A blog like Art & Perception is, in some ways, a substitute for the local café. The ability to discuss art with people around the world compensates, at least in part, for the loss of the immediacy of face-to-face contact. But it’s not a complete substitute. Direct interaction is still important for many reasons, and consequently there is a need for ways to facilitate it by letting people know about opportunities to meet each other, to learn, and to see art.
Few of us are so plugged in to our local art scene that we are aware of everything that’s going on in terms of shows, openings, talks, social events, etc. The newspaper may list major events, typically those for which an ardent volunteer or a motivated gallery has written a press release. In the case of my hometown of Bozeman, Montana, there are several places on the web that have listings, but judging from what is there, I suspect they are little known or used. Most of what is happening is invisible to the public. Sometimes that’s desired, though certainly not always.
But more important than the events themselves is the community that could potentially form around them. The past quickly slips into oblivion, and there is no convenient forum for the remembering, discussing, reviewing, proposing that might be engendered.
So I’m wondering, naturally, whether some form of local art blog might improve the situation. A blog has certain advantages as a format. It could have — in fact would require — many authors to spread the task of creating entries. Perhaps the main item on the plus side is it’s interactivity, which could promote the community-building. I think communication and discussion of events is only a starting point. There are plenty of concerns artists have that might be addressed in a blog (or possibly several blogs).
To try out the idea on people here in Bozeman, I figured that it would be good to have something to look at, so I set up a free WordPress blog that I boldly called Art Bozeman. How does it look? Any suggestions?
Whether something like this will fly or not depends on many factors. Ultimately, most important will be the people who get involved. The technology also plays a role through how well it supports what the people want to do. A blog is fairly flexible, but it doesn’t have to be the final answer. I’m only trying to start a ball rolling.
What would you like to see in a local art blog in your town or city? Do you know of any good examples? What do you see as the pluses and pitfalls?
I think it’s a great idea and your blog looks good. I hope people join up and create a community.
Just thought of something…
How are you getting the word out around Bozeman about your blog? You might want to email local galleries to spread the word.
Steve,
Art Bozeman looks good. However I would NOT like to lose your yeoman service and stewardship on A&P to any other blog (If I had a choice).
That said, I guess I was very selfish.
On a related note:
A proliferation of art blogs would need a rating agency to render the wheat from the chaff… Winkleman is a very good species of wheat.
Steve,
I think you may be onto something. Portland has had several art blogs — they tend to come and go — but they give different insights into the visual arts scene than appear in the local daily paper and the weekly arts and entertainment.
I like looking at them and found them very worthwhile.
Two caveats (or maybe cautions):
1. The material has to change regularly and if you decide to stop blogging, please make it clear so people like me don’t keep looking. There’s something extremely irritating about putting a blog on my regular looking list and then having it get stuck until finally I realize that the owner had better things to do but didn’t bother telling me in any way.
2. I have found it extremely difficult to get interaction among the blog readers — most people are passive or tend to say “wow, neat stuff.” For a community such as we have here on A&P, you probably need regular contributors of posts and information and may even have to actively solicit commenters and advisors. I haven’t been able to overcome this problem on Ragged Cloth, so I only know it’s a problem; I don’t know the answer. Visual Arts people don’t seem to be very verbal, at least in writing. Except here, of course
Good Luck. Maybe I’ll set up a two month art blog in Basin and we can interact. As if I needed another blog…….
Hi Steve,
Nice looking blog. Good idea.
Promotional idea: Go around to the galleries and hang out spots — I mean actually, physically show up at the spots and invite contributions from proprietors. Second, tell them that you are considering featuring their venues and interview them a bit. You’ll get ideas yourself; moreover, you’ll build a local reader/contributer base. Your community will take ownership. You’ll have a base of people who already know each other.
(Remember the saying, “Think global; act local?)
And when you go to all the local galleries, wouldn’t it be cool to have an art postcard with the Web address and one of your photos on it? :-)
You guys are all quite right, getting the word out and, for a time, ongoing promotion will be important. I imagine most of the galleries and art-related organizations would be interested in providing at least event-related content, which they are already creating and distributing elsewhere. Beyond that are artists themselves, with or without other affiliation, and art fans of various stripes. The idea would be to get these people as authors; I certainly don’t want to provide much content myself, and I don’t even want to be the conduit for too long. However, being involved in getting it started would be a great way to get to know more people and become more connected myself.
