Post exhibition blues

The post exhibition blues…. Yeah, I got em.  I got ‘em bad.

And it’s not just the usual post exhibition blues. This is serious.

It’s the “…and only 1 work sold after 18 months slog” kinda blues.

After a pumping opening night “drinks with the artists” where we were swamped with air kisses and platitudes, we were all full of the excitement and anticipation of sales.  Hell, 1 piece even sold before the opening.  Sadly that was the only piece to be sold through the whole exhibition.  Period.

Oh the pain, the abject pain of having to collect all those works from the gallery. Not to mention the storage issues.

I should stop at this point and clarify – we aren’t talking about a desire to make pots of money and be on our way to deliver Mr Saatchi his (personally requested) commissioned piece.  No, we are artists with modest goals like, making our money back on exhibition expenses and just the general warm and fuzzy feeling you get when someone likes your work and they want to hang it in their house and look at it every day.

The rejection of course sends us spiralling into self-doubt, and all forms of self-flagellation.

Where did we go wrong?    Are we talentless and deluded nobodies?   Should we blame the GFC or some other acronym?, the gallery location?, the gallery manager?  Or those nasty people in the media who didn’t run our press release. Again, or do I need wealthier friends ?

Oh the pain.  The abject pain.

The end result is that my artistic mojo is gone.  Lost.  Down the rabbit hole.

There are probably a number of reasons behind the mojo loss:  2010 was a busy year of exhibition preparation as well as fitting in Uni, work, etc.  Then we have the Christmas/New Year period, and gosh it’s been such great weather this summer…..  But ultimately I think it has its roots in disappointment at the show sales, and the aforesaid self-doubt this brings.

Before our show, I read somewhere that it’s not about selling the artwork it’s about getting work out there.   I tend to think that these statements are right up there with “the work should speak for itself”.    The fact is, as capitalists we measure these things in monetary terms.

Serendipitously, this week, I purchased a copy of Australian Artist Magazine.  I don’t normally purchase this but there was something in it I wanted to read.  But this is superfluous information.  What I found unexpectedly was this article by Graeme Smith “Maintain a positive attitude”*.

His first paragraph pretty much summed up how I’m feeling.  But he goes on to say chin up and get on with it.  It’s not the end of the world, and it doesn’t mean you aren’t a real artist.  I thought I would pass the article on as it gave me a little nudge in the right direction.

So, I shall not throw in the towel and nor shall my creative compadres.

To that end, this week I have taken action.  I have returned to the studio.  I didn’t do much but at least it was something.  I will remind myself that 2010 was actually a successful and bumper year for me, insofar as getting work into shows/competitions and selling more work than in any previous year (exhibition excluded!).

And we will line up again in another 2 years (give or take) for another show. Perhaps with our goals more modest this time.  The only way is up after all.  Isn’t it ?

*Reproduced with permission of the article’s author Graeme Smith www.myartcareer.com