ART PROBLEMS: Navigating Change and Unconventional Career Paths
Photo Source: @artist.run.club instagram
In today’s episode, I’m joined by Austin-based gallery owner, artist and graphic designer Phillip Niemeyer. I met Phillip more than 10 years ago through an artist, and was immediately struck by his passion, creativity and drive to pursue ideas he found exciting. Our episode today is about how we navigate unconventional career paths and change in artistic careers.
Phillip's Gallery
https://northern-southern.com/
Names mentioned:
Lisa Yuskavitch
Dana Schutz
Kerry James Marshall
Amy Smith Stewart
Carmen Herrera
Leo Castelli
Laura Lit with Northern Southern at NADA Miami
Frederic Goudy
If you like this podcast, subscribe so they’re downloaded directly to your phone when they come out.
ART PROBLEMS: The Vvrkshop Podcast Launch
The Art Problems podcast is live!
I've got three binge-worthy episodes lined up for you, so let's dig in!
In the first episode of The Vvrkshop Podcast, Art Problems, you can expect to learn more about what you can expect in the episodes that follow, why I'm launching a Vvrkshop-specific podcast, and what makes Art Problems different
In the second episode I examine the unique structure of the art industry, and why making art for love creates the most impactful cultural expression while simultaneously seeding the conditions for exploitation. By the end, you'll have the context you need to make decisions that will empower you.
And in the third episode, I discuss some of the huge changes we're seeing in the art industry. You'll hear about the impact of artists moving away from bigger cities, the reduced effectiveness of large networking events and platforms, and the conditions fueling an increasing risk-averse industry. And you'll learn about the steps you need to take to build your career in this environment.
You can listen to The Art Problems podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or where ever you get your podcasts. If you like what you hear, let me know what you think by subscribing to the podcast, rating, and reviewing it. I want to help more artists, and your ratings and shares make that happen!
If you like this podcast, subscribe so they’re downloaded directly to your phone when they come out.
[Explain Me Podcast] Defining Contemporary Kitsch: Part 2 of The New York Art Fairs
Detail view from Kenny Schachter's installation at Allouche Benias Gallery
What does contemporary kitsch look like? In this episode, Paddy and William use a discussion of the art fairs and New York gallery scene to lead a defining of the term. From its generic definition of objects described to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, to the current nostalgia driving a tasted for recycled art movements, all kitsch lacks in originality.
THE INDEPENDENT
Kenny Schachter at Allouche Benias Gallery
Renate Druks at The Ranch,
Olivia Reavey at Helena Anrather
1-54 CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN ART FAIR
Sanaa Gateja at 50 Golborne
Wonder Buhle at BKhz Gallery
VOLTA
Michael Foley
GALLERIES
Judith Linhares at PPOW
JTT Gallery Anna-Sophie Berger and Sam McKinniss
Sky Hopinka at Broadway Gallery
Paul Mpagi Sepuya at Bortalami
Nora Turato at 52 Walker Gallery
ARTICLES
The Downward Spiral: 59th Venice Biennial by Dean Kissick
![[Explain me podcast] What The New York Art Fairs Tell Us About Art](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ebd8d21e3ef9659c2b9fec9/1655221976523-WQEGZI9943QEEF2OBVS9/unnamed+%282%29.jpg)
[Explain me podcast] What The New York Art Fairs Tell Us About Art
Carol Bove, installation view, David Zwirner Gallery, Frieze
Art media does a great job at looking forward to art events, yet rarely looks back to reflect on what these happenings say about the cultural moment. In this episode of Explain Me, cohosts Paddy Johnson and William Powhida do a deep dive into the fairs to discuss the deeply conservative sales landscape we've been sinking into over the past ten years.
ARTISTS DISCUSSED
NADA
Carlos Jacanamijoy’s 2020 ab ex painting “Carminos de Luz” at Harper’s
Laurie Reid’s “Ballast” at Et Al. Gallery
The Baboon Chair by Margaux Valengin at Pact
Paul Gabrelli’s “Everyday Objects” at New Discretions
Elliot Reed at Anonymous Gallery
Dan Colen at Gagosian
Al Freeman at 56 Henry
FRIEZE
Tessa Lynch’s text based compositions at Patricia Fleming Gallery
Scott Lyal at Migeul Abbreu Gallery
Aaron Garber-Maikovska
Casja von Zeipel’s Celesbian Terrain
Kevin McCoy’s corporate-sponsored display of Quantum and some generative art works by Jennifer and Kevin McCoy.
