Toastkitten

dauphine - how exactly does the Euro system work? I don't really understand how artists and cultural institutions get their stuff paid for "over there".

I hope this discussion continues on such a broad scale so that everyone comes to the joint conclusion that we're all screwed unless the government would adopt a European outlook and just Financiall Support the arts!! That would easily solve the gallery question, artists would breathe easier and we can all be free to create and not worry about being considered a cheap commercial commodity.

Why are the Europeans always right?

;)

I thought the Saltz piece was really interesting too. One complication with the whole discussion is that often the people who claim to be outside the shadow of commerce only got there because of a healthy trust fund. Does this really afford them a fresh perspective or does it just allow them the luxury of indulging their personal preferences? Many alternative spaces seemingly resistant to commodification often exist because of well established connections with art world power brokers whether they are critics, artists or institutions. Is this really "alternative?" Artists and gallerists who pay the rent by selling art are assumed corrupted by capitalism whether or not the work itself is compromised. I’m just not so sure it is as clear cut as he suggests.

la dauphine, I also agree with most of what Saltz is saying. The gallery system seems almost hopeless because of the $-thing.

I recently had a heart-to-heart with a friend and realized that I need to put my money where my mouth is - so I will be looking into ways to actually DO something big in this field instead of just burbling about it on the blog... Thanks for the comments, and btw I like your blog.

btw - I have to say that I 90% agree with Saltz's take on the art world and that gallerists need to fear turning into shopkeepers. The sad thing though is that unless you have someone seriously underwriting you, it's a struggle to survive as a small, young gallery in NYC. Yes, there are gallerists with 'Attitude' that want to push for artists whose work they believe in, but the truth is even those that have artistic integrity can also be the ones to not give artists a cent when the work sells. Maybe it's because their scumballs and maybe it's because their so far in the hole they don't see another way out. That's the sad reality.

There are lots of curatorial grants out there. And your creative writing skills will certainly come in handy...

I love Mehretu's work too but second that I haven't seen them in person (being in ATL it's a bit tricky).

I have never seen them in person. They look amazing.