image from libraryman,com
Marketing Art
“Art is making something out of nothing, & then
selling it.”--Frank Zappa.
Every day as I super-surf the web lovingly searching for images that
I am attracted to, & want to share, I constantly stumble upon those
iconic pictures of great artists, like Pablo Picasso, Georgia O’Keeffe,
Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo, Jackson Pollock, & Frank
Frazetta--and I marvel at how successfully they all marketed them-
selves, becoming somehow as important, & even more recognizable
than their Art.
Picasso as the Spanish bull in the taxi dancer shirts, beautifully bare-
chested, bald & ever ready to womanize (hiding his association with
the Nazis during WWII)--O’Keeffe, photographed relentlessly by Alfred
Stieglitz, putting her raw-boned heartland sexuality on display, her fecund
floral paintings rife with vaginal splendor, becoming the wondrous Sante
Fe aging Muse--Dali as the mad eccentric socialite genius, his famous
mustache & crazed expressions transformed to both abstract caricature
& sales pitch--Warhol, the New York omni-sexual film director, artist &
social happening, flaunting his wigs, counter culture antics, & success
as effeminate outrider, who like Picasso created Art out of thin air, the
mundane & sheer bravado--Kahlo as the cross-dressing desert flower,
ersatz revolutionary with brass bandoliers across her naked chest,
creating a lexicon of uni-brow selfies recognizable on a global scale
--Pollock, whom I dubbed Jack the Dripper, balding, stooped, chain-
smoker, red-eyed, social pariah, pensive, hopeless alcoholic--
& Frazetta, who painted with fire as the 50’s rebellious muscular dark-
haired man’s man, arms forever folded & eyes insolent.
Can any artist
ever snag fame without them
selves as the logo?
Glenn Buttkus
Posted over on dVerse Poets Pub Haibun Monday
12 comments:
Hi Glenn. You need to go to the post today and read the requirements for Haibun Monday. Please remove this link and post another that fits the prompt. Thank you. Until then, we can't comment on this.
SMiLEs.. so glad
you didn't wait
on the rules as
this is one of
my favorites
Glenn.. and who
is who to suggest
who can comment..
that part was funny..
Anyway.. fame is a killer
of human freedoms.. always
has been.. always will.. i will
never be famous.. i took care
of that from the get go.. with
my all male renaissance age nude
art.. the homophobes will always
be too terrified of that to let me
in a place
i never wanna
go.. but never the
less just a year into
my dance.. named as
legend by the audience..
and not the critics.. just
for the
non-verbal
pArt of me..
that i carry naked
all places i go.. no
one.. NO ONE OWNS
either the poeTry of me
or the dance of me.. or any
pArt of me
but God..
of course
one must
reTire first
to achieve that
as employer is now
just another name
for slave owner as
has been the case
from the first foray
from
A forAge
of Life..
It's times like
these that
are the
nows
of free
i relish
the most..
not to be paRt
of any ART that
is not TOTALLY
FREE LIKE
ME AND
GOD..
sMiLes of
Art my friend
and i appreciate
alWays the rebel
with
a
'cause..
and yeah.. the
pInk snowy flower
is a cool prompt too..
if you decide to do that too..
i'll be back.. as
Arnold
says.. again..;)
I like this one.. there is a lot of common marketing here.. but this happened already in the Golden Age of Holland... I was visiting Amsterdam the other week and saw those iconic pieces.. and for sure also the enigmatic selfies they painted... I guess you have to create a persona around yourself too..
You have made a good point, Glenn! You always give us something to reflect on!
It takes marketing to move one's art to the public's eye ~ I believe though that the artist should have a marketing or business team to help him while he or she concentrate on his craftmanship ~ Have a good week Glenn ~
Artists seek recognition. Sometimes fame accompanies, and sometimes it's sought. The haibun is telling isn't it. It forces us to find ourselves on the outside of that tight little 17 syllables of universality. You did it splendidly here. I know these artists - like Bowie who died today they each largely defined their time in their universe. Well done.
I enjoyed your reflection on the business of artists. Like any other business it takes marketing skills that can make or break their careers. I admire those who can manifest that. I've always loved the story of Frida Kahlo.
A provocative question you pose here, Glenn! Consider "marketing" the prompt as Guns 'N Roses?
Half the fun of the pub is that we are free to be adventurous with prompts. I am glad of your free spirit!
I agree with you regarding the personality becoming better known than the artworks. The person is the brand. That never happened with Henri Matisse. Andy Warhol and Picasso, for sure. The latter a misogynist, abuser of women, poor Dora Maar. Loved reading something off the beaten track.
The person as logo. That is very insightful. I like this.
What a wonderful read and listen! (I even learnt how to pronounce Kahlo, not as I have been saying it.)
Post a Comment