Photographers who have not had any shows

[Bill Burk]

Just spent Thanksgiving with my brother-in-law, who let us stay in his studio, with all his oils and acrylics. He's never had a show but his work is amazing. He paints with palette knives and brushes, his work is church and home-scenic motivated. Another T-day guest showed her oil painting and it blew me away.

Neither have had any shows but they are both accomplished artists. Made me thing perhaps there are others who have never shown but might be out there making remarkable works of art.

How do you recognize them? I don't know. There's a body of art out there just waiting to be discovered.

[jp]

I'd say the majority of talented artists never get shown.

Marketing, competition, and fame are not what many people choose for a lifestyle or way of doing art.

[Robbie Shymanski]

There's also the issue of self-promotion and that many artists just don't engage in it. They do their work for themselves and are happy doing just that.

[Frank Petronio]

Getting a show in a lessor gallery doesn't do much for one's career. While some would say that you use these as rungs to climb higher up the career ladder, I don't see how having a list of coffee shops and university shows helps you - unless you are faculty and have to prove you are a "working artist" lol.

[Robert Brummitt]

There's also the issue of self-promotion and that many artists just don't engage in it. They do their work for themselves and are happy doing just that.

Very true. Isn't that what started us in photography or any of the arts? The enjoyment we get from creating something it gives us The Acknowledgment that "I made this"

[Jim Jones]

I agree with all of the above. A few months ago I mailed 150 invitations to an art event. I've probably met most of these artists over the past few decades at other events. A few are or were art teachers in elementary or high school. A few teach at workshops. A few exhibit in commercial galleries. Only one out of the 150 is a successful full-time professional artist. Some of the others are equally talented, but lack the academic credentials or critical acclaim to gain acceptance in some circles.

It interests (and worries) me that most of the talk on this and other sites is by men, while most of the 150 artists mentioned above are women. Is there such a strong connection between creation and procreation? Perhaps a psycologist can explain.

[E. von Hoegh]

There's also the issue of self-promotion and that many artists just don't engage in it. They do their work for themselves and are happy doing just that. +1. I rarely show my work to anyone. Just a few close friends, and some presents.

I can't even concieve of having a public showing.:eek:

[cdholden]

+1. I rarely show my work to anyone. Just a few close friends, and some presents.

I can't even concieve of having a public showing.:eek:

+1
For me, the process is therapeutic.
Creating the negative helps to clear the mind. I am rewarded with the feeling of satisfaction when I can turn out a nice print.

[E. von Hoegh]

+1
For me, the process is therapeutic.
Creating the negative helps to clear the mind. I am rewarded with the feeling of satisfaction when I can turn out a nice print.

Almost a form of meditation for me.

[jp]

It interests (and worries) me that most of the talk on this and other sites is by men, while most of the 150 artists mentioned above are women. Is there such a strong connection between creation and procreation? Perhaps a psycologist can explain.

Sorry to get off topic, but I personally know more working woman photographers than man photographers. A LF workshop I recently attended was about 1/3 women.

As for the forums, I suspect women have other things to do online which are more interesting to them than this forum, or are less often afflicted with g.a.s., or prefer more structured or personalized learning environments. My wife is not a photography enthusiast, but the forums that interest her are mostly women-oriented sites.

[Vaughn]

Producing work without showing it can be meditative, therapeutic or it can be a form of masturbation -- I'll leave that up to the individual (tho there is, as Robert Heinlein wrote, nothing wrong with masturbation, it is just a little lonely).

I find shows, even small local ones, to be a fine excuse to get recent images matted up and framed -- rather than sitting in a box. The shows force me to complete the process.

My work also has always had an educational element to them (partly due to being in an educational atmosphere for the the last 30+ years), so showing my work is an important part of my artistic process. So what I learn thru the process of making images, I want to share with a wider audience.


I will venture to conclude, however, that what the arts were for -- an embodiment and reinforcement of socially shared significances - is what we crave and are perishing for today. Ellen Dissanayake

[Kirk Gittings]

There are many reasons for not showing, conscious or not. Many are mentioned above except simple fear. Showing involves sticking your neck waaaay out. Some people simply don't have the stomach for it.

Art can be very self satisfying but in the end, I think its a form of communication and showing is for me a vital part of that..

[DrTang]

I just do not like the people who show up for shows, wearing black turtleneck sweaters, eating the cheese squares, drinking the cheap wine, and talking about the photographs


also..it's expensive as hell to print & frame the work


one show I was a part of..I just stapled up contact sheets on the walls and attached a small plastic magnifier to a chain next to the sheet...

I don't know..taking pix and then sticking them in boxes in the closet is not very fulfilling...but it's marginally better than spending a lot of money and then having a bunch of fools talk about your stuff

[Vaughn]

...I don't know..taking pix and then sticking them in boxes in the closet is not very fulfilling...but it's marginally better than spending a lot of money and then having a bunch of fools talk about your stuff

IDK...that sounds like restoring an old car and then not driving it because of the price of gas...;)


Ahhh...you better look good
Yeah...you better act right
'Cause,
the Art Mob's out tonight

lyrics by Terry Allen

One doesn't put work on the walls for just the art mob -- but also for fellow travelers. The openings are just social (and marketing) events.

