August Issue 2006
Commentary
by Tom Starland
On The Cover
On the cover this month we have a work by the late William Halsey
(1915 - 1999). He was one of my favorite artists. I had always
promised myself that if we ever went color - I would put one of
Halsey's works on the first cover. Six months later, I finally
fulfilled that promise to myself. It's like the Rolling Stones'
song - "You can't always get what you want...But if you try
sometimes you might find you get what you need".
Ever since I heard that line, I felt - you know, they have something
there. And, I think that's the way William Halsey felt too.
Halsey, who was born in Charleston, SC, could have made it in
New York City, but he decided to stay in Charleston and make the
best of it. He and his wife Corrie McCallum, an artist in her
own right, did what it took to raise a family in Charleston and
make a career in art. Sometimes that meant teaching art, doing
portraits, selling art for less than it was worth, whatever...
Halsey's legacy remains with us in his art and he produced a lot
of it over his sixty year career. He produced some of his works
two and three times - because he never stopped looking at what
he did. At the age of eighty - he said he was just getting it
right. I think he always had it right.
If you want to see more of his work, head to the Eva Carter Gallery
in Charleston or check out (www.evacatergallery.com) or (www.halseyfoundation.org).
A Spoleto Update
Last month I said there was nothing to report on about the Spoleto
Festival USA - since they offered no visual art events this year
- this just in.
It has been reported that the Festival sold 85,000 tickets this
year at the tune of $2.9 million - that's over $440,000 more than
last year. The year before that, the increase was only $2,000
over the previous year. So these are big numbers.
I'm not presenting these figures as "official" as they
didn't come from Spoleto to me in a press release - that's not
gonna happen. They know how much I love to debunk some of the
statements they tend to make.
The numbers are good for Spoleto. They mean the Festival will
stay in the black - which is great for an arts festival - much
less any festival. But the numbers also reveal a little truth
about Spoleto - a truth they would prefer you not pay much attention
to.
The figures are - 85,000 tickets - $2.9 million. That makes the
average ticket price $34.11. But don't expect that to get you
a ticket to many of the Festival's events that are not in the
nosebleed seats or behind an obstructed view. But, that's OK -
people attending the Festival know the prices and they pay it.
The important figure is the 85,000.
The Festival's leaders once told the SC Legislature that according
to a University of South Carolina economic survey, the festival
attracts 100,000 people to SC. The 85,000 figure is still 15,000
short of that, if everyone who comes to Spoleto only goes to one
event. That 100,000 figure was used to justify the support Spoleto
receives in SC taxpayer monies.
Attracting 100,000 people to Charleston over the 17 day run is
quite a feat - if it was true, but it's not. No one going to Spoleto
goes to only one event. If they take in two events that reduces
the number to 42,500 visitors. If they take in 3 events it goes
down to 28,333 visitors and if they do 4 - it's 21,250 visitors
attracted to Charleston. But do the people of the Charleston area
all visit France during those 17 days - of course not. Many people
from the Charleston area buy tickets and they go to many events.
So what does this mean?
Well, the numbers in the survey don't really matter - especially
since they are not accurate. If only 10,000 people came to Charleston
and had to stay in a hotel and eat at a restaurant for a few days
- the Festival is good for Charleston and South Carolina - especially
when they are able to stay in the black financially. Of course
that depends on how much taxpayer dollars they are getting, but...
So why do they have to streeeetch the truth? Unfortunately that's
what it apparently takes to convince members of the legislature
to give them the money. And, unfortunately they had to bring the
USC Business School into the stretch too. So this causes other
organizations to streeeetch the numbers about their events - as
far as how many people they attract and the economic impact they
have on the area where they take place and for SC.
The men and women in the state legislature are not all accountants
or number crunchers, but they're not going to buy what's being
stated in these economic impact surveys either.
Remember - an economic survey said the SC Aquarium would attract
500,000 people to Charleston and be an economic juggernaut in
the area. We're still waiting.
The point is the arts don't do themselves any good by serving
up the public bogus surveys about the impact their activities
generate.
