Jon Coffelt, highly acclaimed artist, activist and curator, is a former gallery owner living and working in Manhattan. Coffelt decided to keep his distinctive Southern drawl.
Where have people with manners gone? Have they fallen by the wayside. Were there ever any real manners? Manners are supposed to be what separates us from the animals but no more because we, as a rule, don’t seem to have any manners any more.
Case in point: I know we could all be a little more civil to one another but what if someone screams at volunteers and pitches hissy fits in front of them and anyone within earshot? What happens when this same person goes behind colleague’s backs just to get dirt on them and then spread half-truths and outright lies to the detriment of these individuals while in the meantime, feathering their own hats. What if I told you this same person is an authority figure and these other people feel coerced to talk about someone they feel uncomfortable talking about? How petty! Being in a position of authority used to make people think you know at least enough manners and couth to be in the position. Most of these individuals are leaders. Only a bad apple would stoop so low as to ascertain information in this way. This is so petty and unprofessional but this is how this person operates.
Ever heard of a gallerist tossing artist’s boxes and shipping materials even after they make the artists agree in a contract to pay shipping both ways. This means that unless the work is sold, the artists have to repay for these materials. Many have been asked to hire an “agent” and were told that the gallery didn’t have time nor manpower to do this for them. This “agent” bit was never written into their contract. This is an out-right shame or should I say sham? Have you ever heard of such a unreasonable situation? Is this even legal? Would you believe that this same gallerist still wants their 50% for sales from these same artists? Maybe if this person was reputable, this would not have happened but this person treats others disrespectfully on a day to day basis. Having no manners is just plain unprofessional and that is all there is to it.
What should be done? What would you do if you knew of a situation like this? I ask? Let’s stop the madness.
You made my day! Hearing these words from someone you know and love really hits home. It doesn’t happen every day or every week for that matter. Thank you Lynn for saying this to me today. It means more than I can put into words. Hearing these words makes one feel that indeed we are in the right place at the right time which we always are. It is the assurance that, yes, sometimes our thoughts and feelings reach a little further out than we can ever imagine. This is the type of energy we want. This is the type of energy we want to hone in our lives and in our work. Living in integrity is it’s own reward but it is also sometimes the hardest thing of all.
There are people out there who could care less about integrity. Their lives are a sham. They put up blinders so they themselves cannot see the truth. They don’t want you nor anyone else to succeed. These people are the hardest to understand. How does one deal with another who appears to have no soul, no conscious for their fellow man? Sometimes these people make us feel so off-kilter, albeit, we are only human. They make us feel insecure because that is their sole intention. Keeping another person from truth, whether it is telling half-truths to us so we don’t see the full picture or maybe they are so irrational that we cannot be rational with them. Ethically, maybe we should just let them slide and ignore them but living in integrity means you have to step up and do the right thing every time. Maybe it isn’t in our sole best interest but it does mean that you can take a stand against their wrongs and do so in a way that they know exactly how you feel.
Living in integrity means risking one’s ego knowing that choosing truth is it’s own reward. Integrity is more important toward our neighbor than we can ever imagine. It gives us the strength to stand up to the bullies of this world and no matter the outcome, you know you did your best because living in truth is always the best. So when someone tells you that you made their day. It means so much more.
Kenneth Noland was stellar. On January 5, 2010, Noland departed this realm. He was definitely a one-of-a-kind. He stuck to his guns. Noland’s most noted works were his radiant targets made of concentric rings of color strained directly on raw canvas leaving just enough space between the rings to create a sense of expanding and contracting bands. Many of his color selections were discordant but this only heightened this effect in his best works.
Having always considered myself a colorist, Noland is one of my favorite artists. He always was and always will be. As an artist, he moved me like no other. As a child, I was amused and delirious all at the same time. I could not get Noland’s work out of my mind. When I saw his color bands of vertical stripes. I longed for more. I wanted to take this inside myself and take it to yet another level. His study of how vibrations created by raw color side by side has always prodded me and pushed my own work further and deeper.
In my eyes, he was a mentor to me. Several years ago, I was able to acquire two of Noland’s works. I love them as I do friends. I will peruse time and time again. He will certainly be missed in our home. In the words of Roberta Smith, “Mr. Noland may have hewed closest longest to Frank Stella’s famous dictum “what you see is what you see.” When he was good, he was excellent.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/0…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Nol…
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/arts/0… New York Times Obituary
I just don’t believe in luck. I never have. I do, however, believe that one can be in the right place at the right time. All of us are where we are supposed to be at any given moment. The difference in those who are successful and those who are not depends on how they look at things. Is your glass half empty or half full? How prepared are you at any given moment?
So many of us are grasping at straws these days. How does one get ahead as an artist? We don’t always have to react. Sometimes the best thing to do is to set tight and just continue to do your work. Why not get a whole exhibition of work ahead for yourself then let galleries know that you are prepared to have an exhibition at any given moment. One never knows when circumstances may change and a gallery will need someone at a moment’s notice. Maybe you will be the person to take that slot. Would this be considered luck or would it be considered being prepared? Being in the right mind-frame allows you to think with focus and clarity allowing you to understand what you need so you can express what they are and to help manifest them accordingly. You are the master of your destiny. You always are and you always have been. Do you have something that you do that helps you feel helps get you to the top? Would you let the rest of us know?
What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. You have heard that old adage many times but have you ever thought of what it really means? It means that as survivors sometimes we are pushed to the brink, the very brink of our existence. It literally means that no matter how hard we try or how high we aspire, something heavy and without warning comes crashing down and makes us rethink our priorities all over again but we survive. 2009 was my year to revamp, I suppose.
