26 Artists Magazine October 2019
Prime THE ASK
What’s a challenge that
artists face today that
they didn’t 30 years ago?
WE ASKED...
“Anarrayofpublicationsand
otherexposurevehiclesfor
visualartistswerearound 30
yearsago,andone’sefforts
didn’thavetocompetewith
theinternet.Now,withthe
sheeramountofimagery
that’ssailingonthewavesof
thewebeachday,it seems
tobea farmoresignificant
challengeforartiststostand
outandbenoticed.”ANTHONYWAICHULIS
ARITST,INSTRUCTOR,
ANIARTACADEMIES“Ahugeshiftamongyoungerartists
is theemphasisoncontentthat
reflectsmeaningfulsocial
commentary,demonstratingthat
evenrealismcanservea greater
purposethanjustthevisual
pleasureofskilledrepresentation.”JIMMYWRIGHT
ARTISTANDPRESIDENT,
PASTELSOCIETYOFAMERICA“Youngergenerationsdon’t
wanttoacquirethings.
Oldergenerationswantto
downsize.It’sa recipefor
notmakingsales.Artwork
hastobegoodenoughto
overcomea phenomenon
of‘gettingridof ’insteadof
collecting.”
—JOYCOLANGELO“Mostpeopleareperfectly
happywithprints,meaning
today’sartistscompete
witheveryartistwhoever
lived,duetoprint-on-
demandservices.Plus,as
themiddleclassdeclines,
fewerpeopleareableto
affordoriginalart.Buyers
wantWalmartprices.”
—BRETTPIGON“I’mdistractedbymy
phone!Notificationsurge
metocheckit constantly.
Howdoessomeonestay
creativethroughallof
thosedistractions?”
—LIZBOSTONLIKEUSONFACEBOOK
@ARTISTSNETWORKTO
ANSWEREACHMONTH’S
QUESTIONIN“THEASK.”
RESPONSESMAYBEEDITED
FORLENGTHANDCLARITY.WE ASKED...
YOU ANSWERED
“ The digital phenomenon has
become a real force in art. It has
become another tool, like
anything else, but as our world
becomes more and more
moderated by technology, it will
become even more important.
One has only to observe how
international exhibitions have
grown in number and
importance. The artist today is
performing on a global stage.”ANTONIO MASI
ARTIST AND PRESIDENT, AMERICAN
WATERCOLOR SOCIETY“ I used to take 35mm slides and
4x5 transparencies of paintings,
wait two weeks to have them
developed, then send the slides to a
collector or gallery and wait to hear
back. In the time between, I had
ample hours to focus on my work.
Today everything is instantaneous,
which is both good and bad. I can
take a high-resolution digital photo,
crop and edit it to match the
painting, and—with one click—
send it to a collector. But now,
artists are spending more and more
of their precious time online.
Today’s challenge is fi guring out
how to manage all of the social
media while still maintaining time
for one’s painting.”STEPHEN QUILLER
ARTIST, AUTHOR,
WORKSHOP INSTRUCTOR