Too often, visual artists are expected to give their work away. And that's just one of the ways they suffer for their art. While art can be fulfilling to make, it is often hard to sell, particularly art that's difficult to grasp. Famed New York artist Leon Golub, speaking at Carnegie Mellon recently, asked his listeners if they had ever tried to kill a cockroach. He compared that swift, persevering insect to artists, irrepressible in their dedication.
Art is a multileveled industry.
Like any other occupation, luck, brains and talent, in that order, make all the difference. Yet art also is uniquely soft-sell. If an artist or dealer pushes the product too much, he can turn off important dealers, museum curators, critics and collectors. And a false step can mean a life of perhaps good sales but little recognition by museums that take the ranking of artists very seriously. Some think too seriously.