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Getting My Art Out There – 5 Tips to Get Noticed

What's the perennial question that a good half of all artists face?

It's not a lack of inspiration, or the money to sustain oneself. From our survey, It seems that its simply - How do I get noticed?

We realised that a good third of artists (convenient sample group of 50 Asian artists) were not in it get noticed. Their art is for themselves, it's a journal, it's their research and thinking put on canvas. It makes them happy. They have no interest in showing or selling it.

A good half that responded wanted to show it to friends and family. Their art was a commentary of their observations about themselves or their surroundings. Surely, they are happy if someone recognised their work by commenting or as an ultimate compliment - to buy it from them.

If you're an artist, you're taking a big risk in opening your artwork to the public, but the rewards - a good comment, an offer to get represented and recognised, means a lot. As artists ourselves, we understand this.

However, we also realise that beyond your immediate relatives, it's hard to get appreciating eyeballs on your work. Hence, we've put together these 5 quick tips on how you can get your art out there.

1. Start Writing and Publishing

Why write? Isn't everything you need on the art itself? We cannot emphasise the importance in putting your ideas in writing. While you may wish to leave your viewers to interpret your work themselves, writing (giving a good artist statement) provides viewers with a stepping stone to appreciating the finer details of your work. If you do not wish to put your artwork explicitly on paper, it's always good practice to give hints on what you're trying to say or portray.

In a short attention span world, giving good artist statements helps retain the viewer's interest in your work.

2. Attend Events

The bane of most artists we spoke to, attending openings and exhibitions are usually the last thing on your mind. We wouldn't encourage networking if you prefer to focus on your art. But, art dealers and gallery owners usually attend such events and its always good to drop them a name card. Well, some of the most successful artists out there (in terms of sales) are also good business people.

3. Knock on Doors

Many artists out there approach galleries themselves. This is a viable option, but it's always good to show up prepared. A simple picture of your artwork, its details and an artist statement will do the trick. If you don't think you can put a professional looking portfolio, you may also consider looking for an online art platform such as Artyii or Etsy that does this for you. All you need to do is to send galleries your link and viola!

4. Attract Publicity

Do something crazy. We wouldn't recommend this unless you are absolutely sure of the artistic value in your work. Many artists attempt to shock and gain some publicity via the newspapers or bloggers. Putting controversial elements in your work, blowing it up elaborately and working on installations in public places are methods that some artists use. We encourage this - it challenges peoples' perceptions, breaks them out of their routine lives and you may just change the life views of the layman in the process.

5. Go Online

This is your best bet. It's the most convenient, cost effective and if done on the correct website, can bring you at least 100 views a day from around the world. You could create your own blog, but its effectiveness is limited due to the millions of other art blogs out there fighting for attention.

Many people buy art online today and it's a good idea that you could put your artwork or paintings for sale on a platform dedicated to art sales. You may be just one other artist on the platform, but the arts focused traffic such platforms provide are more likely to sieve your work out, especially if Point 1 is done right!

Galleries and other art professional frequent such sites as well, giving you opportunities to get noticed and properly represented. Why approach others when they can approach you?

About the Author

The writer, Nico, is an art marketer at Artyii, an Asian art sales platform. He assists artists in marketing themselves online and handles sales queries from international online arts buyers. He thus is aware of the difficulties artist face when trying to bring their work to an appreciating crowd.

i'm looking for the name of that piece of drama/art with a happy face and a sad face?

It is displayed all over in theaters, representing drama and comedy. What is that known as?

I just typed: Drama Masks
into the search engine and got bunches of pics:

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?ei=UTF-8&p=drama%20masks&fr=ush-ans&fr2=tab-web

Here's some history from Wikipedia, stating that the masks are called "Sock and Buskin":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy_and_Tragedy_The_Theater_Masks_named_Sock_and_Buskin

"Comedy and Tragedy Masks

The comedy and tragedy masks have their origin in the theatre of ancient Greece. The masks were used to show the emotions of the characters in a play, and also to allow actors to switch between roles and play characters of a different gender. The earliest plays were called Satyrs; they were parodies of myths. Their style was much like what we know as Burlesque.

The actors in these plays that had tragic roles wore a boot called a buskin that elevated them above the other actors. The actors with comedic roles only wore a thin soled shoe called a sock.

In order to play female roles, actors wore a “prosterneda” (a wooden structure in front of the chest, to imitate female breasts) and “progastreda” in front of the belly.

Melpomene is the muse of tragedy and is often depicted holding the tragic mask and wearing buskins. Thalia is the muse of comedy and is similarly associated with the mask of comedy and comic’s socks. Some people refer to the masks as “Sock and Buskin.”

LENG PHE, JAY PARK, CHA CHA - BOTTOM'S UP (COVER)

Tags: art, art happy, art happy hour, art happy hour seattle, ascii art happy birthday, ascii art happy face, blog, design, fun, inspiration

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 6th, 2010 at 3:23 am and is filed under paintings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.