RE: First gallery ' experience'

I need to chime in on this. Kate, in my area (eastern Long Island) there are
a number of high-end art galleries including one that specializes in
photography that has a resident certified photography expert and for the
most part, and with a few exceptions, most of the artists that are shown are
dead. That's where the real money is. These galleries may show a local
artist once a year but that's it. And if they do, they look for a selling
track record unless they happen to know you and want to support what you are
doing.
 
But there is always hope. One of my friends had her work excepted by a NY
gallery that specializes in Alternative work and her prints stayed in a
drawer for two years. She was initially ecstatic about getting into the
gallery but then was disappointed because her work wasn't shown. But once it
was she has been able to get into other galleries and has been selling a lot
of her work. As far as photographic landscapes go most NYC galleries seem to
be be looking for contemporary work with people in it rather than classic
images. I suppose it's that way around the county as well. I believe if
you're an artist you need to do what you do no matter what. You hold two
jobs or whatever you have to do to support your personal vision. You can
always hype your work and get show invitations by being a professor or a
workshop guru and the world may tend to believe your work is more important
than the rest of the crowd. Some people believe this. I don't. They're just
have day jobs that give them a little more time to devote to their work.
 
So Kate, if you're just creating photography to sell that's one thing; and
not that there's anything wrong with that, but it shouldn't be the sole
impetuous behind you picking up a camera and taking a picture.
 
Like Dorothy, look in your own backyard for places to show and get feedback
from. I'm sure they will lead to places that you never expected to find.
 
Gerry G

 -----Original Message-----
From: TERRYAKING@aol.com [mailto:TERRYAKING@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2006 3:05 PM
To: alt-photo-process-L@usask.ca
Subject: First gallery ' experience'

  
In a message dated 08/02/2006 19:28:51 GMT Standard Time,
kate_mocak@zoznam.sk writes:

Hi all,

I'd like to thank you all very much for your support and encouragement. Your
responses made me feel much better, even though it is sad and very
frustrating to hear that many of you have gone through the same unpleasant
encounters with photography 'experts'.

There's a lot of interesting reading in your mails and I'd like to reply to
you offline in the next few days.

Best wishes,
Kate
Received on Thu Feb 9 15:51:40 2006