APE contributor Jonathan Blaustein told me about acquisitions of his work by the State of New Mexico and Library of Congress. I wanted him to write about it, because like me I’m sure many of you are curious how this whole process works. He was reluctant to write about it and be too self-congratulatory on the blog (he is paid to write for APE), so I asked him a few questions instead.

APE: Tell me what the acquisitions were?

JB: The State of New Mexico recently purchased a unique portfolio of the entire “Value of a Dollar” project for the State’s permanent Public Art collection, at market value. The Library of Congress purchased a portfolio of the project as well, from the 16×20 edition,  which will reside in its permanent archive, and be accessible to the public online and in person, I believe.  I’ll be delivering the work to them in the next month or so, so it’s not in their database yet.

APE: Can you give me a brief background on how you got into fine art photography? What was your path to get where you are now?

JB: I picked up a camera for no particular reason back in 1996. I was moving back to New Mexico from New York, and bought some black & white film before I took a solo cross country drive through the South. I was hooked immediately, and decided to go back to school to study photography at UNM, since I was a state resident, and it was cheap. The program was fine art based, and I studied with Tom Barrow and Patrick Nagatani, who were both steeped in conceptualism. So from the beginning, I used photography as a means of creative expression. After Albuquerque, I lived in San Francisco and started showing my work in local galleries and art spaces. From there, I moved back to New York to get an MFA at Pratt, which totally rocks, and then came back to New Mexico in 2005. I’ve been fortunate that we have a great collection of talent, resources and photographic institutions out here.

APE: I know nothing about acquisitions, so tell me how important they are to fine art photographers?

JB: I think most artists would like to have their work collected by museums and institutions.  It offers credibility, and the opportunity for the public to actually interact with your work.  Also, it’s tough to sell work nowadays, so public acquisitions can be a great source of income. In this case, the size of the two acquisitions was equivalent any of the biggest grants or fellowships around, so now I’ll be able to pay the bills, and catch my breath for the first time in a long while.

APE: What is the process like, how do you get on someone’s radar for an acquisition? Walk me through what happened to you in these cases?

JB: Well, as I wrote last year, I attended the Review Santa Fe portfolio review in 2009 and 2010.  The first year, people really liked “The Value of a Dollar,” but nothing popped.  Last year, there seemed to be a bit more buzz around the project. I had a twenty minute review with Josh Haner, an editor for the New York Times Lens Blog, and he said he’d like to publish the work on the spot. I also had a review with Verna Curtis, a curator from the Library of Congress, who was really taken with the series.  She said she’d like to figure out a way to acquire it for the collection, but that it would take a while to sort out the logistics. So I followed her instructions as to how to stay in touch, and it played out over the course of six or seven months.

The State of New Mexico purchase came out of a great program that we have here that’s run by an organization called New Mexico Arts. Each year, they buy work from New Mexico artists through the Art in Public Places acquisition program. They put out an online call for entries, and I submitted some work. A friend who’d been funded before suggested that I email some of the staff directly to introduce myself and get some advice, so I did. As a result, the director of the program ended up on my email list.

Last fall, the New York Times followed through and published “The Value of a Dollar” on the Lens Blog. The story went viral immediately, and I had 500,000 hits to my website within a week. It was unexpected, and totally insane. I sent out an email blast about the Lens Blog publication and the viral mania, and the AIPP program manager responded to my email, saying he’d like to talk about acquiring a portfolio of the work.  It took 5 months of patient follow up, and then I got the meeting in February of this year.  We negotiated and shook hands on a deal that day, and it was all wrapped up within a couple of months.

APE: What’s next? Obviously, like with commercial and editorial photography, success begets success so how do you capitalize on this?

JB: It’s a good question. I’m hoping the momentum continues, but it’s tough out there. Like everyone else, I’d really like to get the photographs on the wall in New York.  It’s the center of the Art world, obviously, as well as the rest of the photo industry.  But lately, my primary focus has been on making new work. I’ve been busting it out in the studio since January on a follow up project so I can take advantage of the publicity, and the fact that people will probably pay attention to what comes next.  It seemed important to come up with a new idea that would be as good or better than the last, so that I don’t end being the Dollar guy like some early 80′s one hit wonder. I’d also like to establish a solid relationship with a dealer in one of the prime art markets, like New York, LA, London or Berlin.

