Greetings Readers!
My name is JoBeth Medina, and on this site, I hope to explore the vastness of the art world and bring its physicality to digital format. As a creator myself, I have grown to love and adore the sport of going to galleries. Seeing the different spaces, the array of artists and their work, as well as having the opportunity to meet like-minded individuals. Going to a gallery brings such a formality to the art world with respect to the culture we create, the hard labor and unique presentations from artists.
With all that being said, there are many avenues one could take to delve into this world. While the clean and crisp environment of galleries exists, you can go about it in a more grassroots way; garages, house parties, tunnel parties, remote locations, bars, the list goes on. However, if you’re an artist who scoffs at the idea of galleries, just “too cool for school,” I would still like the promote the idea that finding success in your art career does not have to fit into this black and white formula of a perfectly crafted statement piece with skyrocketing price points. All work is worth it; It’s just about those who dare to go after their worth.
Maybe past it all –the glamour, the show, the parade– lies a much larger question we as artists need to ask ourselves. What does it truly mean to be in the professional art world, and how do we go about the business side of it all? You can go to art school — perfect your craft; learn to stretch canvas; discover mediums; find your voice — but at the end of it did anyone ever actually teach you how to “be” a business? To know your worth, multiply it by three, throw shipping and handling on top and never discount. Are we taught as artists that we can even go there? After all, being an artist is declaring your name as a business that sells a good at a price; why not act like it?
I hope as creators, buyers, sellers, viewers or curators, we all can explore these critical topics of the art world and broaden our minds to these discussions. After all, no matter how much art is defunded, shoved the side and disregarded, it will always remain a vital source of how we communicate with ourselves and with each other.
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