A+ Art Blog
PATRICIA FRISCHER, the coordinator of the San Diego Visual Arts Network, writes these occasional notes. These blogs are now available at this link where you can comment back.

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Past 2011 and Archived A+Art Blogs orBlog away. on our Picked RAW Peeled blog site.

Archived A+ Art Blogs

Current and Past 2013 A+Art Blogs

Maximal
San Diego: Identity Crisis or Identity Opportunity? March 2013
Palm Springs Art Fair, Feb, 2013
Corporate Collecting Book Review, Jan 2013

Maximal

Many of you don’t know that I am a working artist. I make very complex detailed painting and sculptures with lots of color and details. I might aspire to make minimalist art, but that will have to wait for another life time.

For the promotions I do for SDVAN, I know that I get what I think is a good and simple idea, then somehow it always gets turned into a giant project with hundreds of moving parts and a large group of artist involved. In other words, what I do for SDVAN imitates what I do for my own art.

So for example, for the past few years we have been putting on Eat Your Art Out dinner parties. These are simple parties for no more than 12 people around a theme of the artist choice and a way to get artists and art patrons to move past the opening reception chit chat and have real conversations. Art Patrons in San Diego really love to meet real artists.

SDVAN’s tenth anniversary is this year and so 10 tables instead of one table seemed like a lovely idea. We teamed together with Synergy Art Foundation who put on a silent auction of small canvases to support their wonderful work for artists in need. So from a little acorn a giant tree is blooming on April 27 th. About 30 artists will host over 60 patrons with themed table top décor and a gourmet 5 course meal. That will be followed by a dance, the auction of art by 120 more artists and even a boutique of food related craft items.

I think this will be a fabulous evening but I don’t know if people have any idea how much creativity it takes to put on such an evening. The committee for this project is now working full time to present the artists in the best possible light and to make sure that the public has the most amazing time. The artists have gone out of their way and over the top to out do each other and make us proud. They are creating work in honor of a pair of organizations that want nothing more than to help the general public value what they do.

The VIP dinner for this event sold out in the first month, which was immensely gratifying. We have no limit on tickets to the second part of the evening when the silent auction takes place and we can get down and dirty with Ruby and the Redhots. So please join us to celebrate 10 years of prosperity in San Diego. PALETTE TO PALATE Sat April 27, 2013.

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San Diego: Identity Crisis or Identity Opportunity?

Corporate Collecting Book Review

Corporate Art Collections by Charlotte Appleyard and James Salzmann
Lund Humphries/Ashgate Publishing Group in association with Sotheby’s Institute of Art

In the past, art was commissioned to support a religion or a cultural paradigm, but corporations can not be seen to do that. They generally avoid nudity, religious and political subjects. A stodgy law firm might have a few hunting prints in the waiting room and some portraits of the founder in the board room. But in 1960 companies were ready to step it up. The Whitney Museum in New York held a unique show Business Buys American Art. Corporations bought art to use in their advertising campaigns, color brochures, annual reports, as limited edition gifts to its stockholders and clients, and presented art as awards. Modern art on the walls of their offices gave a view of their company as up to date and even go ahead.

In 2011 there were 900 serious American corporation collections. In China, 5% of the GDP has been promised to go to cultural development by 2016. They see art as a “new pillar of industry.”

How are these collections operated and run and what drives the collection is covered in the insightful book by Appleyard and Salzmann. They looked at what they considered important collections only and recognized that things could and will change, but they define three major areas of corporate collecting.

Curatorial collections that are chosen by one person to enhance the experience of staff and clients are labeled here as “Environmental Enrichment” “Emblematic” collections are those that mainly reflect the identity of the corporation. “Patronage” collections are those that serve the community showing a social responsibility to support the arts. Some of these collections have become galleries separate from the corporation or give an annual art prize. Corporation can also sponsor exhibitions we see in museums.

Collections often have overlapping parts of all three. And they often deal with some of the same issues.

• The art is there to fill blank places. The art work has to fit the space although in special cases, the space is made to fit the art.
• Corporation use advisors, either hired or in special cases, in house, but one person in the corporation is the driving force for acquiring art and helps set the annual budget.
• The art is expected to be inspiring to the staff and clients and not only bring out their own creativity, but also be an ice breaker for networking occasions. In the best cases, artists are brought in to talk to employees so they can engage and relate to the works. In even rarer cases, the staff is allowed to choose which of the art in the collection is displayed in their own offices.
• Both public relations in terms of community outreach and publicity for the company are impacted by the art. Both can enhance the corporation’s image and aid in branding. Art can be a point of differentiation between companies and help define its message. Art from emerging countries might be perfect for companies selling bonds from emerging markets or cutting edge art for companies trying to attract the most creative of a young workforce.
• Art has to be able to stand up physically and emotionally to the office environment. The setting is not the same as a museum who supply with the best lighting, temperature control, security and un-interrupted background.
• Collections do have investment potential and prestige value connected with monetary value. But they represent a tiny percentage of the budget of the company. Most companies declare that their choices are not monetarily driven, only quality drive.
• Should the collection be private or do they have a duty to make it available to the public with all the expense and worry that involves?
• If the corporation spend vast sums on the art collection, how is that perceived by the employees and stock holders especially in hard times?

