Feature Articles

July Issue 2002

Shoestring Publishing Company Marks 15 Years of Producing an Arts Newspaper
by Tom Starland, editor/publisher Carolina Arts

Time flies - even when you're not having fun. I'm not saying that there hasn't been a lot of fun, but at least once a month I find myself asking, "Why am I still doing this?" I never seem to come up with a solid answer, one way or another, but before long, I'm back at the task at hand - meeting our deadlines. Then I forget what the question was.

Many times I reflect on what a friend asked me after the publication of our first issue - back in July of 1987. "So what are you going to write about next month, and the month after that?" I guess the question implied that soon I would run out of things to report on in the arts. Afterall, how much could there be to report on from month to month?

I'd like that person to know that my biggest headache each month is deciding what gets in the paper and what won't make it - we receive way more each month than what you see in the paper.

Back in 1987, we were called Charleston Arts, and we were covering all aspects of the arts - performing arts, visual arts, and even some aspects of the literary arts. In the past, we had people who covered the theatre scene, we had a writer keeping up with the jazz scene, we offered poetry, and all sorts of things involving the arts world in Charleston and South Carolina.

By the 1990s, after recovering from Hurricane Hugo, we became just a newspaper covering just the visual arts. Not by choice, but because most of our support was coming from the commercial gallery sector. If the performing arts groups had been supporting us back then we might still be an all arts newspaper today. But, that's an entire story on its own.

By Jan. 1995, we decided to expand our base and changed the name of the paper to South Carolina Arts. We still get mail under that name even though it's been five years since we used that name.

Going state-wide in SC gave us a reason to address issues surrounding the bigger picture in SC's art community, i.e. - the South Carolina Arts Commission. That so-called arts support agency has given us pages and pages of editorial commentary.

After two years of dealing with regional jealousies, useless state art agencies, and physical problems involving geographical hurdles - you would think we would have known better, but we decided to jump the border and begin covering the visual arts in North Carolina. In Jan. 1997, we became Carolina Arts. We soon learned that the combined geography of both North and South Carolina was too much to handle and that we were not being supported in all areas - so we now cover those areas where we receive support and those found inbetween those areas. Some get a free ride just because of their location.

A few years ago we discovered that the solution to our space problem was somewhat solved by the creation of our companion website, Carolina Arts Online, found at (www.CarolinaArts.com). Now it's like doing two papers each month.

That's the short and sweet history of Shoestring Publishing's 15 year life. So here we are in June of 2002, working on the July issue which marks our 15th year of producing an arts newspaper. What now?

In the past, I have had a tendency to work in 15 year cycles. Before getting into the newspaper biz, my wife (Linda) and I used to own and operate a b&w custom photo processing lab. We spent most of our time in a darkroom - 15 years. We couldn't see doing that forever.

After unsuccessfully atempting to establish ourselves in the photography gallery biz - it came to me that what gallery owners really needed was a medium to tell the public what they were offering. Local daily newspapers and other media didn't seem to be interested in doing this so I came up with the idea of doing an alternative newspaper covering the arts. Those people still don't seem to be interested in doing this - I guess this is why we have survived 15 years.

So, now that we've logged in 15 years in this arts newspaper thing are we looking for a change? Nothing else has come to mind. And, that's a good sign. Changes are in the wind, but those are just changes involving the paper itself. We expect to soon switch to a glossy color cover - as long as our advertisers are willing to support that.

Other changes will come, but I can't say anything about them now - I don't want to affect the price of our stock - one way or the another.

What have I learned in 15 years?

I didn't want to take up a lot of space going over old history, but I thought that it would be not only instructive but entertaining if I went over a few things I've learned in those 15 years. For those of you who like reading a blast from the past - check out Tom Starland Interviews Himself under Special Features on our website.

So here are ten things I know.

(1) The South Carolina Arts Commission isn't good for much. I don't want to say they don't serve some function. There are a lot of artists and arts groups who wouldn't have a life if it wasn't for their support. That can be a good or bad thing depending on how you see it, but in general if the SC Gereral Assembly cut the Arts Commission's budget competely next year - not much would be lost except those who couldn't exist without them. That should tell you something.