Pedro Reyes, Alex da Corte, Nayland Blake, Alex Katz, Matthew Wong
[Explain Me Podcast] The Whitney Biennial Report: Care and Caution
Alia Farid's Palm Orchard, 2022, installed on the sixth-floor balcony of the Whitney Museum.
After a four month break William and Paddy return with some big news about the podcast and an in depth conversation on The Whitney Biennial. We do the full dive here: What are the themes? How is it organized? Is it worth seeing? Is it too cautious? Who are the notable omissions? Why do these omissions matter?
Artist discussed:
Art Problems: How Do I Manage My Time?
How is it I’m busy all the time but I don’t have time to do what is important?
(graphic Hrag Vartanian/Hyperallergic, original photo via Koen Jacobs's Flickrstream)
Paddy examines why time management is so difficult for artists on Hyperallergic and how to fix it.
My main problem is time management. Between work and my studio practice, I feel too busy to network. How do I find the time to run my social media account? I can’t seem to do all of these things and make art. — Stretched thin and stressed out.
If I could offer a simple answer to your question, I’d have millions of dollars in book deal money. The unsatisfying answer is that being stretched for time is a part of most artists’ lives and that reality doesn’t change until you start making an insane amount of money for most artists. For most sole proprietorships, $250,000 a year represents the benchmark when time constraints ease because you can afford more support.
Given your to-do list, the cause of your stress may seem self-evident, but I think it’s worth spelling out the larger cultural shifts responsible for your predicament. Because if having a job, making art, and getting people into your studio was hard pre-social media, adding the demands of managing a website, social accounts, and emails creates a perfect communications shit-storm. Sure, we can connect with more people than ever before, but that comes with a pretty big downside. For every real-world networking and marketing task, we must now complete a virtual equivalent that takes twice as much time.
I mention this because I hear that you want time to do all the things you’re supposed to do, and I want it to be clear, not just to you but everyone reading this, that it’s not possible. The question isn’t how to drive ourselves crazy doing all the things, but how to stay sane by doing fewer of them.
The read the full article on Hyperallergic click here.
Art Problems: Is My Art Good Enough?
(graphic Hrag Vartanian/Hyperallergic, original photo via Chris Brook's Flickrstream)
Paddy writes on imposter syndrome for her first column at Hyperallergic. An excerpt:
“I feel like I don’t belong—that my art isn’t good enough, or if it is, I’m fundamentally flawed in some way that will prevent me from ever succeeding. I apply for open calls and residencies but I don’t get many. What can I do?” —Down and Figuring it Out
Let’s begin by establishing what belonging means and why you feel you don’t fit in.
Belonging is community acceptance. In creative fields, this might mean inclusion in shows, press mentions, and invitations to exclusive events — fairly standard markers of success in a marketplace that relies heavily on a model of exclusivity. For all the camaraderie we may feel when we connect to people who share our passion, the industry perpetuates a sense of exclusion amongst most of its members.
In other words, it’s not an accident that you feel like shit. The art industry is literally designed to make you feel that way.
To read more click here.
![[Explain Me Podcast] Flux Factory Buys Building, Retains Soul](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ebd8d21e3ef9659c2b9fec9/1637640147891-2VHCXLRV66VU26R8DDFO/27782669777_d89ec2a4ff_o.jpeg)
[Explain Me Podcast] Flux Factory Buys Building, Retains Soul
Image Via Flux Factory
Explain Me with William Powhida and Paddy Johnson
Podcast Guest: Nat Roe, Executive Director, Flux Factory
How many times have we seen artist-centered communities loose their grass roots identity when they buy property? High profile organizations that have shed their founders vision as they gained visibility such as the New Museum and Meow Wolf serve as cautionary tales. The quality of the work they produce suffers and their poor treatment of employees makes headlines. That's to say nothing of personality-less art complexes like The Shed, which cement the wealth of their funders while meagerly contributing to the city's cultural life.