Really, I think that many art photographers are trying to re-evaluate what success even means in 2011 (See Aline Smithson’s recent post on Lenscratch).  This photo series connected with countless people across the planet through the Internet, and the ideas have continued to resonate.  So I’m also asking myself if my goals should extend beyond the gallery and museum wall, into a more active role within the politics of food.

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Reader Question:

“I am wanting to show some work to a great gallery in [Redacted] to see about doing an exhibit. I don’t know the first thing about how to present this to the gallerist. I have a good relationship with him and have talked about photography and bought works from him. I just want to avoid the pitfalls when I ask him to look at this new body of work.”

I contacted Laura Pressley, Executive Director at Center. They put on Review Santa Fe, which is well attended by gallerists, book publishers and photographers showing them work. Here’s her answer:

I would recommend bringing about 20 images in a portfolio box, same size paper, same process, consistent output, of a fully or nearly resolved cohesive body of work. Work that is tightly edited, intelligently sequenced and grounded by a well written project statement would be ideal.

Also, ask for advice, perhaps regarding next steps for the work, or sequencing and presentation preferences, which then engages and connects the viewer to the work.

Lastly, if you have two or more bodies of work then bring one other portfolio to look at in case the first one isn’t the viewers cup of tea.

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Wall Space Gallery has created a wonderful project selling photographs @ $50 as a benefit for the people of Japan (go here). The money raised will go to Direct Relief and Habitat for Humanity Japan. Please visit the site and purchase a piece of art and help those in need.

All limited editions photographs are 8.5 x 11 inches, signed editions of 10 only.

This is the first of many auctions the photo community has pulled together asap, powered by Aline Smithson of lenscratch and Crista Dix of wall space gallery. Many more photographers are donating their work and more images are being uploaded every hour, so check back often!

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I wrote a post on this practice over a year ago with a gallery in Montreal (here):

That one looked like a steal compared to the terms on this pay-to-play group show: £2200 for a group show. Times must be tough…

Dear [redacted],

Artspace-Galleries would like to invite you to take part in our upcoming group exhibitions in the hearts of Mayfair London and Paris. This presents a fantastic opportunity for you to move into the international market and to exhibit your artwork in two of the most significant art centers of the world.

The group exhibition includes all of the following:

• One week exhibition in London
• Two week exhibition in Paris
• One art opening in both London and Paris
• On-going promotion to our client list
• PR & Marketing of the exhibition
• Five year presence in the Events section of our website
• One year presence in the Buy/Sell section of our website
• Eligibility to be selected into the New & Emerging Artist Reward Program

• No gallery commission on artwork sales

Group exhibition guidelines:

• We are currently accepting registrations for group exhibitions in 2011 and 2012. We have a limited number of spaces available, so we urge you to register as soon as possible to ensure you will be able to exhibit.
• After you register your profile and submit five samples of your artwork online, Artspace-Galleries will determine if you would be suitable for a group exhibition.
• Once selected, we will organize and promote your group exhibition with direct mail & online marketing and targeted public relations. The total fee for these services is £2200, and we take no commission on the sale of your artwork.
• When you have registered and have been selected, you will be asked to pay a £500 deposit, which will be applied towards your total fee. This will reserve your space in the group exhibition, and we will start promoting your work on our website and to our client base. The remaining balance of your payment should be paid in full 8 weeks before your mutually agreed-upon exhibition date.
• Your group exhibition will bring together the works of six different artists, with each artist having the chance to exhibit up to six canvases or ten sculpture/installation pieces.
• We offer shipping of artwork from the artist to London, from London to Paris, and from Paris back to the artist for the following fees:

£600 to/from Africa, North & South America, Asia, Australia, or Oceania

£200 to/from Europe

(These rates are based on a maximum of 20 kg and no wider than 1.5m. You may provide your own shipping, however your artwork will have to be shipped from one city to another within two days.)

New & Emerging Artist Reward Program:

• At the end of the year, the jury of Artspace-Galleries consisting of art professionals, highly qualified art directors and curators will identify the six most outstanding group exhibition artists of the year.
• If chosen, you will be rewarded with one year of online promotion and a two week group exhibition in both London and Paris, free of charge, based on sales commissions of 50/50.