It has been my experience that they have done more to frustrate artists, pit artists against one another, and generally spend all their energy and our tax dollars trying to make SC's art community something it isn't.

The SC Arts Commission likes to compare themselves to its neighboring states, but I can tell you there is no comparison between SC and NC. The SC Arts Commission has a larger staff, receives more money per capita from the taxpayers, and has less ground to cover and they do a piss poor job compared to what the NC Arts Council (their counterpart agency) does, with less money and staff, as well as a state almost twice the size of SC.

Of course the folks at the SC Arts Commission would tell you differently. In fact, they take a canvas of the people and write up their own report to prove it. Too bad Arthur Anderson wasn't available.

(2) Money is the mother's milk of creativity. I don't care what you think, but it's hard to be creative without money - the more the better. Everytime I hear an artist start telling me that they are not in it for the money, I want to walk away and stop wasting my time. It's all about money - earned money, grant money, your parents' money, your spouses' money - money, money, money.

If you haven't learned this yet - get out of the arts. Just try doing anything without it.

A great artist can do great things with money. Without money, they're just talented.

(3) There is never enough money for non-profits. You got that right! People and organizations who live off of other people's money can spend it like the rest of us drink water. They have little respect for what they didn't earn beyond writing a grant or just asking for it. Sure, they serve the community, by serving themselves first. And, when thing don't work out like they were written on paper - nevermind! They'll try again if you give them more money.

You ever hear about a board member of a non-profit that has gone under and left creditors unpaid offer to pay the debt with their own money?

The groups that are fiscally responsible (which means they don't go in debt) are usually penalized by funding agencies while the lion's share of money always goes to the groups in financial trouble. They should be rewarded and the others cut loose.

(4) Some in the non-profit sector profit more than those in the commercial sector. Have you ever noticed that some people in non-profit organizations make more money than most other community leaders? I think once a conductor, museum director, or artistic director starts receiving a salary near or over $100,000. - they are profiting quite well. Some of these people make more money than the mayors of major cities in the Carolinas. Two new museum directors in Columbia, SC, recently took new jobs in the $115,000 range. And, they haven't done anything but accept the job. Will the public get a rebate if they don't perform well?

When a mayor who runs a $100 million annual city budget gets a $100,000 salary and a museum director who runs a $2.5 million museum budget gets $115,000 salary - something is wrong. If we don't watch out some of these people will be like college football coaches. I can just see museums paying several directors' contracted salaries after firing them for poor performance. Non-profit - bull.

(5) The arts are a business, an industry - full of politics. Some people act like the arts are different than the rest of the world. As long as money is involved - it's all the same. You produce a product or service. You hope people will feel what you offer is worth the price you want. And, you're in competition with a lot of other producers, so you need to promote, market, and profit. A lot of artists and art groups never understand this concept and they suffer for it.

Sure, a lot of artists think that being an artist is sitting around coffee houses talking with other artists - usually bitching about other "commercial" artists and wishing that someone would discover how good they are or better yet, they would get a grant.

(6) The energy it takes to get a grant isn't worth the effort. After you have jumped through all the hoops and transformed your project to conform to the latest trends in funding - cross disipline, multi-cultural, and highly conceptual - the money you get won't be worth the effort. I know artists whose grant application is more creative than the resulting work. Grant money is more about who you know, how many grants you've gotten before, what school you went to, and whether you can write pages about nothing, that sounds like something - than is it about the art you want to create.

Frankly, I think the whole grant process is backwards. Here you have a process where artists say they won't create something until the public pays for it ahead of time. That's not really how it works but that's what the concept is. Artists waiting in the creation holding pattern - hovering around an arts funding agency - waiting to be given the go ahead to create. And, if they don't get the grant - then what? And, the real kicker is the public doesn't get the results of the grant. Artists get the money and keep the work.

