Firstly, artists are a poor, unreliable lot of consumers. Maybe it's a cultivated disinclination towards consumption, maybe it's actual financial hardship, or maybe it's a tacit disdain for similar modes of cultural production (as in "I can do that, and I can do that better"). Either way, the result is the same: ambling crowds of artists and writers shuffling by tables simultaneously admiring and loathing (because they actually loathe, or loathing because they actually admire), and visually mining work for usable materials and concepts, but rarely ever buying.
I'm guilty of the same behavior, especially the overly critical eye. I walk by tables thinking "crap; crap; crap; OK but not my bag; crap; hey that's not bad - how did they do that?" Then I sit back down behind my table (having bought nothing) thinking "these sons of bitches better start buying something." And they do. But it's not the artists who buy - it's the non-artists. Old ladies particularly love the look and feel of my work. Flattering, but as an audience demographic I'm not sure it's exactly what I was looking for. This brings up an interesting set of questions that my friend Ben touched on in a comment: who buys art? who do I think should be buying my art? why? can we really control things like that? do we even want to?
If I suddenly became the poet laureate of elderly women, would I complain? Should I? I can't say I would complain, but I can say it would make me reconsider the content of my writing and the overall aesthetic of my books. I'm sorry, but it's true. And if that's true, I must have some blurry idea of what my demographic is - but at the moment it's only negatively defined as (I hope) not solely women over 65.
Secondly, artists are a loyal network of reliable consumers that can help make selling your art an economically viable pursuit. Say what? Isn't that exactly the opposite of the first point? Yes. Take Etsy for example. Tens of thousands of artist-entrepreneurs have descended on the site in the past few years, selling hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of items. The Etsy community is a virtual marketplace that reflects the positive energy and reciprocal support that is the mainstay of the DIY/craft underground. What does that mean? It means the people who make the things provide positive feedback and constructive criticism to each other - but it also means they buy each other's things. So why can a virtual community like Etsy manifest an economical reciprocity while an event like CANZINE has a hard time? Is it sheer volume of artist/consumers (as in there were 2000 people at CANZINE, but there are 100,000 poking around on Etsy)? Is it sheer volume of art objects (as in with that much stuff, everyone can find something they like that they can't make themselves)? Is it because cheap art is an impulse buy, and it's easier to impulse buy online than face-to-face? Who knows, but chances are it's a combination of all those and more.
As for me, I'm considering including a questionaire with all of my books and art so that I can begin to refine and market to my key demographic.
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5 comments:
Have you looked at PollDaddy, who were recently acquired by Automattic (WordPress folks)? Probably not as useful for in-person sales, but for Etsy and similar venues, you might be able to get the "sure I can provide feedback if this only takes 30sec" responses.
Good luck! I'm not a >=65yr woman and I love the tie ;)
-p
I never want to hear shit from you again about my spending philosophies. The reason I don't spend money on things that I find ethically unappealing (alcohol, meat, drugs, certain franchises, etc) is primarily so I can spend my money in areas that I feel good about. I.e., artists works/shows. In essence, putting my monetary capital along side with my cultural economy.
Nothing wrong with thinking these things out. Our many experiences with trust fund hipsters and indie craftsers made me rethink how my tiny bit of money works.
The purchasing experience is a huge part of any commodity, if I've learned anything from my time at Wal-mart its that this experience, for most american's, is ideally intended to not be engaging. I'm almost ready to say that consumerism is fueled by an innate desire for alienation. The less actual human contact or relation to production evident in the purchasing process, the more people are prepared to engage in the most abstract action there is; the exchange of possession between a disembodied entity (Wal-mart) and a sentient human being via a system of valuation involving pieces of paper with deadmen on them. Put your ties in a vending machine, buyers find them to be more appealing than other human beings.
It's like that old marketing idea that people buy more when you keep the thermostat down.
as always, in the future (time-wise) but late to read. ric once said to me (years ago) when i was saying that i didn't identify with certain people as my audience, he said (paraphrased), 'shut up, let your audience identify itself.'
you do like older stock images that perhaps resonant with their age?
also, etsy as 'underground' seems suspect at best. then again, when isn't 'underground' problematic?
Dear Chris
I certainly enjoyed your comments on selling books.
I did however want to ask that when younger people see a female older than them that they try to still see that person as a person not as simply an interesting old lady. As someone coming back to the literary world after a number of set backs I thought at last I would have a chance to participate...but if you just see a cipher what is left of my hopes for communication and unprejudiced interaction?
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