The book is packed with examples that are well presented and fascinating. Each company has a distinct personality formed by many of these criteria and it is fun to read about each and see the illustrations of the actual art work. They use the old fashion way of grouping all the color photos in sections which is too bad, as it would be good to see the art works next to the descriptions. As a visual aid, these are very high quality images by wonderful artists.

To give you a brief idea of some of the nuggets of information that I gleaned:

• Successful investment is about being able to embrace uncertainty. Cutting edge art embodies that idea.
• Many employees and visitor turn out to purchase works by the same artist shown in the corporation collection.
• One company named all of it conference rooms after artists.
• Corporations that serve the arts have a vested interest in growing a collection. Art insurers, art shippers, art legal services and art accountant.
• A few corporation have the advantage of being able to produce a product collaboration with actual artists (Like Louis Vuitton handbags with Murakami’s faux Vuitton logo pattern)
• Cost cutting choices encourage buying local to save on shipping, displaying less expensive works on paper and photographs which is often safer as the work is behind glass or plastic.
• One now defunct collection allows for a corridor of controversy for those works that were rejected by the staff. Allowing these works to remain was a clever way to create talking points about the work.
• We need to guard against corporations, which see loans of art as an inexpensive way to decorate.

The book makes mention of the tax laws for what is deductible in term of devaluation and donation and also touches on de-accession. There is a very short section on a few things to consider when starting a collection, but this is not a “how to” book. Maybe that is a pity as we should be trying to encourage more corporate collections. Will, expertise and funding rarely come together, but this book is a showcase for those corporations that have created added value through collecting art. The alternative is blank walls and what does that say about any business?

Archived A+ Art Blog

2009 Past A+ Art Blogs including
London and the Venice Biennial, 2009
Meet the Press
Beyond the Borders International Art (BTBIAF)
Interpersonal Theory of Art: Little & Large community phenomenon and the museum exhibition, Calder Jewelry at SDMA
Little and Large Launch
Little & Large Introduciton
The Recycling Buzz
Economic Realities for the arts in May 2009
Seven volunteer Inspried Visual Arts Projects
Snapshot – One women’s personal views on Changing Perspectives in the San Diego Art Scene: Notes from the panel discussion
The Economy and Affordable Live/Work Spaces
State of the Arts 2009

2008 Past A+ Art Blogs including
State of the Arts 2008
Hungry for Chinese Art?
Eat Your Art Out plus John Baldessari conversation with Hugh Davies
London Burning: A Damien Hirst Update
SD Flash Forward; Movers and Shakers Speak Out
Museum Trends: NY Times Cliff Notes
London Newsletter 2008
Art Collecting Clubs Part II
Artcentric Interiors
Poopielickles for All: attending Art Fairs in LA
Reading the Zines for Good Ideas, Feb 2008
Changing Power Base: State of the Arts 2008

2007 Past A+ Art Blogs including
Burnished by Fire: Stories of Firestorm, November 2007
The What and the How and the Wow, October, 2007
Careerist Artist, September, 2007
Non-Profit is not a Free Ride, July 2007
Crowd Control at Museums, June, 2007
May and It'sDarling Buds - May, 2007
Cruelty Free Art Zone - April, 2007
Critical Issues Facing the Arts, March, 2007 – The James Irvine Foundation, September 2006 summary
Letter from London Dec 2006 - Feb 2007
State of the Arts Jan 2007

2006 Past A+ Art Blogs
Crossover: How Artists Build Careers
Art and Wine Tour of Northern CA- October, 2006
Web Heaven- August, 2006 Advice on Websites for Artists
Vacation Art-July, 2006
Art Critic Revealed: Robert Pincus - June, 2006
Artistic Freedoms- May 2006
Art and Science, Progress and Mystery - April, 2006
Building Market Share - March, 2006
Glass to Go - February, 2006
Collectors on Show - January, 2006

PATRICIA FRISCHER, author of "The Artist and the Art of Marketing" has lectured extensively on marketing for artists. She is a trainer of artists’ agents, art dealers, consultant and collectors. Frischer has taken on the roles of gallerist, curator, writer, teacher, website coordinator and artist. Her many metamorphoses make her difficult to fit into any of the usual art world categories. She is a founding member and coordinator of the San Diego Visual Arts Network, (www.SDVAN.net ) which funds the SD Art Prize, directory and events calendar and SmART Collector features. Her own artwork  (www.DrawsCrowd.com ) has been shown internationally and her most recent one person show was at Oxford University.

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