to be paid for your professional expertise. Or you can do both. It's really up to you.

There's a bad precedent of not paying artists (and I include designers and writers in this). But slashing prices and underbidding are also realities. As is creating some good will. But good will can be had by keeping your rate/prices at a professional level AND adding some value, like quick response times or free delivery.

It doesn't make sense to give it away from the buyer's viewpoint either. I got it for free, or BOGO (buy one get one) makes sense for the grocery store, but it doesn't really say much when it comes to artwork or creative output.

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