Re: <eyebeam><blast> The Net and the Art Media

[Matthew Slotover <matthew@frieze.co.uk>]

Athena Tacha <rspear@ufl.edu> writes:

>Like advertising took over the major art magazines.
>For instance, when Pace or Paula Cooper take on artists (and they take 
>good ones, I agree), they vest interest in them, so they have to 
>promote them.  They advertise their shows in the main art mags, which 
>means the shows get reviewed,

This old one again! Well, some magazines are more corruptable than
others. We simply do not swap reviews for ads. Maybe that's why we have
fewer ads than Flash Art or Arforum, but so be it.

>Whom the galleries choose is often a matter of chance and connections 
>for young artists -- what gallery had an opening when they peddled 
>their work, or who recommended them to whom.

Life is often a matter of such things! We take advice from people we
trust - what's wrong with that? It's not perfect, sure, but what is? And
how could it be changed?

>I am sure that there are hundreds of artists all over the US (and the 
>world) who are as good as some of the main gallery stars, but who never 
>have had a chance to plug into the art system.).

Well... I have to say I haven't come across that many. Given how random
the process seems, I'm constantly surprised by how efficient the art
market is in getting the cream to the top. It's in the galleries'
interests after all, and there are some fairly smart peole working in
the commercial system.

Matthew Slotover, frieze magazine, 21 Denmark Street, London WC2H 8NA
new email: matthew@frieze.co.uk tel: 0171 379 1533 fax: 0171 379 1521 


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