Submission and additional information:

• If you would like to take part, please go to www.artspace-galleries.com/registration
• For more information about Artspace-Galleries and the group exhibitions, please visit our website www.artspace-galleries.com or email  elinasteinhauer@artspace-galleries.com

We look forward to hearing from you,

Elina Steinhauer
Group Exhibition Consultant

www.artspace-galleries.com
Prestigious  international art galleries In London Mayfair and Paris

Here’s the contract if you’re interested (here)

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Photographer John Eder files this report from the field:

Scion, the car company, sponsors a gallery space here in L.A. They are slavishly trendy in their curating, and there is nothing trendier than Vice Magazine. The magazine is actually very well written and very funny, and I look forward to each issue, for real – for the writing. Their photography aesthetic, though, is squarely in the Terry Richardson/Ryan McGinley camp.

The show was curated by Jonnie Craig, a 20 something UK skateboard guy who has become majorly successful by more or less aping Ryan McGinley. In fact, Ryan McGinley is a champion of his work. So, this whole show was very homogeneous in the look, even tho it was 20 or so photographers, it ALL looked like it could have been shot by Ryan McGinley. It’s kind of like a math equation, where Johnnie Craig=Ryan McGlinley=Wolfgang Tillmans+Terry Richardson minus sex plus skateboards, kittens, cats, horses, tourist attractions, cigars and scabs (from skateboarding – there were two or three gnarly closeups of abscessed wounds, from different photographers), all of whose root number is Wm. Eggleston. More math in this equation is if you take 1000 pictures with your point and shoot of your friends or your cat, eventually you will get a few compelling frames.

It was good for people watching – loads of 19 year old girls tottering around in stripper shoes and the androgynous L.A. man-children who love them. The guys were actually far more the fashion show here, with a weird, femmy hipster vibe in full, uh, flower – lots of eyeliner, formal shoes with knee-socks and culottes or capri pants, old man glasses and silly mustaches, ironic t-shirts, wallet chains and plaid jackets that are two sizes too small.

Despite all this fashion rebellion on the part of the youth, virtually every conversation I blundered into was about branding and marketing. What was really funny was having this conversation in a group where one kid was so lit on acid and his pupils so dilated that I thought they were going to blow right out of his head. He said he was “tripping balls.” And yet, still, we were talking about branding and how genius Scion is at trend monitoring and appealing to the youth.

Anyway, that’s the report from the front lines of culture and photography here in Los Angeles.

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The Forward Thinking Museum is an entertaining little online museum with good photography (here). No, it doesn’t replace real museums with real prints, but some of us drive desks all day and a little side entertainment is needed once in awhile.

It was created by Joy of Giving Something, Inc. a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to encouraging aesthetic reflection about present realities and future possibilities and contains material from their collection.

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Received an interesting email from a photographer (pasted it below for you to see) where a gallery in Montreal will exhibit your work if you pay them a fee: $2500 for a solo show and $150 per image for a group show. It looks like they just send out this email with all the details clearly explained hoping to snare a couple photographers. They also include all their bank transfer information so you can wire them the money.

I decided to ask a photographer I know who exhibits 4-5 times a year and has a solo show every other year how the whole gallery opening and exhibiting works.

How often do you get an email solicitation to exhibit your work?

I would guess I receive about 3 -5 email invitations a week to various and sundry art-related things and only about 5 over the course of my life have led to anything worth while. It’s always something enticing and they always find me on the internet and it’s almost always bogus. The thing to do is to assume that it’s spam, then research it without downloading or clicking on anything in the email. But if a gallery is really interested in your work, they will call you, on the phone, or send you an email that states specifically what they saw, where and why they like it.

How does it usually work?

The gallery industry in the U.S. and Europe (to the extent of my experience there allows me to state such a thing) has very similar standards, not unlike the magazine world: they vary from place to place, and you get more or less depending on who you are, but there’s a bar that’s pretty even. For gallery show practice it is this: the artist makes and frames (or doesn’t frame) the work, documents and provides documentation to the gallery for promotional purposes, and then the gallery sells the art, and the sales are a split commission 50/50. There should also be a contract signed at the beginning of any relationship.

In all the shows I’ve had, most of the costs that I’ve been asked to share with galleries involve advertising. It’s not uncommon to split the cost of printing the show card, or for buying space in magazines like Artforum, Art News, etc… or to buy an ad in a magazine that targets painting if you’re a painter, or sculpture, etc.. But it’s always split. The artist is never responsible for the entire cost unless he/she chooses to do so, and then the gallery should be concerned that the page is designed correctly.

Some galleries make you split the commission of the frame cost, even if you’ve paid for them in full. Personally, I don’t go for that. It’s my opinion that framing is a raw cost and the work can be sold unframed for the normal commission split. So there are minor ways that galleries work out the money problems of having shows.