The folks at Spoleto should be happy with the boast that they
attract 10,000 - 20,000 people who enjoy their festival enough
to drop $2.9 million on it - and some of that money stays here
and a lot more gets spent at the same time. That's worth some
of the taxpayers' money.
The visual art community (commercial & non-profit) in the
Charleston area pumps a lot of money into the general community
in many different ways. It's not as much as some surveys imply,
but they generate more taxes than the state gives back in taxpayer
dollars - much more. They deserve some credit for it - not the
myth that the arts always have their hand out for a donation.
Lazy reporters are also responsible for this myth of the 100,000
visitors. They tend to read press releases as facts - without
thinking or checking them out. And, before you know it - the statement
is a media mantra - repeated without thinking over and over every
time the name Spoleto Festival is mentioned - even if the Festival
PR folks had dropped the statement years ago. Like they seemed
to have dropped the phrase - World's most comprehensive arts festival.
Duh! When there is no visual arts - how can it be comprehensive?
Big Changes In The Newspaper Biz
Some big changes in the daily newspaper world in the Carolinas
is about to take place. The State (Columbia, SC), The
Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC) and The Charlotte Observer
(Charlotte, NC) - now owned by Knight Ridder - will soon join
The Herald (Rock Hill, SC), The Island Packet (Hilton
Head, SC), the Beaufort Gazette (Beaufort, SC) and The
News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) in the McClatchy newspaper
fold.
The Knight Ridder empire has fallen on hard times and the sale
of their three papers in the Carolinas will end up in the hands
of the folks at McClatchy.
What will these changes mean?
An article in The State talked a lot about better coverage
of local sports and local politics - shared stories between the
papers. McClatchy's policy will be that these papers will be "local"
papers - not papers in a chain.
Of course we can look at The Herald, The Island Packet, the
Beaufort Gazette, and The News & Observer, to see
what we might expect in the future - from The State and
The Sun News, and The Charlotte Observer.
I went online and checked out the Sunday, June 25, 2006, News
& Observer - to see how they were covering the visual
arts. (It should be noted that not all papers include all printed
articles on their websites - much less include all articles in
regional press runs. So, if you live in Raleigh - you may have
seen different things in your Sunday paper.)
WOW! There were four articles about the visual arts. Story number
one was about a Monet exhibition in San Francisco which will travel
to the NC Museum of Art in Raleigh this fall. Number two was about
an exhibit of contemporary works at the New York Historical Society
based on the impact of slavery. Story number three was about the
High Museum of Art in Atlanta, GA, adding a Wyeth painting to
their collection, and number four was about the NC Museum of Art
getting a new work purchased by a "contemporary" support
group - folks in the 20-40 age group.
Four stories about the visual arts - that's great considering
their local competitor - the Sun Herald had no stories
about the visual arts (on their web version of the paper). But
three of the stories were about events taking place in CA, NY,
and GA. Is that local coverage? I guess one could be considered
a preview article about things to come. The one local story was
about NC's state-owned visual art facility. I bet the folks in
Raleigh read a lot about the NC Museum of Art when it comes to
visual arts coverage. And, rightly so, but what about the other
half of the visual art community - the commercial community? Of
course there is the calendar of events list - if you can figure
out how to make it work, but there was no coverage of exhibits
taking place at commercial galleries - that I could see on the
web.
It's not much different at any daily newspaper these days. The
big non-profits get what coverage space there is and nothing is
left for much of the commercial side of the visual arts. That's
why most communities of any size now have an alternative "arts
& entertainment" paper. But many of these are owned by
newspaper chains too - some by the same "daily" paper
- in the same town. And, their focus seems to be on the funky
side of the visual arts or they pick their own favorites they
like to cover, and cover.
So what do the readers in Columbia, SC, Myrtle Beach, SC, and
Charlotte, NC, have to look forward to - as far as visual arts
coverage? Perhaps less than what they are getting now - especially
with increased space going to more sports and politics. Perhaps
folks in Raleigh will read more about exhibits in Charlotte or
Myrtle Beach or the other way around. Oh boy!