The Bozeman blog would serve a distinct purpose from A&P, though there could certainly end up being some overlap of interests. But don’t worry, Sunil, it’s not a replacement! I think some concerns require a very wide (even world-wide) base to attract sufficient active participants, while other concerns are almost purely local.
Kimberly,
Good thought about having an actual card to hand out or tack up. It might well have one of my photos, but I think the subject should say Bozeman, and ideally art in Bozeman. Not sure my parking garage graffiti will do the job…
I have some very strong opinions, strong enough to probably be irritating. Let me say first that I’m nearly 70, have lived all over the continent (except Mexico and the SE) and have had at least a vague notion of art in Montana since 1961.
1. You guys sound as though you are immigrants looking for a mechanism for forming a network, some kind of skeleton to which one can anchor. Let me say that most successful operation of that kind that I know of is the one created by and for wives of students in Bozeman. (They soon included “spouses” and weren’t fussy about technicalities.) See what they’re up to, though their day may have passed. The emphasis was DOING — running, cooking, sports.
2. There are many pre-existing little cadres of artists who do about the same kind of stuff and who have known each other for a long time. They are often terrific people, but they are not looking to include newcomers. The exception might be people who teach, who would reach out to students. They’re very hard to find out about because they take their habits so for granted that they talk in code: “meet at the usual place,” “same as last year.” Art in Montana is very much broken up into layers (high and low art) and locations.
3. It is in the interests of the art galleries, museums, and other institutions to keep artists separated from patrons. Don’t ask them to be the go-betweens. Also, their goal is status, “society,” class, fashion, etc. all things that can corrupt and possibly destroy artists.
4. “Art” is in some peoples’ minds “bohemia,” “hippies,” “do as you like.” Tim Barrus, hardly a stickler for propriety, has a Paris loft (sigh) where they held an event. A bunch of “Americans” came, got drunk, took drugs, and smashed the metal chairs against the brick wall enough to knock out chunks and bend the chairs — which had been borrowed from a cafe down the street. They had a meeting to try to figure out how to prevent this from happening again. They decided that they would not make flyers or posters, they would pass the word to people they knew only, and there would be no chairs. Sit on the floor. They didn’t want to hire a bouncer. In a college town you might have to. You might have to close the bar or not to have a bar to prevent barfing on the art.
5. A church might be a good ally. The Bozeman Congo church is a pretty progressive bunch. Dunno the minister anymore.
6. Food is always a good attraction or maybe a little lecture series, not too pretentious. DO NOT let it be about Charlie Russell, which is an industry.
7. I’ll tell you what I really hate and what took me over the edge into outright rudeness at the Montana Festival of the Book is anyone referring to “our little” whatsis that “I” started (and let run into the ground) and making it a sort of bourgeouis mock-culture celebration of how smug “we” are.
Prairie Mary
Mary,
Thanks for your thoughts and ideas. I won’t try to respond point by point, but I’m sure the issues you bring up will be encountered along the way — if the effort ever gets that far.
The student partner network struck a chord; it’s probably alive and well anywhere students live in close proximity. We’ve recently experienced it among foreign students, through a group of Malians we’ve been involved with. It might be similar among young, non-established artists, though my impression is that those actively involved in art here are a more diverse group. Perhaps all the more reason that a lightweight, web-based network could meet some common needs while accomodating centrifugal forces.
A number of your points relate to the difficulties of establishing yet another organization/activity that bumps up against established institutions and interests. Gallery involvement could prove a double-edged sword, as could other overly self-promoting groups, including individual artists. No doubt settled coteries will remain just that. To what extent these will present difficulties remains to be seen. I know that most experiments fail, but hopefully something can still be learned in the process.
As for bourgeois mock-culture smugness, I’m quite certain we have our share. Meaning both in Bozeman and on A&P. What to do but plug away, try to be open, and hope we’re plowing a field and not just digging a rut?
It is hard to get people contributing as I’ve learned on the ArtsMontana blog, but we have to keep trying. It’s only been 6 months for artsmo, so I am practicing patience. Get good keywords into your posts, sign up with Technorati, have other bloggers link to yours (as I did) and you will at least get search engine attention. Maybe in time a more actively involved community of contributors will follow.
Folks come to artsmo for event info, but I hope to find more time this winter for the interviews and reviews that I think add value and interest. I sure like doing them. Maybe I’ll think up an event we arts bloggers can hold next spring. . .get folks out, have our blogs available on kiosks, have our blog names/URLs on bumper stickers, and other educational plus shamelessly blog-promoting stuff..