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Image from the Internet
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Hrag Vartanian has an interesting conversation with Jennifer Dalton about ethics over the Art 21 blog. I’d like to use that as a jumping off point for today’s post, focusing specifically on the ways artists behave toward one another.
As I’ve been discussing ethical issues with friends recently, three main ideas have emerged:
First, let's hear it for artists who are supportive and respectful of other artists' careers. If you don't have friends like that, find some. If you do, appreciate them!
Hrag Vartanian has an interesting conversation with Jennifer Dalton about ethics over the Art 21 blog. I’d like to use that as a jumping off point for today’s post, focusing specifically on the ways artists behave toward one another.
As I’ve been discussing ethical issues with friends recently, three main ideas have emerged:
First, let's hear it for artists who are supportive and respectful of other artists' careers. If you don't have friends like that, find some. If you do, appreciate them!
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Second, there seems to be a divide between artists who are relatively established in their careers and those who are looking to gain a toehold. Some artists are so desperate to get somewhere, they will trample anyone and anything to achieve their goals—copying, cannibalizing and stealing liberally if that’s what it takes. We all know a few people like that. Drop them from your life. (On the flip side, there are accomplished and affluent artists who wouldn’t stop to advise, mentor, refer or otherwise offer a helping hand to a struggling artist whose piece of the pie is barely more than half a crumb. Selfish as that behavior may be, however, the artist is trampling no one.)
Third, “ethics” in the art world is relative. There is no formal Code of Ethics for the Practice of the Visual Arts, notes Pam Farrell, a painter who is also a licensed clinical social worker: “CAA has one for professional practice in Art History. Art schools have codes of conduct and ethics. But since there is no ‘central’ or official organization, like the American Bar Association or the American Medical Association, there is no organizational body in the arts that represents the profession. So, when we are talking about ethical transgressions or breaches, or violations in the visual arts, whose ethics are we talking about?”
Copyright infringement aside, says Farrell, “What might be a guiding force for most of us could be the ‘Golden Rule.’"
In the interest of stirring up some discussion I offer you these 10 scenarios. They’re all true, compiled from a variety of experiences, including mine. Applying your personal sense of ethics—or your interpretation of do-unto-others—how would you respond?
1. An artist contacts a gallery, mentioning that you have suggested she do so. You have done no such thing. You get wind of it from the gallery.
2. You ask an artist if he would recommend you to his gallery. He says, “Let me think about it.” That was almost a year ago, and even a recent reminder has not prompted a response. You decide to go ahead anyway. In contacting his gallery you mention you know him but stop short of suggesting any involvement on his part.
3. You are contacted by a grant foundation seeking a reference for an artist. The problem is that the artist never asked you if you would be willing to write such a reference. What’s more, you wouldn’t have particularly good things to say about the artist or his work.
4. You have developed a following as a good and generous teacher. Working out of your studio, you offer classes in technique to beginner and advanced students. Recently some former students have set up shop not far from you and are offering the same kinds of classes at a significantly reduced rate.
5. You develop a template for a successful art event that brings together hundreds of participants from all over. A parvenu production, organized by someone you know, crops up with many of the same features and speakers that are in yours.
6. An artist in your studio building stops in from time to time. When you visited her studio recently, you noticed a raft of familiar-looking work. Indeed, you could actually see that the changes in her work paralleled the changes in yours.
7. Relatedly, you’ve posted images of your best work on your website/blog/Facebook wall. Now you see that another artist in another part of the country is doing new work suspiciously like yours but in a different medium. You know this is new work for the artist because you checked his website.
8. You assisted an artist for several years. She introduced you to all the dealers and curators who visited the studio. Now that you’re not working for her anymore, you know just how to pursue your career: You contact every single one of the people you met in your former employer’s studio, reminding them where you initially met.
9. An artist tells you, “I have a great method for getting my work out there. When the Art in America Guide comes out each summer, I look up all the artists whose work I like and send my packages to their galleries. I got two gallery shows that way!”
10. You have a friend who’s always appreciative when you recommend him for group shows or artists’ projects but he never seems to recommend you—and he’s involved in a lot of projects for which you would be perfect.
OK, over to you. How would you deal with any of these situations? And by all means share others in the same genre.
Third, “ethics” in the art world is relative. There is no formal Code of Ethics for the Practice of the Visual Arts, notes Pam Farrell, a painter who is also a licensed clinical social worker: “CAA has one for professional practice in Art History. Art schools have codes of conduct and ethics. But since there is no ‘central’ or official organization, like the American Bar Association or the American Medical Association, there is no organizational body in the arts that represents the profession. So, when we are talking about ethical transgressions or breaches, or violations in the visual arts, whose ethics are we talking about?”
Copyright infringement aside, says Farrell, “What might be a guiding force for most of us could be the ‘Golden Rule.’"
In the interest of stirring up some discussion I offer you these 10 scenarios. They’re all true, compiled from a variety of experiences, including mine. Applying your personal sense of ethics—or your interpretation of do-unto-others—how would you respond?
1. An artist contacts a gallery, mentioning that you have suggested she do so. You have done no such thing. You get wind of it from the gallery.
2. You ask an artist if he would recommend you to his gallery. He says, “Let me think about it.” That was almost a year ago, and even a recent reminder has not prompted a response. You decide to go ahead anyway. In contacting his gallery you mention you know him but stop short of suggesting any involvement on his part.
3. You are contacted by a grant foundation seeking a reference for an artist. The problem is that the artist never asked you if you would be willing to write such a reference. What’s more, you wouldn’t have particularly good things to say about the artist or his work.
4. You have developed a following as a good and generous teacher. Working out of your studio, you offer classes in technique to beginner and advanced students. Recently some former students have set up shop not far from you and are offering the same kinds of classes at a significantly reduced rate.
5. You develop a template for a successful art event that brings together hundreds of participants from all over. A parvenu production, organized by someone you know, crops up with many of the same features and speakers that are in yours.
6. An artist in your studio building stops in from time to time. When you visited her studio recently, you noticed a raft of familiar-looking work. Indeed, you could actually see that the changes in her work paralleled the changes in yours.
7. Relatedly, you’ve posted images of your best work on your website/blog/Facebook wall. Now you see that another artist in another part of the country is doing new work suspiciously like yours but in a different medium. You know this is new work for the artist because you checked his website.
8. You assisted an artist for several years. She introduced you to all the dealers and curators who visited the studio. Now that you’re not working for her anymore, you know just how to pursue your career: You contact every single one of the people you met in your former employer’s studio, reminding them where you initially met.
9. An artist tells you, “I have a great method for getting my work out there. When the Art in America Guide comes out each summer, I look up all the artists whose work I like and send my packages to their galleries. I got two gallery shows that way!”
10. You have a friend who’s always appreciative when you recommend him for group shows or artists’ projects but he never seems to recommend you—and he’s involved in a lot of projects for which you would be perfect.
OK, over to you. How would you deal with any of these situations? And by all means share others in the same genre.
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