The Alternative To The Alternatives
Enter the folks behind the Arts Ramble of the Triangle
- an online site created to give the visual arts community in
the Triangle area of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, Durham &
Raleigh) a place, "for artists, critics, gallery owners,
curators, art students, readers of art history, and all of us
interested in the actual 'seeing' of art" - to express their
views, if they have any. Of course we can all peek in too, since
the site is posted on the Internet at (www.artsramble.com).
I don't want to speak for these folks, but I think they started
this effort because it is not being offered anywhere else in the
community. Much like we started this effort 18 years ago due to
a frustration over not being able to get publicity for galleries
we were involved with in local media.
Face it - the daily newspaper media in this country is in crisis.
When it comes to coverage of the arts - the visual arts are getting
the short end of the stick - some because they don't purchase
ads in those papers and because other non-profits in the visual
arts always seem to get what space is allocated. And, that space
isn't growing, but shrinking.
The folks at Art Ramble of the Triangle realize that online
(newspapers, e-zines, whatever you want to call them) sites are
an inexpensive (they do cost time & money) way to offer such
a medium - compared to printed versions. But they take work and
depend on participation from the visitors. You get what you pay
for and contribute to on these sites.
We support their efforts as we do not cover that area of North
Carolina in our printed version of the paper and they are doing
some things we can't offer. Our online version has always included
the Triangle, but it has always been limited by what we receive
from people in that area. Some send us info about their exhibits
every month.
In July we received articles about exhibits at Gallery C, Lee
Hansley Gallery, Tyndall Galleries, Gallery of Art & Design
at North Carolina State University, and at Artspace - gallery
spaces in both the commercial and non-profit sectors of the visual
art community in the Triangle. You can see them on our website
(www.carolinaarts.com). There are many more listings about exhibits
in that area included in our Institutional & Commercial Gallery
Listings - 53 gallery listings.
Arts Ramble has just been up since the middle of May, so
it is very new. Time will tell where it goes and what kind of
impact it will have in filling the void in the area. Reading the
offerings there will remind you of what is going on in your own
community - so don't be deterred by wondering why you should be
interested in what's going on in Raleigh, Chapel Hill or Durham.
You can also participate by just registering and adding your own
comments or contributions.
So why don't we cover the Triangle area in our printed version
of the paper? Well, we're a newspaper - not unlike those other
newspapers - we depend on a bottom line and we can only do so
much. Unlike them, we can't carry losses. We did cover the area
back in 1997 when we first became Carolina Arts, but due
to a lack of support and our lack of financing - we pulled out
in order to save the paper we could do. We have continued for
almost ten years. And, during those years we have received numerous
invitations to come back and cover that area, but no support was
offered nor has any materialized.
We continue to support the visual arts community in the Triangle
area on our website and by supporting Arts Ramble. We'll
do whatever we can to include all the visual arts in the Carolinas,
but we have limitations.
People in that community, as well as you readers, need to realize
that they have to meet the media halfway. They are going to have
to stop waiting for someone else to provide buzz for them. Last
month, five exhibit spaces in the Triangle did that by just e-mailing
us an article about their offerings by our deadline - info on
how to do that is available on our site under the heading "How
the Paper Works". Info on how to participate with Arts
Ramble is on their website at (www.artsramble.com).
The good folks at Arts Ramble are just waiting for you
to participate. Don't wait to see what's in your next Sunday paper.
Artisphere Revisited
In the June commentary I defended the Artisphere Festival
from criticism that there were not enough local artists selected
to participate in the Festival. One of my simple solutions at
the time was for more local artists to apply to participate. So
here's the info on how to do that.
The Third Annual Artisphere, The International Arts Festival
of Greenville, SC, announces the 2007 call for visual artist entries.
