When I go to look at art at a gallery, one of the things that I watch a little is the interaction of the gallery staff/owner with its visitors. Sometimes, I try a little interaction myself, usually when I'm interested in a book/catalogue. Yesterday, I went to see a few shows in Chelsea (NYC), and one such interaction struck me as quite memorable, and not in a good way.
I had gone to gallery X (let's call it that) to see a show of a photographer whose earlier work I like. As it turned out, the gallery had two books lying on the separation barrier (is there a better name for the little wall, which in many galleries separates the show room from the business area?), one of which I actually was interested in. Behind the barrier a young, friendly woman and a rather unfriendly man were sitting at a table, the latter of which never bothered to even look at me. I asked the woman how much the little book would cost, which triggered what can only be described as intense awkwardness, since the young woman, nervously glancing over to her opposite, could not really tell me, and when I asked her how many copies of the book they had, she said "a few", only to very quickly correct herself and to tell me what the unfriendly man had just told her - very much in a way audible for everybody: "one".
I didn't really feel like either arguing with those people, and I also didn't feel like telling them what I was thinking about them at that moment (even though I could have always claimed that, being in Chelsea, an outburst of rude profanity would have to be considered an act of rather spontaneous art), so I just left.
There is no excuse for such behaviour. None whatsoever. If they had told me that they only had a few copies left, which they would reserve for people buying a photo (or whatever other reason they have), that would have been simple and OK. But what they basically told me is that I really wasn't all that welcome in the gallery anyway.
Of course, if you are a well-known collector or critic you will never run into this problem. And that is what really irks me about this whole episode (apart from the obvious rudeness on display): this attitude that considers the vast majority of people who visit the gallery as not worthy.
That's not how I view art in general and the way it should be treated. To me, art lives from the participation of all parties, and that includes people who just walk in from the street.
Comments (7)
Amen!
Posted by Shane![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jmcolberg.com/weblog/nav-commenters.gif)
|
December 16, 2007 12:41 PM
Posted on December 16, 2007 12:41
Well, I would probably have reacted the same way. Perhaps one small way in which you/we could 'correct' that kind of behavior would be to name names.
Posted by christian![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jmcolberg.com/weblog/nav-commenters.gif)
|
December 16, 2007 1:26 PM
Posted on December 16, 2007 13:26
It's this sort of experience that occasionally makes me wonder why more galleries don't operate on a "by appointment only" basis. It seems a lot of the places just find the whole public viewing thing to be a chore that gets their hands dirty, or even risks devaluing their artists' work. If the commerce part of the equation is so taboo that it requires a double secret handshake and a password doled out to a select few at the mutual admiration society dinner then why not just drop the whole charade of making work available for viewing by the general public? Clearly this place doesn't even want its show catalogs to wind up in the hands of just any Joe (or Jörg) who walks in off the street, so why do they even bother setting them out?
Posted by galleryhopper![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jmcolberg.com/weblog/nav-commenters.gif)
|
December 16, 2007 2:47 PM
Posted on December 16, 2007 14:47
I'm sure you're aware that not all galleries are like that. Still, the gallery is the front-office of the art business. They sell product. So, what would you expect.
I was once told that "this is a gallery, not a museum".
I hate the business of art.
Posted by rchrd![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jmcolberg.com/weblog/nav-commenters.gif)
|
December 17, 2007 3:41 AM
Posted on December 17, 2007 03:41
I agree with Shane. Please tell us the name of the gallery and therefore hold them accountable.
Posted by grover_c![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jmcolberg.com/weblog/nav-commenters.gif)
|
December 17, 2007 4:34 PM
Posted on December 17, 2007 16:34
More often than the exception, I don't feel welcome when visiting art galleries. The most typical situation is to feel "ignored" by the people working at the gallery.
I never know if being "ignored" means that they don't welcome me, perhaps they don't like to push for a sale, perhaps they are used to have
I agree with the concept that if they don't welcome visitors, they should open the gallery only by appointment.
My best experiences at galleries are at the ones that are run by photographers/artists, with rotating art exhibits that are created by the community of artists belonging to the gallery. They usually show interest to welcome you to see their art as most times they are targeting more "regular people" as possible buyers of their art/photography.
When art becomes "elitist" , as it happens for many high end pieces and galleries hosting them, they loose touch with the general audience, and by doing so they become just "objects of collection" missing the point of art: to affect the emotion of as many people as possible in a positive manner. When this happens, the pieces become "wasted" objects of art.
Miguel
Posted by Miguel Garcia-Guzman![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jmcolberg.com/weblog/nav-commenters.gif)
|
December 17, 2007 7:00 PM
Posted on December 17, 2007 19:00
What is there to be gained from naming the gallery? The owner - the unfriendly man who never bothered to look up from his "Art Basel Miami" catalogue - is not going to care, neither is naming him and his gallery going to change anything.
Posted by Joerg Colberg![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jmcolberg.com/weblog/nav-commenters.gif)
|
December 18, 2007 9:25 PM
Posted on December 18, 2007 21:25