Galleries are simply stores. They sell art as opposed to groceries, so it just feels like a bigger deal than it is. You love your dealer like you love the produce guy who knows you like avocados and calls you or sets aside the best ones for when you come in. Maybe that’s not the best analogy but one’s relationship with one’s gallerist should be happy and uncomplicated.

Email from the gallery after the jump.

GALERIE GORA
C O N T E M P O R A R Y A R T &
DESIGN C O N T E M P O R A I N

279 Sherbrooke West, suite 205
Montréal QC Canada H2X 1Y2

art@gallerygora.com tel: (514)
879.9694 fax: (514) 879.9694

ATT: [Redacted]

We have viewed your work and would like to offer you an opportunity for an exhibition of your work in Montreal, for the year 2009/2010. Please find below the “Terms and conditions”. You will receive a confirmation, an exhibition date and other related information (by fax or e-mail) within a week of the gallery’s receipt of the “application form” (see page 3) Visit the gallery website for additional information: www.gallerygora.com

Gallery Gora is in the heart of downtown Montreal. The gallery is adjacent to the “Musée d’Art Contemporain” and other major museums. Gallery Gora has existed since 1994 and represents a number of Canadian and international contemporary artists. As an expanding cultural center in North America, Montreal is increasingly attracting ‘cultural tourism’. It has two official languages (French and English) as well as many other tongues spoken by
its multi-cultural population. This provides the basis of a lively cultural scene that organizes a great array of cultural events, such as the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Just for Laughs Festival, and the International Film Festival.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. Eligibility and Application Procedure Gallery Gora invites you to exhibit in a solo or in a group exhibition. Selections are made solely on the basis of artists’ portfolios. Please send to the gallery:
- Completed and signed application (see page 4)
- International bank/postal money order or bank transfer (see “deposit” paragraph 3) You will then receive a confirmation, an exhibition date and other related information.

2. Duration of Exhibition The exhibition runs for a minimum of 3 weeks (at least 19 opening days, not including setup and take down time).

3. Exhibition Fee

A – Solo Exhibition
- Each artist can have up to 20 pieces of work depending on size
- The fee for a solo exhibition is $2,500.00 to cover gallery expenses.
- The first $2,500.00 of sale are commission free.
- The gallery takes a 20% commission during the 3 week exhibition
- A deposit of $700.00 is paid together with the application. It is payable by International Money Order to “Gallery Gora” or an electronic bank transfer to:
Galerie Gora INC / CIBC bank / Phillips Square / Transit # [Redacted] / Acc # [Redacted] / Swift code : [Redacted] / Routing # or ABA # : [Redacted].
Address: CIBC bank / Phillips Square 600 rue Cathcart , Montréal, Québec, Canada, H3B 1K8
Please email a copy of the transfer to the gallery.
- The balance of the fee is payable 5 weeks prior to the exhibition date. All money is refundable in full if Gallery Gora cancels the exhibition.

B – Group exhibition
- The fee to take part in a group exhibition is $250.00 for first work and $150.00 for each additional work.
- The number of artists in a group show depends on the total number of works. The width of each work should not exceed 3ft or it will be counted as two works. The mode of payment is similar to the solo exhibition, deposit is 20% of total fee.
Exhibition fees cover furthermore: Advertising and public relations
- Mention of the show in all weekly newspaper arts calendars in Montreal (when possible)
- A press release including an invitation to the exhibition e-mailed to a list of contacts (over 60,000) 1 week prior to the opening. Our contacts include the press, curators, critics, dealers, consultants and corporations, as well as a larger body of public members and buyers. If artists supply the gallery with additional e-mail lists, we will forward the invitation to these addresses as well.
- Full colour invitation cards. If we are provided with a postal mailing list of addresses within Canada, these cards will be sent out free of charge.
- Other advertising options are available at extra cost (see application form) Reception
- On the evening of the exhibition’s opening, the gallery will welcome guests with wine and other beverages.
- Gallery staff will be at hand to receive visitors throughout the exhibition and to organize corporate/cultural events and receptions whenever possible, whether the artists choose or not to be present at the show.

4. Commissions
- The Gallery takes a 20% commission on sales during the 3 week exhibition. The first $2,500.00 of sale are commission free. All money due will be sent to you within 10 days of the sale.

