Being an observer for the night
The last few years I have become the cliche’ over 50 evening shut in. There is a truth to the adage that once I hit the door, the slouchy clothes get put on and support garment comes off. Once that happens, forget about me doing anything social. My husband and I found ourselves in bed by 8:30 with the excuse that he had to be up by 5am. Well, Doctors tend to force lifestyle changes on us and with diets and exercise we are now up well past 9:30 and I found myself out on the town for gallery openings last night.
Spokane used to be a town of several high end galleries but times changed and now there are several galleries that are around but the era of “High end” isn’t here anymore. There are one or 2 in that are privately owned but most of openings are cooperatives or non-profits that run the gamut from trendy to eclectic in selection. It means you end up walking into a wide variety of atmospheres and social experiences. I observed a couple missing components while wandering last night that I don’t think anyone who does art understands.
People want to talk to you about how you do what you have done. They also want to be able to hear what you want to say and be able to hear what they are thinking. What? You don’t understand. I’ll explain. One place I went into had over 6 artists represented and they were all there. The artist in charge of the event brought in a DG who was pumping out a rhythmic beat like it was the source of life for the entire city. Artists were standing around talking to friends or each other, scrolling on phones or eating and none were watching to see who was looking at their art. When I stood looking at these amazing sculptures and talking with someone else about them, someone pointed to a man and told me that was the artist. Go ask him, I was advised; he made them. He was standing with his wife, I was told and he was ignoring anyone who was looking at his art. The person pointing the sculptor out had to shout this into my ear, over the pulsing din.
The problem with the loss of high end galleries is that they actually knew how to speak with people interested in the art in front of them. They also knew how the find out through conversation if the person was really interested and if they could even purchase the art. People who create art, generally are afraid of talking to strangers. They don’t know what to say to them and are concerned they will look like a fool. Well guess what, an artist is interesting when they are talking about making art; especially if people can hear what they have to say. If you are an artist, you are a little bit like the shy nerd at school who is afraid of talking to the pretty person at school. Start by talking to anyone and begin with a simple hello. You don’t need to try to talk them into giving you their first born, just get comfortable talking to strangers. Each new skill starts at a beginning, and that includes talking to strangers about your art. Begin with a hello. If they walk away, it’s alright. You aren’t ruining anything that was a real sale anyway. You are blowing more chances at sales by saying nothing.
Make sure the music isn’t the biggest attraction at the event! Put the cool DJ at the back of the room and turn down the music. You are paying for him, the art will pay you if it sells. People can’t buy if you can’t hear them. You can’t say hello if you have to shout. Make the space comfortable, relax and go ahead and try talking. We like to know your process, and we want to hear you tell us about it.
I’ll admit, I’m kinda excited about the new lease on a social life and it is going to be interesting to see what my evenings are going to be like from here on out. I’m going to keep wandering out and enjoying the evenings, maybe if an artist can hear me; I’ll even get to talk to them.