But these types of cultural outcomes are a choice and not an inevitable destiny, a reality made clear in this episode's interview with Flux Factory's Nat Roe. In his role as residency Executive Director, Roe recently secured $5 million from the city to purchase the building the organization has been working out of since 2009. Additionally, the organization will now operate a new satellite location, Flux IV, a the 3000 square foot ground floor gallery space on the ground floor of Gotham Point’s South Tower building. At no point in our discussion did we talk about significant changes that needed to be made to Flux's DNA to make this acquisition happen. Rather we talked about the importance of sound proofing their building so they don't disturb the neighbors.
In the midst of LIC, a homogenized tech-enclave for Manhattan commuters, this gross roots artist organization and residency program will now serve as a permanent beacon of creative energy for the community.
Can the DCLA support other smaller arts organizations in New York by helping them purchase real estate? Nat Roe gives us the skinny, going full wonk on city policy, while offering a history of Flux Factory and its place in the New York City arts landscape.
SHOW LINKS
Help launch Flux Factory’s New Venue, Flux IV
The Western Queens Community Land Trust—artist Jenny Dubnau is a co-chair of the board.
NY Times Tribeca Art Galleries, June
NY Times Tribeca Art Galleries, October article
How many times have we seen artist-centered arts organizations lose their NYC Club Scene debt? New York Times
Explain me podcast: What Does a Return to the Art World Mean?
In this episode artist Chloe Bass’s tweet pointing to the hypocrisy of the art world leads to a discussion of labor, the New York art fairs, and unions.
We discuss:
Max Lankin’s observations for ArtForum on the Armory Fair about how the new digs at the Javits Center improve upon the Piers, which were literally falling into the water. Funny how easy it is to forget that the Javits Center, just two months ago, served as a mass vaccination center, and the year prior a makeshift hospital for COVID victims. Mostly people were just happy to see each other again.
Dana Kopel’s piece in the Baffler Magazine, Against Artsploitation, which chronicles the unionization efforts at the New Museum, and the museum executive’s endless gaslighting of employees.
The New York Art Fairs. We talk about the art at The Armory Show, The Independent, and Spring Break. The work discussed below:
THE ARMORY SHOW
Jeffrey Gibson at Tandem Press
Wendy Redstar at Sargent’s Daughters
Tau Lewis at Night Gallery
Tony Matelli - Maruani Mercier
Theresa Chromati at The Kravets Wehby Gallery
Jennifer Bartlett at Locks Gallery
Kamrooz Aram at Green . Art . Gallery
Jose Davilas at Sean Kelly
Sara Greenberger Rafferty at Rachel Uffner
Susumu Kamijo at Jack Hanley
Hayley Barker at Shrine
Dontae Hayes at Mindy Solomon Gallery
Michael Rakowitz at Jane Lombard
Chapel, curated by M. Charlene Stevens. Art by Sophie Kahn and Colette Robbins
SPRING BREAK
Guy Richards Smit
Jennifer Catron and Paul Outlaw - curated by Magda Sawon
Chapel - curated by M. Charlene Stevens with work by Sophie Kahn and Colette Robbins
Outliars, curated by Elisabeth Smolarz, work by Angie Waller
Gather Rusted Satellites curated by Amanda Nedham Tristam Lasndwone, Kyle Hittmeirer
Nicholas Cueva
Loren Erdrich
Willa Wasserman
James Razko
Tammie Rubin
Steve Locke
Explain Me with Laura Raicovich: Art and Museums in An Age of Protest
This week hosts William Powhida and Paddy Johnson sit down with curator, writer, and former museum director Laura Raicovich to discuss her new book Culture Strike: Art and Museums in An Age of Protest. We do a deep dive with her not just on the subjects in the book, but her latest project, The Art and Society Census. Relevant links below.
