I stopped by The Arts and Cultural Council for Greater Rochester (277 N. Goodman St.) to listen to Melanie Updegraff, and Sharon Jeter discuss Athena and Petra Designs: Two Artists, One Product Line. What Makes It Work? It was rather fascinating and I wish I could have stayed longer, but I had to leave right at 8. Stupid America with its "this starts right now" mentality!
Anyway, the two women discussed how they collaborated artistically. First off, they were friends first — they always valued their friendship over their art; and their art over their business. Melanie commented that she thought it funny that artists can barely utter the word "business" much less deal with selling their work. I guess I can understand both sides a bit: as an artist, I'd like my art to find a home that fits rather than to just make a buck (or allow the work to be cut up for scrap) and as a businessman, I understand the importance of connecting "earning a living" with something that is rewarding. But with "Athena and Petra", they develop art that has a ready market — jewelry — so I think it's easier for them than an artist who makes works in varied media, or even "traditional" media but with widely varied styles.
But that was only part of it. They didn't have a nice easy answer to "what makes collaboration work?" Their tiered approach to their relationship was certainly a start. It seemed to me, though, that they always respected the other's opinion — they were never dismissive of an idea. They also understood the value of play: that when creativity dries up it's because it isn't fun, so fun is very important.
What I found fascinating — and I think I may track them down to get a better understanding — is that they were able to collaborate on the creative design. My understanding of collaborative projects so far is that a single creator has to own the idea, they need to understand what is important and what is not (i.e. can it be shiny or green? and is it important that it be done one specific way?), and the people who collaborate with them need to allow the creator to dictate certain aspects and let others be decided by the collaborators. What I've never seen is two people coming together to work on the same idea — Updegraff and Jeter don't split the creative process; it seems they actually collectively contribute to central design elements. As a counter-example, I've seen experimental films created where one person creates the visual experience and the other creates the auditory experience but not two people working on both.
It's killing me not to know how this all works. But, like I said, I had to get going, so I couldn't even stay for the question-and-answer.
It was nice to meet you the other night, and I'm glad you liked our event. Thank you for writing about it. I'd like to have those two women back again to talk about the "business of art." I think a panel discussion including several different types of artists who make their living doing their art and how they are successful at it would be an excellent workshop. I'll be thinking of that for the future.
Cheers!
Tracy
I think there's three kinds of people who call themselves artists. First, there are people who make things that are pretty so people will like it — and therefore they have an easy time selling. Second is people who make what they want but it happens to be popular — again, fairly easy to sell. Third, there are people who make what they want without a potential market — and they can't sell what they have.
The business of art is pretty simple at that point: make things that sell. To describe it as "how to sell your art" is deceptive because, well, sometimes "your" art doesn't have anybody who wants to buy (and is able to pay for it).
You have a point. I guess the point for that artist is to make art solely for his or her own enjoyment. That artist probably would not be interested in a panel discussion on "how to sell your art." But I do believe there are artists who make art that appeals to many, not just to themselve, but have no idea how to market or position themselves in order to sell it. Those people might benefit from an informative panel discussion with experienced presenters.