From: jmann@vineland.pubs.stratus.com (Jim Mann)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.fandom
Subject: Re: Art Shows (was Re: Hello Confrancisco?)
Date: 15 Dec 1992 15:12:31 GMT
Organization: Stratus Computer Inc, Marlboro MA
Reply-To: jmann@vineland.pubs.stratus.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: gondolin.pubs.stratus.com

In article <s9XJVB1w165w@lunacity.com> mwallis@lunacity.com (Michael  
Wallis) writes:
> jmann@vineland.pubs.stratus.com (Jim Mann) writes:
> 
> > This can perhaps work in an Art Show of 40 artists. It would
> > be a nightmare at a Worldcon, we're you're talking hundreds of
> > artists.
> 
> Not if properly organized. It would be a challange, but what it  
will be is
> a reflection of the staff.

I never said it could not be done. But it is a challenge, and
adds more work to an already overworked Art Show staff.

> 
> > Mail-ins are also trickier than you imply.  How do you handle
> > insurance on them, for example.
> 
> Insurance intransit is the artist responsibility. Insurance on site  
(or
> prior to con, at office) should be covered by the conventions  
policy.
> Where's the problem?

The problem is in the way things really work. The stated policy
at many Art Shows these days is that we don't do insurance, and
aren't responsible for many kinds of problems. However, in 
practice, most conventions that say such things still take 
responsibility for any problems they themselves cause.  If
a clumsy staff member destroys a piece of art, the Art Show
picks up the tab.


> 
> > I wouldn't want to have
> > a box of Michael Whelan's art sitting in my living room unless
> > it were insured.  How is it delivered?  Does someone have to
> > take time off work to wait for the delivery person to arive?
> > And then it has to be transported to the convention. 
> 
> Oh come now. Are you saying that you've never figured ANY of these  
out?

Of course we've figured them out.  I could, for example, take
a day off work and have everything delivered to me.  But I
have limited vacation time, and would rather NOT take time off
work to do this.   To get things to the con, we could have
the truck stop by my house on the way.  But Logistics already has
lots of work to do precon. Adding a long side trip to their
work is not a good thing.

> 
> > You structure your art show sales differently than we do.  We are
> > NOT closed to the public during auction.  In fact, we have to 
> > stay open. The way sales works is that people go to the art show,
> > pick up the items that they have bid on and won (either by bid
> > sheet or auction), and carry them to the sales tables to pay for
> > them.
> 
> And you're worried about insurance while the art sits at the con  
office?
> Jim ... most art shows I've seen have a very simple rule. Pay for  
it, then
> get it. What's to stop someone from walking off? Whatextra security  
is
> required because you've got live pickup with no access or crowd  
control?
> Ghod! What a NIGHTMARE.

What do you mean by no security?  We have the same door security
during sales as during any other open time of the Art Show. The
only difference is that during sales there is a special sales exit,
where folks go through a sales line, get a receipt, and have to
show that receipt to the door guards on the way out to make
sure that they paid for what they have.  No nightmare at all.
In fact, it's a lot easier than the alternatives I've seen.

To the best of my knowledge, the Art Shows that have employed
this method (most of the East Coast regionals, Noreascon,
Magicon, the Austin Nasfic) have not lost any art work this way.

> 
> Hmmm ... if that's how you run art shows, no wonder you think of  
them as
> nightmares. Maybe you should take a break and let someonw else run  
it for
> a while?

I'm not sure what you are refering to there.

> 
> > is a lot).  50 boxes would take a lot more than 5 hours,
> > because the job is no longer a little one that we can handle
> > without worrying about too much. Suddenly, insurance becomes
> > an issue. The boxes are no longer something someone can put
> > in the back of their car to bring to the con, or in the back
> > of their car to bring to the post office.
> 
> Ah ... therein lies your problem. Stop with the extra worrying and  
do some
> logistics planning instead. Things like insurance aren't bigger  
problems
> because there's more mail in art. It's the same problem. It's  
handled in
> the same way. It's what the convention buys insurance for. And if  
you KNOW
> (and you'd better) that the art that was mailed in won't fit in the  
back
> of a car, you PLAN on making two trips or on scheduling a run with  
the
> Con's van. What's the problem?

Again, you miss the point.  Of course I can plan to make two 
or three trips instead of one.  But that's a lot of extra work.
There is already lots to do in the day or two before the convention
and the day or two after: why add more to it?

> 
> > Another way to look at this is from a cost point of view: we  
charge
> > per panel (no commission) at Boskone (and also did so at  
Noreascon).
> 
> So maybe it's time to rethink the policy. A 10% commission is both  
common
> and reasonable. What's the problem?

Why?  In any case, that doesn't solve the problem that mail-in
art, if costs were apportioned correctly, is a lot more
expensive for us to handle than art the artists bring
in themselves.

--
Jim Mann            
Stratus Computer   jmann@vineland.pubs.stratus.com