Culture Strike: Art and Museums in An Age of Protest, VERSO
The Art and Society Census, HYPERALLERGIC AND THE BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY
Deinstutitional Research Team. (A project William Powhida worked on mentioned in the book.) LINK
StrikeMoMA LINK
The Whitney Staff letter central to the Kanders' protests. HYPERALLERGIC
A good policy-based companion for Laura's project. THE PEOPLE'S CULTURAL PLAN
A non-profit with a board structure worth promoting as a positive example. RECESS
Back story on Laura's resignation from the Queens Museum of Art- ARTNET NEWS
Why the PPP Loan is good for artists. The Q & A Between VVrkshop’s Paddy Johnson and Hannah COLE of Sunlight Tax
Right: Hannah Cole at Sunlight Tax
PJ: What types of professions in the arts qualify for a PPP loan?
HC: Absolutely everyone. There is no restriction.
If you are in a food or hospitality profession (look at the 6-digit code, called a NAICS code, in box B on the upper right corner of your Schedule C) with a NAICS code beginning with the digits “72” then you get special access to a bigger PPP loan (3.5 times your monthly income versus 2.5 times your monthly income for everyone else. This was meant to help the ailing restaurant and hospitality industries). But the PPP loan is meant for all professions.
PJ: Do I need to be running Payroll?
HC: No. You don’t. This issue is confusing people. You are eligible for a PPP forgivable loan as long as you have “gross income” on line 7 of your Schedule C. As of the changes made in Biden’s recent stimulus bill, you don’t even need to have a profit.
PJ: Is the PPP loan forgivable?
HC: Yes! In fact, it is designed to be 100% forgivable in most circumstances. This means that the loans are designed to turn into grants for almost everyone, so long as you spend the money on eligible expenses. Good news: this is really easy to do as a sole proprietor.
PJ: How much money are artists eligible for?
HC: You can receive up to 20.83% of your annual Gross Income. Loans are capped at $20,833 for sole proprietors without employees.
PJ: Can an artist qualify for a PPP loan if they are receiving unemployment checks?
HC: They can qualify. But receiving PPP money will likely reduce or eliminate their unemployment payments. You can re-apply for unemployment once your PPP money has run out, though. If you are depending on unemployment, you might not be a good fit for a PPP loan. Individual cases may vary, but if you made less than $25,000 on your Schedule C (“gross income” on line 7), then you are probably better off sticking to unemployment.
PJ: What is the difference between gross income and net income? In January loans were given out only for net.
HC: The rules on this have changed. The current rule is that you may apply with “gross income” (line 7 of your Schedule C), instead of “net income.” Gross income is your income before taking out expenses. Net income is your profit after you subtract expenses. This change is great news because it gets you a bigger loan amount.
PJ: Where can artists get a PPP loan? Are there better places to get PPP loans? (I had a poor experience with Chase and ultimately went through Newtek, which is an SBA lender)
HC: You apply for a PPP loan through your bank. The big banks have demonstrably favored larger businesses and white men in this process. For this reason, Congress gave special access to funding to community-based lenders such as local credit unions. That’s because these institutions have a better history of supporting women-owned and BIPOC-owned businesses. There are also so-called “Fintech” companies that have been pretty helpful and streamlined getting PPP loan applications processed for Schedule C-filers, such as Paypal, QuickBooks, and Square.
PJ: Where can artists find their Schedule C? Relatedly, there are five million places on a tax return that note gross and net income. How do artists know where to find the right one?
HC: If you have freelance income, you have a Schedule C. Schedule C is part of your personal income tax return. It says Schedule C “Profit or Loss from Business Activities” at the top. Gross income is on line 7 of your Schedule C.
PJ: Do artists who have made more money in 2020 than 2019 qualify for a PPP loan?
HC: Yes, they qualify, if this is their first PPP loan. So long as you had gross income (line 7 on your Schedule C) in either 2019 or 2020, you are eligible. You don’t even need to have had a profit. If you are applying for a second round of PPP funding (ie, you already got a first PPP loan), then you need to show that your income dropped by at least 25% in 2020 vs 2019. So the scenario in this question would then disqualify you from a second loan.
PJ: Is the loan taxable?
HC: Nope! Loans aren't taxable as income (because they aren't income - you have to pay them back). And the bills have made it clear that the forgiven PPP loans, aka grants, are not to be included in taxable income. Normally a forgiven loan would be taxable income, but the PPP is special.
