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First rate art is in danger of being left behind in this new age of
the global Internet highway. The World Wide Web is like Walmart or
Home Depot coming to town. Art galleries as they now exist, are
going to become the Mom and Pop version of selling art.
Chances are if you are an established artist, and look for your
medium or subject matter on the Web, some very web-savvy artist will
show up, sometimes repeatedly on the first two or three pages of a
search engine and your name is no where to be found.
This
can change, but established artists and the galleries that represent
them need to start thinking differently about their approach to the
Internet. And galleries need to help every artist they represent
have their own website. This will make a revolutionary difference in
how first rate art is represented, because right now really good
contemporary art is hard to find on the Web, and because of this
fact, really good contemporary art is in danger of becoming
irrelevant or worse, obsolete.
Every
artist needs his or her own website, and every artist needs to get
his or her own website now.
There are several myths I would like
to dispel.
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1. Websites
cost a fortune.
Websites do not have to cost a fortune. There are lots of
good people involved with the Web who don't have a hugeoverhead
who are good at designing websites.
Good websites for artists can be designed for $500 or less. You
can get a domain name for under $10 and have it hosted for under
$100 a year. This is one of the best investments in your career
you will ever make.
You also do not have to pay a fortune to get your website on
search engines. For a presence on the Web, you need patience,
information and knowledge (more on this on
Art, Artists and
the Web: Part 4).
- 2. My gallery is in
charge of marketing and I don't need a website in my own name.
Every artist needs a website with a domain name that includes his
or her name-"www. yourname.com" or "www. yourname artist.com".
What artists do not need is a website that includes the gallery's
name-"www. gallery.com/yourname".
Websites need to be easy to remember and Web visitors are going to
pay a lot more attention to an artist that has their own domain
name. Web visitors usually skip over websites that are hosted by
galleries and pay almost no attention to artist's pages on gallery
sites.
- 3 If I have my own web
page, then the gallery or galleries that represent me won't be
able to control the direction that the gallery would like to go
in.
The artist and gallery can work together in creating the artist's
website. However, it can't feel as if the gallery is holding the
artist hostage. There is nothing worse than finding an artist you
really like on the Web, seeing a couple of picture and a link to
the gallery. Web visitors never go back.
The artist's website can be an excellent promotional tool for the
gallery. There is no reason why an artist's website cannot promote
both the gallery and the artist.
If the gallery is concerned about an artist having an email
address of his or her own, there is an easy solution. The person
who sends the email gets an automatic reply saying their message
has been received. The same email message can be forwarded to both
the artist and the gallery, and together they can decide how the
email could be answered.
Established artists need to become conscious of the new way people
are viewing and experiencing art. There are literally billions of
people out there who don't know that you or your art exists. They
associate your subject or medium with artists who show up on search
engines. They don't care about what gallery you may be associated
with, they care about who shows up on the Web. If you don't start
showing up on the Web very soon, not only will no one know who you
are, they won't even care.
But,
great art doesn't have to be left behind. Artists and the galleries
that represent them can join the new global Internet highway, have
fun enjoying the ride and be part of the new global art revolution.
Start now and start right away.
© Mary
Baker 2005
Mary Baker is a contemporary realistic oil painter whose studio is
in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Mary's art work has passion, depth
and beauty, capturing moments in time that many people pass by. Her
art work has the power to inspire lives and to nourish and nurture
the spirit.
Mary
hopes that this article will help artists who do not have their own
website and help artists have a presence on the Web.
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