Having been a working artist for many years, this past year certainly had its ups and downs. I found myself rethinking the box at every possible turn as the art market redefined itself with the public. I survived by reinventing myself. I worked harder than ever even through another cancer scare, the loss of two dear friends to it and reevaluating and trying to understand what makes me tick. I painted some and I sewed a lot. I worked hard to create many memories for many people through my “Miniature Clothing Project.” I curated some great exhibitions with some awesome artists along the way too. I also had to deal with the stressful task of being the whistle-blower to a ruthless self-aggrandizing cheat. Having only informed people I thought were in direct path, a few chose to shoot the messenger. I had to make peace with this as I understood most of this was only ego on their part. People who know me knew I was only giving them a tool to keep them safe. I felt my integrity was hanging in the balance and I knew my integrity meant more than my ego so I stood up against what was wrong. I knew I could no longer be a part of something that made me feel less of a person. While this was certainly hard for me, I actually came out ahead by rebuilding faith in myself, my work and in others who I admired. This freed me.
This whole past year was about truth in some way. I learned some hard lessons and miraculously, I came out on top. The long and the short of it for me is that I actually look forward 2010. I feel very tuned in to my inner-self. I honestly feel that this year will be auspicious for all artists with integrity who have decided to turn the corner with a light heart knowing that the best is definitely yet to come.
Be the change you want to see in the world …Ghandi
Like the words of Alice in Wonderland, I have become curiouser and curiouser. I look around and see some changes that amaze me while others leave me rather perflexed. Did you know that most of Jackson Pollock’s ideology was actually his wife Lee Krasner’s invention? It was hard for me to believe at first but I started looking at the dates comparing the works of these two artists. eyelevel.si.edu/2008/02/drawing-on-love.html.
Did you also know that there are more women in the upcoming Whitney Biennial 2010 than there are men? Yes, you heard me correct. There are actually 52% women. I personally want to congratulate Jerry Saltz for keeping up his personal crusade to make us aware of the gender inequality of such institutions as The Museum of Modern Art as well as many others. Jerry Saltz take a Bow! http://www.artsjournal.com/anotherbb/2009/12/links—jerry-saltz-take-a-bow.html
Here is a list of other leading institutions who have large discrepancies with gender. http://nymag.com/arts/art/features/40980/
Art is art regardless of who is doing it. Let the best work rise above the fold and be seen for what it truly is regardless of race or gender.
Have you ever been in a situation where you only know some of the facts and feel weird about not knowing all of them especially if your performance in a given situation depends on it?
Just recently I left a situation like this. The whole time I had these uneasy feelings that things were not as they seemed. I found out my feelings were correct so I decided to explore this further especially the things that began to come up from half-truths with promises from an under capitalized venture. Seemed that everyone were volunteers being promised a piece of the pie but they were treated like employees. Some were even berated in front of me. I knew for my own sake that I could no longer be part of this especially when the abuse fell toward me.
A person’s self esteem can only take so much. Being an artist, my self esteem can bruise quite easily especially when it feels the abuse is intentional. I felt really bruised.
Petty I am not but I decided to take matters into my own hands and let everyone around me know exactly what happened to me. I have questioned this approach as many are litigious in today’s society but if everything I say is true and I can back it up and this will help keep others from harm then I am responsible to do the right thing.
I have decided to take a more hands on approach to my well being and for the well being of those around me and part of this is becoming more transparent.
Sometimes in today’s society, transparency is seen as a weakness and this is ludicrous because in actuality transparency is strength. Of course large companies would have you believe otherwise and pass laws to keep certain information from those whom they prey on. If this were not so we would not be under their influence or burdened by this latest financial crisis. If you consider that many abuses are caused by someone not knowing all the facts they are suppose to know for themselves to make the best decisions, then you begin to understand how important transparency really is.
If you don’t have anything to hide then why should people hide things from you as this only benefits them.
It gives them the upper hand to do what they will. Why should anyone rely on half-truths and jargon especially when it wastes our precious time.
Have you ever woke up with a song on your lips or noticed yourself humming something that you heard somewhere and cant quite put your finger on it? This is how your body picks up things from your environment. Everything around you in your day resonates with you on some level. The people you are around, the things you hear and read all make an impact like this. They make you the individual you are. If you are hearing or humming something then you can bet your emotions are attuned to what you are hearing or humming.
Imagine that your emotions are sometimes tied up with people, places or things in negative ways and you want to turn it around. You can just walk away. You can choose to ignore them too. Do you ever make yourself sing or hum something to break the cycle? Your mind isn’t aware of whether you are living through something or just imagining something. it is just functioning as a mirror of your soul. You can easily convince yourself into believing what you want to. Repeating something three times sometimes does the trick for some people but maybe you go about this by putting paint to canvas, words to music or you put a song in your head and change your whole day.
You are in control of how you are feeling right now. You are in control of how you want your world to be. Believing in yourself matters most of all.
Learning to Lean on the right things in life is a wonderful thing but leaning on what we are told can be quite another, especially if what we are told is utter repetitious nonsense. We need what is healthy for us but for many this seems harder than ever.
In our world, where we are told on any given day how great our work is and how much these very same people are telling us they want to buy something but never do, we can feel defeated and frustrated.
Outsiders do not understand that by playing this game with us that our emotions and feelings are involved and it is draining. The insensitivity of these people is actually hurting us rather than helping us.
Recently, I hear this happening so often that I have actually told people just to stop their nonsense and to either buy something or just not talk about it again, ever. You may be surprised that this may very well spur sales as some of mine have.
What is the use of all this talk with no substantial means to an end? How can this make you or them feel good, even for a moment. It actually sickens me. It was messing with my personal perspective and how I made decisions. I need clarity not this kind of ridiculous nonsense.
This can also effect your self-esteem. “Stop The Madness.” You will gain back your control and feel better about yourself and your work.