PJ: When can artists apply for loan forgiveness?
HC: You apply once your funds are used up. You can apply for forgiveness any time between using up your funds and the maturity date of the loan. If you don’t apply for forgiveness by 10 months after the last day of your covered period, then you will need to begin paying it back.
PJ: How do artists track their spending so they don’t owe money they can’t pay back to the government?
HC: I recommend that you open a separate bank account and deposit your PPP loan into that. That way, you transfer funds to your personal account as “owner compensation” at the approved amounts, and it easily documents these transfers for forgiveness.
PJ: How do artists calculate the approved payment amounts?
HC: Presuming your loan was for the right amount, to begin with, making 10 equal transfers of 1/10th the loan amount from your specially-opened new PPP bank account into your personal account should do it. But please check with your bank for their latest guidance.
PJ: Can the terms of loan forgiveness change?
HC: I suppose it is possible. There have been a few rule changes so far, but generally, they have trended towards simplifying the process for freelancers, giving them better access to funding, and created more generous loans.
PJ: Should artists apply for a PPP loan?
HC: Yes. Except for people with small amounts of freelance income who are depending on unemployment. For most others, it's a great idea and will help you.
The NFT Explain Me with Marina Galperina and Amy Whitaker
Beeple (b. 1981), EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS, 2021. Non-fungible token (jpg). 21,069 x 21,069 pixels (319,168,313 bytes). Minted on 16 February 2021. Starting Bid: $100. Hammer price: 6.6 million. Offered as a single lot sale concurrently with First Open. Online, 25 February to 11 March
On this episode of the Explain Me podcast William Powhida and Paddy Johnson do a deep dive on Non-Fungible Tokens, NFTs, pronounced Nifty, but also N-F-T. Joined by guests Marina Galperina, features editor of Gizmodo, and former curator and writer on digital art, and Amy Whitaker, author and assistant professor of visual arts administration, hosts William Powhida and Paddy Johnson navigate the headlines generating news around this new digital currency, the basic definitions, and the potential and dangers it poses to artists.
This episode can be found on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Timestamped resources
6′ 21” Explain Me’s episode Related Utopias: Bitcoin and the Artworld with Kevin McCoy.
7′ NFT definitions and the blockchain
13 Do artists need to care?
21′ The Guardian features Marina Galperina’s Vine Show.26′ Beeple Mania and aesthetics discussion – Liberal Jon McNaughton or early digital art maximalism in the style of Cliff Evans and Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung?
40′ NFT platforms and markets. Massimo Franceschet and Sparrow Read’s The Inconvenient Truth About Secondary Markets, Part II 43′ Legacy Russell tweets about the toxic white male culture dominating NFT conversation. Follows up with a shout out to QTPOCIA+ and female-identified people engaging NFTs.
44′ Who is the face of NFTs? Kenny Schachter. His NFT article on Artnet.
47′ Kenny Schachter’s “Scam Likely” on Nifty Gateway.51′ Alternatives – Casey Reese’s Artist-to-artist exchange with Bitmark.com, Feral File. Goes live March 19.
Also relevant: Reese’s Medium article, Collecting Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction
57′ – NFT and blockchain carbon footprint1 hour 10′ Reasons for optimism1 hour 16′ Art pricing and Greg Allen’s Facsimile Objects
1 hour 22′ Amy Whitaker discusses valuation and commensuration sociological studies
Read and Watch
Amy Whitaker, A New Way To Pay Artists, TEDXfoggybottom
Amy Whitaker and Roman Kraussl, Fractional Equity, Blockchain, and the Future of Creative Work, Management Science, July 2020
Amy Whitaker, Art and Blockchain: A Primer, History, and Taxonomy of Blockchain Use Cases in the Arts, Artivate: A Journal of Entrepreneurship in the Arts. Summer 2019
Amy Whitaker, Hannah Grannemann, Artists’ Royalties and Performers’ Equity: A Ground-Up Approach to Social Impact Investment in Creative Fields, CMSE Vol 3, no 2, pg 33-51.
