I had an “interesting” phone call last Saturday. My art dealer in San Francisco has a client who is very interested in my work. That’s nice. But. This person wants to buy part of a triptych: the middle panel and one of the side panels. She will use the middle panel upright (as it is supposed to be) and then she wants to place the side panel on its side (and hang it over a coffee table, or something like that). I said no, of course. No. No amount of money is worth destroying the integrity of that painting. It happens to be one of my favorite pieces, something I feel very strongly about, and would never want to see it broken apart and turned inside out. Maybe it would look good to the buyer, but certainly not to me.
There’s a section titled “Canines at the Artist’s Easel” in Stanley Coren’s book The Intelligence of Dogs. He relates that in 2002, the National Arts Club in New York held an exhibition of a dog’s “paintings.” The works were actually collaborative, having twenty-six artists “finishing” a piece Tillie the dog had started or incorporating Tillie’s painting into a larger work. A professor from New York University gave Coren his appraisal of the artistic merit of the works: “The intent of the artist has little to do with whether the production is deemed to be art by those who look at it. It is simply the eye of the beholder that determines the artistic value.” And this man had his eye (and possibly/probably his affection and open wallet) on a particular painting.
That really speaks to the vicissitudes of the art market. To the instability, uncertainty of production. To the fickleness that plagues this precarious vocation. I would hope that my intentions in my paintings are respected. But I can never be sure.
Then later on Saturday a friend called to tell me she had received a newsletter from an artist in Vancouver saying in China there is a company pilfering painting images from websites. Unbeknownst to the artists, they are making inexpensive reproductions and selling them at a very low price, between about $16 and 46 ($U.S.). They also frame and ship. Quite a deal! They have about 2800 artists, about 800 from Canada. I happen to be one of them. Apparently Chinese copyright laws say this is legal until requested by the artist to remove their works from this process. But some artists have requested such and not been respected, yet.
Well, this does make the work visible. But I am not receiving any royalties. I know how musicians must feel about downloaders of free music. The music is being heard, but no royalties. And where’s the respect. And for all I know, my images are being turned sideways, upside down and inside out! Obviously we have some homework to do here.
PS: The newletter ends with: "The superior man understands what is right." (Confucius)
