creators & sellers
Eugenii Tolmashov "Demon"
Reading
"Is success all it's cracked up to be?" by Carol Katchen [1] in International
Artist #16, I was stricken by a strange feeling. Katchen questioned how an artist
copes with the problems that success brings, how they could weather downturns
in sales etc. I found no mention that the artwork must be great.
In
fact, creativity and the business side of art present clearly separated facets
of the same coin, called artist. For those familiar with Eric Berne's transactional
analysis (in vogue some decades ago), from a psychological point of view an artist
can be seen as both Creator and Seller. Only God can afford to do nothing but
create. Others have it tough. Even if God's spark of creativity glimmers in an
artist her or his body still demands food and excitement.
Living
among Siberian artists, observing their lifestyles, and getting into their problems
I wondered how the Creator and Seller can be united in them. The Creator and Seller
are quite different states of psychology. So different, it could be like dealing
with two different persons.
Suppose
we consider a painter at work. When does the thought that the painting could be
exchanged for money come into her or his mind? From the very beginning, or long
after the work has been completed?
Victor
Rogachev, a Krasnoyarsk artist, expressed his practice in this way: "In principle,
I paint for myself. Only this way, can I manage to do a good artwork." This is
the pure stand of the Creator - I am creating, everybody, b*** off!
To
take another example: an artist asked an art shop to sell his painting. Time goes
by, week after week, and the painting stays on the wall - it was not sold (which
is a quite frequent occurrence). Whose failure is that - the shop or of the artist?
"This is largely my fault," - says Sergej Forostovskii [2] demonstrating a stand
of the Seller. A stale item is a responsibility of the Seller. The same artist,
Sergej, believes that a true artist has to be intolerant. He has to recognize
only his own art, otherwise his personality and his art would be smeared. What
is this if not the superiority complex of the Creator?
If
on the other hand, a shop sells a painting, then whose success is that? Every
artist I asked this question said that this was at half their own achievement.
The Seller inside the artist requires a share in the success.
Let's
consider possible strategic mottos for artists. An artist can:
A. paint only
what they believe to be right, "true art", independent of whether it sells or
not;
B. paint mostly "true art" and sometimes what sells;
C. paint mostly
what sells and when there is an opportunity what is "true", and
D. paint
only what sells.
It
might be said that extremes are rare, that most people are e.g. neither fish nor
flesh type, but a mixture. And you will be right, but artists give charismatic
examples of maximalism (strategy A). Herman Kiselev, a Krasnoyarsk based artist,
is among those who say that strategy A is the only worthy one. "People want to
see the personality of the artist, his point of view, they feel when it's painted
freely, with no desire to please", - he says. Fortunately for him, his canvases
are rather popular though quite expensive.
Herman
Kiselev "Karmen" oil on canvas
Eugenii
Tolmashov presents a less fortunate case. He is a painter who did not receive
regular education and paints "how God put it on the soul", (as it's expressed
by us Russians). In spite of that, he is recognized by educated, academic artists,
which is quite rare. They agree that what he does is "true art". I happen to know
how he lives - with no permanent place to reside, no job, no family, but with
great ambition to create.
Eugenii Tolmashov
"Demon" oil on canvas
As
far as I am aware, his paintings do not sell, perhaps because they are emotionally
so strong that people just do not risk keeping them at home.
Alexander
Levchenko "But it's spring outside" oil on canvas
Alexander
Levchenko is another example of sincere maximalist, strategy A artist. Paintings
by Levchenko on Russian themes depict mostly whimsical characters from villages
and small towns. That the paintings are done from the bottom of the artist's heart
there is no doubt, and they are philosophically profound in catching reality,
but they may upset or even hurt the national pride of Russians. As a Russian,
I would not hang most of his paintings at home despite their many artistic virtues.
The artworks are too disturbing.
Opposite
to strategy A maximalists, the other pole is represented by inveterate Sellers.
There is an observation as to what subjects the broad public wants to have. It's
incredible but the masses here buy mostly images of their area of residence, so
to say, of what they see every day from the window. The public asks one further
thing of the art: that the paintings should not be expensive. Therefore, there
are artists here that simply satisfy these demands.
Victor
Markovskih developed a trade style of affordable landscapes that sell quite well.
I have no intention to say that he does no "creative" artwork but, at least, no
attempts have been made that would evolve his approach.
Victor
Markovskih "Recollection" oil on canvas
Small
oils on cardboard by Ludmila Domenchak depict fragments of motherland nature.
They are sold at low prices as nice inexpensive presents.
Ludmila Domenchak
"Winter" oil on cardboard
Psychological
rooting inside themselves has always been a distinctive feature of Russian intellectuals.
Why do people paint something that does not sell? Through an analysis of the Creator
& Seller model, we can perhaps understand artists much better. However I have
found no final answer to this question. An approach to the answer might be understanding
the phenomenon of talent. In a sense, talent is a pain that lives inside an
artist giving them no peace until it finds a way out in the form of a painting
(or verses, books, etc.).
Vladimir
Gavrikov
gavrikov@online.ru
Sources
[1] Carol Katchen "Is success all it's cracked up to be?", International Artist
#16, December/January 2001
[2] An article by Sergej is available in International
Artist Magazine #17
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