[Merg Ross]

Interesting subject, thanks for posting.

What would motivate an artist to exhibit his or her work? I have a few splendid paintings around the house, the works of a chemist, a building contractor and a park ranger. Any one of them could fill a gallery or museum with exceptional work. None of them have any interest in doing so, as their satisfaction is personal; family and friends provide a sufficient audience. I sometimes suggest to my ranger friend, Nelson, that he should have a gallery exhibit of his paintings. He gives me a curious look, and I realize the folly of my suggestion. Instead, we exchange works at Christmas, each of us having the perfect audience.

In the early years of my photographic career, I thought that the exhibiting of work was a mandatory goal. I was raised in a climate of photographers who did exactly that and was invited to participate in exhibitions. The first, a group show at SFMOMA when I was thirteen, a one-man exhibit at seventeen, and a retrospective exhibit at the M.H. de Young Museum in San Francisco at twenty-eight. Sandwiched between were numerous invitational exhibits.

Then, about 1970, I ceased exhibiting, and used the energy to concentrate on my commercial and personal work. Almost twenty-five years passed until my next exhibition, a retrospective. I had replaced the large, mostly anonymous, group of museum viewers with individuals like Nelson, a select group with mutual rapport. They provided all of the stimulus necessary to proceed along my path of image making.

Only recently has my work appeared to a large audience, mostly due to my website. My daughter designed it with the conviction that I should have a larger audience. As a result I have three invitations for retrospective exhibits. So far, I have declined. For those who have never exhibited, it is hard work. It can also be brutal if you are given to reading reviews, although in the past mine were mostly favorable. Just be true to your vision and only exhibit your best.

[Kirk Gittings]

Only recently has my work appeared to a large audience, mostly due to my website.

And we are all the richer for it.......

[Eric Biggerstaff]

I have always wanted to exhibit but never thought my work was of a high enough standard and the cost of hanging a show was to high for me to cover. I think my work is finally getting to the point where I might hang a show or two, maybe this year.

[Kirk Gittings]

Eric, you are long since ready for a decent show.

[Merg Ross]

And we are all the richer for it.......

Thanks Kirk, much appreciated.

[Merg Ross]

Eric, you are long since ready for a decent show.

My thought, exactly. Go for it, Eric!

[Robert Brummitt]

I too thought that having shows was expected. Did it and have move to believe just the process of photographing is satisfying to me. Now, I do have a few shows happening but it's not top priority.
I also believe that having show(s) or selling a few images can can create a trap. I have seen artists get caught up in producing one genre of work simply because prints sells or response to the work. Its produce and reproduce to get that positive feed back.
Artist who will succeed in one area then try to explore in another area of their art. Those I admire. I have seen this in some of our greats past and present.

[Eric Biggerstaff]

Thanks for the kind words Kirk and Merg! I just might have to do one!

[Mark Sawyer]

Then, about 1970, I ceased exhibiting, and used the energy to concentrate on my commercial and personal work...

I'm taking this enough out of context that it may not be at all what Merg meant, but it brings up something not yet talked about.

We often cite the disconnect between "commercial" work and "personal" work, but I've been around enough to see that among "non-commercial" photographers competing for exhibitions, publications, and other attention, the chase for success can bend one's vision every bit as much as a commercial client.

Still, it's fun to consider a show. I think being part of a small group show would take away many of the fears and pressures, and make for a more social experience. But for now, I'm happy with my long-running string of exhibitions at The Center for Contemplative Photography, (aka, my bathroom). Ah, yes, I remember being in a two-person show with Ansel Adams there once...

[Daniel Stone]

as the old adage goes:

"location, location, location..."

Do you mean DISPLAY galleries, or SELLING galleries?

Cause any business that wants too keep its doors open needs to have saleable items, not just people taking up space during open hours.

-Dan

[Brian Ellis]

I've been in many group shows but never had an individual show. I had an opportunity for an individual show in a sort of "artsy" cafe and turned it down. I figured the cost of framing and matting would have run several thousand dollars for the size and quantity of images needed for the space. I just couldn't see any reason to spend that kind of money to have images displayed in public for a couple months and then have to deal not only with the cost but also with storing so many framed photographs for the rest of my life. If I actively tried to sell my work it might have been a different matter but I don't.

[tgtaylor]

I don't know..taking pix and then sticking them in boxes in the closet is not very fulfilling...but it's marginally better than spending a lot of money and then having a bunch of fools talk about your stuff

A better idea than a box in the closet is to mount the print, put it in a protective sleeve, and store it in a print rack in the living room with a print easel nearby so that you can enjoy it when the mood strikes. Then if you do decide or are invited to display your work at a public venue, all you need is the hardware. The cost of say, twenty Nielsen frames, while not trivial, is not all that much and thereafter you will be ready to display at a moments notice with everything ready to go and paid for. About the fools...

Just a thought.

Thomas

[jloen]

I casually showed some prints to an aunt who has had a number of successful fine art shows of her oils and mixed-media works. She enthusiastically urged me to phone this and that gallery and talk to so and so about having them display my work.

just not interested.