I think we need to go back to the concept of the WPA days with a twist. Twice a year, artists can bring their creations to a warehouse where art curators of the state's public art collection will look over the latest crop and make selections. Payment can be made on the spot and the state keeps the artwork it just paid for. Let the artists take the risk of creation and hope their efforts will bear fruit. It's called a free market system.

I think there is more money to be had in the private "commercial" market for creative artists than there is in grant money. Of course those artists who create work that no one wants will not like anything but the old system.

(7) Only people who don't know what they are doing or are insecure in their positions pay attention to degrees and resumes. BA, MA, BS - you know what that last one stands for - it doesn't make a difference - they are only passwords used by club members.

I've never understood why so many people pay so much attention to an artist's resume and all the letters contained there. Either the art is good or it isn't. If you are looking at a work of art, is it enhanced by the fact that the artist has a Master of Arts from Yale or Harvard? I don't think so. Does it matter if they have received a grant from the NEA (that's the National Endowment for the Arts)? I don't think so. Does it matter if that artist received a fellowship from a major institution ten years ago? I don't think so.

I've seen lots of work created by artists with all those things in their resume, and the work is crap. Either the work is good or it isn't!

Problem is, all those so called art professionals who work at those funding agencies are so insecure about making judgments that they rely on those code words and letters to make decisions.

Of course maybe my problem is that I don't have a Master of Arts degree and I'm just jealous. But then there is still the problem that when I look at art works they don't look any better or worse whether I've seen the resume or not. Why does it seem to make such a difference to others? Maybe it's that secret password club thing.

(8) Arts councils, arts agencies, art groups, etc. all reflect who is running them. Organizations which are supposed to serve all aspects of the arts never seem to. One reason is the background of the person running that organization. If they were in the performing arts - a musician, an actor, a singer, whatever - that organization will lean towards mostly supporting the performing arts. In the same respect, if that person's background was in the visual arts - so leans the organization. I guess it's only human nature, but it's not to good for the artists on the other side of the coin.

This works on many different levels too - political persuasion, sexual persuasion, religious persuasion - it all influences the way the organization will lean in serving the public and its members. This goes for board members too.

I don't think there is anything that can be done about this - it's just a fact of life. One everyone should be aware of - especially those in those leadership positions.

(9) There is a market for all art. Finding that market is the problem. I'm never amazed at what people will buy. I'm not trying to make a judgment about art or art buyers - just a hopeful statement for artists and art buyers. The problem is matching the two together. I see a lot of art in museums and art galleries that I wouldn't take home if it was given to me. It's not that it is bad, it's just not my cup of tea. I'm sure I own lots of art that other people feel the same way about. My wife and I don't even agree on most art purchases. But, I've noticed that just about anything will sell - to someone. The challenge for most artists and galleries that represent artists is finding those people.

The best solution is to place your work in a market with a large diverse audience. The percentages of making a match increases. If you're an artist in a small town, that can be a big problem. But then again as the commercial says, "Brown makes you an international player. Brown says it can be there yesterday. Brown says have another piece of pie." The Brown they are talking about is UPS (United Parcel Service). UPS, FedX, USPS, they all can transport your work from a small town to the big market. Reach out beyond your market - galleries are always looking for new artists they think they can sell.

(10) We who are in the arts should pinch ourselves every morning we wake. We're living a charmed life. Think about it - you or I could be working in a major corporate conglomerate. We could be ditch diggers or working for the IRS. Working in the arts isn't easy, but it sure beats a lot of other things we could be doing to make a living. I hope everybody knows how lucky we are.

We tell people they need art. We tell people they live a better lives with art in their world, but I'm sure most would get by without it. Thank your lucky stars that some people don't feel that way. By their support of the arts - either by purchasing art, giving money to the arts, or letting their tax dollars go towards the arts - they make our lives possible. I'm pinching myself right now.

These are ten things I have learned in the last 15 years - I wonder what the next 15 will bring. I can't wait for 11 and 12.

Mailing Address: Carolina Arts, P.O. Drawer 427, Bonneau, SC 29431
Telephone, Answering Machine and FAX: 843/825-3408
E-Mail: carolinart@aol.com
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Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc.
Copyright© 2002 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© 2002 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.