Memo Atkin, The Unreasonable Ecological Cost of #Cryptoart, Dec 14 2020
Rea McNamara, How Crypto Art Might Offer Artists Increased Autonomy, March 2, 2021
PADDY JOHNSON PRESENTS VVRKSHOP, A NEW WEBINAR PLATFORM SERVING ART PROFESSIONALS
Image: Anthony Antonellis
Paddy Johnson, art critic and digital entrepreneur, announces the launch of VVrkshop.art, a webinar platform for artists and creative professionals.
“I created VVrkshop to respond to the evolving needs of artists during the COVID crisis,” says Johnson, founder of the blog Art F City. “As an editor and writer with close ties to the creative community, I’ve been developing and teaching classes to help artists build their digital presence. At this moment, when online communication is so essential, I wanted to make high-level professional training accessible to a wide audience. VVrkshop.art, the new website, is a hub of webinars taught by established experts offering training and one-on-one advice in crafting online content.”
The first professional to join this network is Robin Cembalest, former longtime editor of ARTnews and early art-world adapter to social media. In her courses designed for VVrkshop’s new platform, she draws on her experience teaching workshops at BRIC, Bronx Museum’s Artist in the Marketplace program, and other professional training venues. Her curriculum includes Instagram for Artists, The Art of the Elevator Pitch, Twitter 101 and Instagram for Visual Arts Marketers.
Cembalest’s webinars add to the pre-existing courses Johnson offers: a Website Tune-Up and Artist Statement class. Each workshop is designed to provide tools and strategies to help arts professionals build their virtual presence and careers.
With our class sizes limited to 15 participants, each member receives personalized instruction.
VVrkshop introduces these classes at a special low introductory rate. Over the course of the next few months, we’ll be building out the VVrkshop team and services. We look forward to helping artists create more opportunities, and connections as they build their careers.
ABOUT VVRKSHOP
Founded by Paddy Johnson, VVrkshop.art is a hub of webinars taught by established experts offering training in crafting online content. Our workshops, offered to small groups on Zoom, provide tools and strategies to help arts professionals build their virtual presence and careers.
ABOUT PADDY JOHNSON
An online pioneer who has more than 15 years experience writing about art, editing artist writing, and writing grants. She is the founder of VVRKSHOP, an online platform designed to help artists and art world professionals online and off. Prior to this, she founded the blog Art F City and has written for publications like CNN, The New York Times, and New York Magazine. She’s made a career out of working with institutions and individuals by helping them produce their best work.
ABOUT ROBIN CEMBALEST
An early art-world adapter to social media who runs popular Instagram and Twitter feeds, Robin Cembalest has spent her career training professionals of all levels to communicate effectively. In 2014, after 16 years as executive editor of ARTnews, she launched her business Robin Cembalest Editorial Strategies, helping institutions and individuals to adapt to the changing digital landscape. In her lively webinars, she shares practical tips on how to craft an authentic voice, build relationships and networks, and increase visibility for careers and causes.
Social: Instagram: @vvrkshop.art Twitter: @vvrkshop Facebook: @vvrkshop
Zombie Figuration Isn’t a Thing: A Critical Autopsy with Antwaun Sargent
Jordan Casteel, “Within Reach”, New Museum installation view, 2020. Photo: Dario Lasagni
In this episode of Explain Me, critic and curator Antwaun Sargent joins us to discuss the effects of the pandemic and Alex Greenberger's Zombie Figuration, a confusing essay that appeared earlier this month in ARTnews. In the first half hour we discuss the disparate effects of the pandemic and general politics. Then we move on to art, zombies, race, and why art has limits. Find us on Spotify, Stitcher, and Apple Podcasts.
BIOGRAPHY
Antwaun Sargent is an art critic and a writer who has contributed to The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vice and more, as well as essays to multiple museum publications. His first book, “The New Black Vanguard: Photography between Art and Fashion” (Aperture) is out now. In April he announced a new partnership with Gagosian that will include working on four exhibitions and contributing features to their magazine. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
LISTENER ADVISORY: In this episode, Paddy Johnson occasionally repeats Antwaun Sargent’s words when his audio cuts out. This leads to periodic moments when Johnson and Sargent speak at the same time.
LINKS
EARLY WHITNEY BIENNIAL REVIEWS