Artisphere is a 3-day open air street festival located in the
historic west-end district of downtown Greenville, taking place
on Apr. 20-22, 2007. There will be 100 artist booths, $10,000
in cash awards, and over $30,000 Patrons Program purchases. There
is a $20 jury fee. Applications must be postmarked by Oct. 20,
2006. For a prospectus contact Liz Rundorff, Visual Artist Manager
864-271-9355, e-mail at (liz@greenvillearts.com), or visit the
Artisphere website at (www.artisphere.us).
The other, not so simple solution, is to find a way to participate
on the fringe. Be creative.
Fundraising With Art Auctions
It seems that one of the major headaches of artists in the Carolinas
is also a major pain for artists in the Big Apple - according
to an article published in the New York Times by Carol
Kino on May 28, 2006.
It can be hard enough to deal with a call for a donation from
the local heart fund or for some children's camp, but imagine
being an up and coming artist or an established one, for that
matter, and getting a call from the Whitney for a donation. Can
you say no to them?
Art collectors in New York are also catching on to the bargains
that can be had at art fundraising auctions - to the point that
some items purchased at a significant discount at a fundraising
auction can show up at a real auction house - offered at the full
market value. Some dealers have been forced to attend fundraising
auctions to bid on works from their gallery artists, just to protect
their market value. And, even New York artists are in fear that
no decent bid or none at all will be made on their donation.
Some hopeful signs mentioned in the article also point to organizations
that are beginning to share proceeds with the artists and in a
turnaround move - one organization is going to be asking collectors
to donate a work from their collection to be auctioned. In this
case - a work valued over $5,000. That's payback for you.
Of course the real tragedy of this whole situation is that artists
who donate works to these fundraisers can only take a deduction
for the value of the materials used to produce the work - not
market value. If I buy a work and give it to a fundraiser I get
the full market value deduction.
After reading this article - the light bulb in my head clicked
on - showing a way around this injustice for artists.
Let's say the next time a fundraising auction knocks on your studio
door or calls - you get together with another artist targeted
for a donation - you each purchase the other's artwork and donate
it to the cause. Since you are no longer donating your own work
- you can get the full deduction. You just need to make sure you
both select works of equal value so neither artists comes out
on the wrong end of the exchange of checks. It's a way of making
the best of a bad situation. You become John Q Public, instead
of an artist with the burden of society on your shoulders.
It's not a bad idea - if I say so myself.
Of course it still doesn't solve one of the big problems surrounding
these fundraisers - lowering the market value of art. There are
occasions when a bid is made for more than a work's market value
- especially if two wealthy bidders want the same work, but most
of the time winning bids are much lower than market value. And,
some artists talk about collectors who now only buy at fundraisers.
Gallery owners are not happy with the fundraising scene either.
The growing number of organizations using this method of fundraising
has eroded their market of customers too.
Now, I don't want you to go away with the impression that I'm
against all art auction fundraisers. Not true! The problem is
more with the sheer volume of organizations using them. There
are some that I think are more logical for the visual art community.
The Charleston Fine Art Dealers' Association uses an art auction
to benefit Charleston County High School Fine Art Programs. Many
two-dimensional artists donate works to an art auction for Brookgreen
Gardens, in Pawley's Island, SC, which features one of the largest
collections of outdoor sculpture in America.
There are many more examples other than these two, but even if
all art auctions benefited art related programs - there could
still be a problem - if there are too many. And for artists who
create work that is highly in demand - every organization wants
them to participate.
Some of you have told me - enough is enough - we get your point.
The problem is, artists are constantly telling me this is one
of their biggest problems. They are tired of being forced into
a bad position by saying no.
Another easy solution to this problem is if people who attend
these fundraisers start bidding above market value. Artists won't
feel so bad if they know the work they donated generated twice
the market value for the organization. Gallery owners will be
happier that these auctions could end up raising the market value
of some artists' work.
After all, the people attending these auctions should be giving
generously instead of thinking of gaining a bargain on art.
Carolina Arts
is published monthly by Shoestring
Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc.
Copyright© 2006 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston
Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts
from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts
Online, Copyright© 2006 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved
by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use
without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina
Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.