You hear this question all the time when you have a show on.
Perhaps people are just being politely interested/making conversation. I think
they are asking what material benefits you have reaped from your exhibition,
such as paintings sold, new shows generated, reviews received. As an artist who
I am, I am always wanting more (perhaps this is because I am a consumer in a
capitalist society but let's not get into that) so I temper my inner enormous
disappointed expectations with something which I think people want to hear, like
very well, a great success, really good. Sometime inquisitive/rude people ask
how many paintings you have sold, what are you doing next etc, legitimate
questions perhaps, and then you are pinned down to quantitative reality.
Imagine if people asked you whether you thought your paintings (or other art stuff) were any good, whether the show had changed your ideas about your work, or they even started a discussion about the meaning/effect/beauty/failure of your hard won artworks. Perhaps if this was the primary dialogue casually generated by shows then we would be in a better art world where the value of what you achieved was measured by engagement as opposed to commerce. Sure I know this sounds like a loser concept for failed artists but think about who the winners are of us always having to sell ourselves. All artists have to lose is the poverty of their expectations, what success that would be.
BTW, my show is going really well, and today is the last day.
http://www.jasperjoffe.com
Imagine if people asked you whether you thought your paintings (or other art stuff) were any good, whether the show had changed your ideas about your work, or they even started a discussion about the meaning/effect/beauty/failure of your hard won artworks. Perhaps if this was the primary dialogue casually generated by shows then we would be in a better art world where the value of what you achieved was measured by engagement as opposed to commerce. Sure I know this sounds like a loser concept for failed artists but think about who the winners are of us always having to sell ourselves. All artists have to lose is the poverty of their expectations, what success that would be.
BTW, my show is going really well, and today is the last day.
http://www.jasperjoffe.com
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