5. Shipping
Artists are responsible for all shipping fees and procedures to and from the gallery door. If you need help or an estimate from our shipper please send an e-mail to the gallery with the following information : Number of boxes, size and weight of each box, your full address.
Arrival: Shipped works must arrive in a strong protective and reusable package. All shipments must be delivered to the gallery door.
Pick-up: If the work is not retained for representation, it must be picked up from the gallery within 10 working days following the end of the exhibition. The gallery will assist you with shipping if needed.

6. Installation of Works
- All work must be ready to hang or show. The gallery provides pedestals for sculptures. Installations should come with clear instructions.
-Gallery staff will do the hanging and packing/unpacking of the work.

7. Canvas stretching
If works on canvas arrive at the gallery in a roll (to save on shipping costs), gallery staff will stretch (and un-stretch) the paintings for US $10 per painting. Cost of stretchers is extra ($1.50/linear foot).

8. Framing
All photography and work on paper must be professionally framed. If required Gallery Gora makes archival contemporary wooden frames at very reasonable cost. Please send dimensions of work for a quotation.

9. Liability
Gallery Gora will take every possible care for the safety of all work; however, Gallery Gora or its staff is not responsible for any loss or damage of any work, during shipping, storage, on exhibit, at art fairs or at associate galleries.

10. Beyond the exhibition
- If at the end of the exhibition the work produces significant interest, the artist would be asked to be represented by the gallery in Montreal and on the gallery website .
- A 50% commission rate applies to any work sold following the 3 week exhibition period.
Further general information: Use the most economical shipping procedure
- We suggest the following shipping companies: UPS, PUROLATOR or DHL (FEDEX ground, not recommended)
- Sometimes sending two or three boxes is cheaper then one big crate. You might want to consider bringing the work with you and visiting Montreal (a wonderful city) at the same time.
- Another way to reduce shipping costs is to take canvases off the stretchers and ship them to the gallery in a roll, where we can have them re-stretched (see paragraph 7).
-Framing your work in Montréal could save you the cost of shipping the work framed. Please ask for a quotation to frame your work at the gallery.
- Canadian customs may charge a 5% tax on the declared value of your work. This tax will be refunded to you (on non sold work) when the work returns to you.

If you have any further questions about shipping, feel free to contact Lyne at the gallery.
Additional services
Gallery Gora also offers:
- Custom framing
- Publication of artist catalogues and posters.

- Working space and residency program available for artists wanting to produce work in Montreal For a price quote or for more information, please contact the gallery.

Please see application form on the next page

GALLERY GORA
279 Sherbrooke West, espace
205 Montreal, Qc Canada H2X
1Y2
art@gallerygora.com tel:
(514) 879-9694 fax: (514)
879-0164

A P P L I C A T I O N F O R M

Name and
address :..………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………..
Phone………………………………………………..….. Fax……….….
E-mail:
………………………………………………………………..….

Gallery fee for group show (see paragraph 2-B)
- First piece of
work—————————————————– US$ 250.00
- $150 (for each additional
work)————————————– US$ ______

Gallery fee for solo exhibition
(arround 20 pieces of work)
- Deposit on $2500.00 fee
——————————————— US$ 700.00
(balance of $1800.00 to be paid 5
weeks prior to show date)
(see paragraphs 3 and 4)

Please circle your choice of space:
A or B or C or D
(see floor plan on the gallery web
site)
If your choice is not available the
gallery will assign you a space.

Optional:

- Advertising in the news paper (Le
Devoir) (5x10cm)————-US$ 450.00
Total exhibition
fee:—————————————————– US$ ______

I am including:
Money Order or a copy of the
electronic bank transfer to:
Galerie Gora / Imperial Bank of
Commerce / 600 rue Cathcart,
Montreal, Quebec H3B 1K8 / Transit #
[Redacted] / Acc # [Redacted] / Swift
code : [Redacted] / Routing # or ABA
# : [Redacted] for the above amount
(Please fax copy of transfer to the
gallery)

You may also pay by: WESTERN UNION
or credit card (MASTERCARD or VISA).
Please contact the gallery by
telephone if you wish to pay by
credit card.

AT THE RECEPTION OF THE APPLICATION
FORM AND DEPOSIT THE GALLERY WILL
EMAIL YOU THE CONFIRMATION OF THE
EXHIBITION DATE AND RELATED
INFORMATION.

Please do not hesitate to contact
the gallery for further
information.

[Redacted]
Tel: (514) 879-9694 – Fax: (514)879-0164
art@gallerygora.com
Address: Gallery GORA , 279
Sherbrooke West, #205

Montreal, QC. CANADA H2X 1Y2

Signature: _______________________
Date:___________________

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