Gail Dapogny on thu 22 aug 02
I'm pretty tired of what has escalated into jaded name-calling and sneering
("wrong discussion group") at those who admit to enjoyment at art fairs;
and most of all ........ GENERALIZATIONS.
Obviously the economy is currently not doing us any favors; it tends to
make many of us a bit cranky. And cynical. But the wholesale trashing of
art fairs of all kinds, everywhere, is just too easy, too thoughtless.
I can tell you that the top 40-50% of the artists in the "Original" Ann
Arbor Street Art Fair do not appear "incestuously" in other area art
fairs. On average, these artists do about 5 art fairs a year; they come
here from a wide range of places, they choose carefully. And their work is
wonderful and fascinating, sometimes very expensive, sometimes surprisingly
reasonable. But always a treat to see; inspiring to see. And many of the
artists in the other concurrent Ann Arbor fairs are also high quality and
interesting and very appealing. If some of them appear in other art fairs,
so what?
Studio and organization sales are great. I want them all to succeed. And
ditto for art fairs! They bring in the lookers. And the lookers will
become the buyers. Don't be so quick to bite the hand that may in the
future feed you. Also don't be so ready to dump on "promoters" before
you've educated yourself thoroughly about putting on quality art fairs.
You might be very surprised.
Ann Arbor pulls in and seems to satisfy a vast spectrum of spectators
including gallery owners, buyers, designers, people looking for a
'significant piece", return customers who have become appreciative of
hand-crafted ware, and those looking for a $15 mug. Many of these folks
will never go to a gallery, or travel to different shows, or otherwise see
objects that are not part of their everyday lives.
WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE, THE MOST IMPORTANT REASON FOR THESE FAIRS IS
THAT THEY DRAW, AMONG OTHERS, PEOPLE WHO NEVER OTHERWISE SEE ART. I want
this to happen. On all kinds of levels I want this to happen. I want
average people to come to understand why a handcrafted bowl is so different
from a department store bowl. I want children to learn to see and touch
something unlike anything they are used to. I want people to see artists
at work, demonstrating, showing process. I want the world to understand
that art and music are far from frivolous; that they are essential to our
well-being; that our cultures are ultimately defined by art.
----Gail
Gail Dapogny
1154 Olden Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48103-3005
(734) 665-9816
gdapogny@umich.edu
http://www.silverhawk.com/ex99/dapogny (single historical photo - no longer
registered with Silverhawk)
Rebecca P on thu 22 aug 02
Kudos! Gail, Your last paragraph is sheer poetry - another art form.
Rebecca
>From: Gail Dapogny
>Reply-To: Ceramic Arts Discussion List
>To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
>Subject: Re: The so-called death spiral of art fairs
>Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2002 14:37:20 -0400
>
>I'm pretty tired of what has escalated into jaded name-calling and sneering
>("wrong discussion group") at those who admit to enjoyment at art fairs;
>and most of all ........ GENERALIZATIONS.
>
>Obviously the economy is currently not doing us any favors; it tends to
>make many of us a bit cranky. And cynical. But the wholesale trashing of
>art fairs of all kinds, everywhere, is just too easy, too thoughtless.
>
>I can tell you that the top 40-50% of the artists in the "Original" Ann
>Arbor Street Art Fair do not appear "incestuously" in other area art
>fairs. On average, these artists do about 5 art fairs a year; they come
>here from a wide range of places, they choose carefully. And their work is
>wonderful and fascinating, sometimes very expensive, sometimes surprisingly
>reasonable. But always a treat to see; inspiring to see. And many of the
>artists in the other concurrent Ann Arbor fairs are also high quality and
>interesting and very appealing. If some of them appear in other art fairs,
>so what?
>
>Studio and organization sales are great. I want them all to succeed. And
>ditto for art fairs! They bring in the lookers. And the lookers will
>become the buyers. Don't be so quick to bite the hand that may in the
>future feed you. Also don't be so ready to dump on "promoters" before
>you've educated yourself thoroughly about putting on quality art fairs.
>You might be very surprised.
>
>Ann Arbor pulls in and seems to satisfy a vast spectrum of spectators
>including gallery owners, buyers, designers, people looking for a
>'significant piece", return customers who have become appreciative of
>hand-crafted ware, and those looking for a $15 mug. Many of these folks
>will never go to a gallery, or travel to different shows, or otherwise see
>objects that are not part of their everyday lives.
>
>WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE, THE MOST IMPORTANT REASON FOR THESE FAIRS IS
>THAT THEY DRAW, AMONG OTHERS, PEOPLE WHO NEVER OTHERWISE SEE ART. I want
>this to happen. On all kinds of levels I want this to happen. I want
>average people to come to understand why a handcrafted bowl is so different
>from a department store bowl. I want children to learn to see and touch
>something unlike anything they are used to. I want people to see artists
>at work, demonstrating, showing process. I want the world to understand
>that art and music are far from frivolous; that they are essential to our
>well-being; that our cultures are ultimately defined by art.
>
>----Gail
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Gail Dapogny
>1154 Olden Road
>Ann Arbor, MI 48103-3005
>(734) 665-9816
>gdapogny@umich.edu
>http://www.silverhawk.com/ex99/dapogny (single historical photo - no longer
>registered with Silverhawk)
>
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>
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