Since 1972, this Newsletter has been written in the service of artists. At the time, it had become clear that something like it was needed by the Los Angeles art community. Not to mention I was taking so many phone calls and writing so many letters (on the typewriter, mind you), I figured that writing a newsletter would be the easiest way to reach as many people as possible. Over the years, I mailed it out to those that subscribed to it, handed it out “propaganda style” in person (I used to carry them around in a lunchbox). The Newsletter became a staple in the LA art scene, helping artists get attention, publicizing events, and also supporting those artists I had begun collecting in the 1960s.
For this issue, I get back to the root of the Newsletter and write directly to artists working today.
First, I want to stress the importance of discipline and labor. Agnes Martin went to her studio, did her work, went to the park to relax, and then went back to the studio and did her work again. It is important for artists today to remember this kind of discipline and stick to it.
I realize things have changed since the 1960s, a decade I always said was the golden age of art. To be a working artist today, you must plot out at least 100 hours of work per week, every week, for work. If you are working-class that would include a 9-5 job, plus time for networking and being in the studio. When you think about that, it makes you realize just how hard life is for a working artist.
My current thought about LA artists wanting to be superstars is that you either have it, or you don't. Artists want to be the next art-stars and curators are always trying to find the new one so they can feel like they are stars too. At the LA Biennial, viewers are made to vote for a winner. At MOCA, things seem very confused. The west coast art terrain is a different beast. Los Angeles, though sometimes frivolous, is also associated with the rigors of conceptual art, minimalism, and land art.
It seems that these days, everyone wants to be an artist. The academies are over-populated with young people determined to be artists, even though that may not necessarily come natural to them. Celebrities insist they too are artists. The “Rebel” show closed. Another nouveau-riche gallery “nestled in the luxurious streets of Beverly Hills” opened. And so it goes... In the 1980s and 90s, the Young British Artists as well as other “art stars” made art into a lucrative industry. This erased the utopic and revolutionary promise of art-making from before, and saturated the art scene with LOTS and LOTS of work, which has altogether confused curators, gallerists, and collectors alike.
The history of the art-star begins, perhaps, with Andy Warhol. But Andy suffered the way an emerging artist suffers. He started off as an illustrator of shoes for women’s magazines and as a window dresser for the department stores. Then, he found himself through those illustrations. His artistic practice, which included those around him, created a structure of exploitation that surged on the desire to become famous: the Factory. And that became a large part of the artwork, which influenced much of how contemporary art and performance thinks of itself. It seems that most artists working today dream of art-stardom because that is how success is measured, now more than ever.
But when it comes to art talent-- and please excuse my simple language--the cream will always rise to the top. And even then, only some of the cream rises... no matter what anybody does. But this is just my opinion, it's not gospel.
Finally, to those of you who were included in Pacific Standard Time: congratulations, you could very well consider yourself a master. But if you think that means you can sit and be cool, you may eventually be forgotten. You need to find new venues for your continued self-expression. For example, Cardwell-Jimmerson is doing a great job exposing 1960s artists to this generation, and Pacific Standard Time made its splash (came and went... to Germany actually). It was great to see this work, but (borrowing Susan Muchnic's words): “Will we continue to see this work?”
Caren Colvin: What are you up to?
Simone Gad: Are you here or in New York?
Adrian de la Peña: I owe you a telephone call.
Mel Edwards: Great to see your work at Michael Benevento, on Sunset Blvd, as part of the "Steel Life" group show. Congratulations on your upcoming show at Alexander Gray Associates, NYC.
Howard Finster: Are you still alive?
Kim Dingle: You made great conceptual work about smog. I still have the T-shirt.
Jamie Martin: I have one of your works and I'd like to hear from you.
David McDonald: I have a lot of time thinking about your work because you created an aesthetic out of error. You compose this symphony of action and line (not so much color, now that I think about it...), and form where things might be askew or off balance, a nail on one side, but not the other, a scratch here and there, a perfect smooth surface suddenly... Congratulations on the Santa Monica Artist Fellowship.
Mary Mendoza: I think you are the prettiest pop artist around.
Kaz Oshiro: I love having your washer and dryer. It still fools people who walk in the door.
John Peterson: Are you doing art or are you strictly real estate?
Mindy Shapero: Though many try to imitate, there is no one else out there like you. I can't wait to hang your drawing again.
Doug Meyer: I look at your work A LOT.
Robert Williams: I wish I had one of your paintings
Aaron Wrinkle: I owe you a telephone call and I believe in your work.
Andy Robert: I have been thinking about your work: by cutting out the spots from the dalmatians it neutralizes the thing, makes a rhythm that would otherwise not be there had the spots remained black. By taking the black out, you are cutting out little pieces of yourself, and it is both beautiful and conceptual. Call me when you can.
To all other artists: I am interested in art that can move, or can be experienced in many different ways, in addition to the fact that I am able to walk around it. If your work is like this, please contact me.
NEWS AND OTHER THINGS TO KNOW
Please note my new blog address: www.notalosangeles.blogspot.com / LouAnne Greenwald has moved to Washington D.C. / Channa Horwitz is soon to be showing with Guy de Cointet in Germany. / Daniel LaRue Johnson, collected by me on La Cienega, was in the PST shows. / Ken Price died in February. / Doug Harvey had a show at Jancar Gallery / Orlando and Margaret Margaret’s “Billy and Jean” show at Commonwealth&Council opens August 11 / Documenta in Kassel, now / Llyn Foulkes‘ retrospective at the Hammer, in 2013
