On February 24, 2016, Glossary magazine attended a talk with Charles Desmarais, the art critic for the SF Chronicle, and Griff Williams, founder/curator/publisher at Gallery 16. This is the second in our editorial platform, Review as Dialog, filling a need to archive public art discussions. Afterward, Williams pointed out that when Desmarais was hired, there was a lot of backlash/outcry. This talk that took place last night was a missed opportunity for some; Williams was hoping that it would create a forum for people to come and really lay into Desmarais about the issues that concern them, be his appointment or other writing issues. There was even a Chronicle rep on hand . . . Yet, Glossary counted its peers on one hand: a couple of artists, two gallery directors, three PR folks and TWO fellow writers. TWO. At one point in the discussion, Desmarais mentioned the names of a few writers that he looks up to, that he reads. None of them are Bay Area writers. Some Bay Area art writers are: Maria Porges, Glen Helfand, Christian Frock, Sara Hotchkiss, Dewitt Chang, John Held, Jeanne Gerrity, Monica Weston, Sarah Burke, me, Zachary Royer Schulz, Sura Wood, Emily Holmes, Dorothy Santos, Aaron Harbour—that is already more than one dozen Bay Area Writers [do we need a coalition?]. It would behoove Desmarais to read his peers—that’s who we are—not competition, but part of that collective voice that the Bay Area fails to recognize when they say things like, “We need more writing.” Writers, Glossary thanks you! When Desmarais was hired, a lot of Glossary’s peers and colleagues took particular issue with the fact that the Chronicle seemed to just replace one privileged white guy with another privileged white guy. One argument stated that by doing so, the Chronicle is perpetuating a male-centric criticism hierarchy by not considering writers of color, women or queer writers. Although Glossary does not know anyone who knows which writers were in consideration, the rumor is that none were—he was already chosen. They do have diverse freelance writers, but the contention was with the one full-time staff position. One that perhaps to some defines the whole city's art scene. But let us not forget—the SF Chronicle is not a civic or public institution; it is a private newspaper—just like the New York Times or the LA Times and others—they too are not city-run or funded organizations. Yet sadly, in the eyes of readers, and some galleries and artists these papers with city titles seem to subliminally hold a pretty high status as the voices of a city. It is perceived as a precious top-down entity that is pressured to bear all the weight of the artworld, and to speak for the city’s art scene inclusively as a whole. Moreover, with this perceived pinnacle status comes with a huge responsibility, and a weight of demands and expectations that frankly is impossible to fill. They simply cannot please all of the people all of the time, and that is why a variety of art publications and voices in the arts is vital to keeping the Bay Area the place that we love. Furthermore, they certainly can’t afford to staff more writers to cover more content—the truth of the matter is: there is too much to cover each week. We know this just by the sheer number of press releases we receive each month; Glossary’s mailbox usually receives 20 to 65 press releases. But should that entire burden be expected of the Chronicle? Does that mean they should cover everything? The sensible answer is no. We need many voices, not more voices or one different voice under one publication—but just a lot of us writing, talking, looking and loving art and its meaning. Glossary feverishly took notes at the talk to share with you, dear readers and art lovers. Notes were taken in-situ, and are not literal transcriptions of neither audio nor direct quotes, but rather points that were touched upon. Certain key word choices and diction has been retained to accurately reflect the tone and sentiment of the discussion. Griff Williams
When Charles was appointed I asked him to dinner . . . anyone who leaves the position of president of anything, well, you have a lot of questions. I’d like to ask you what is the state of art writing and what you are intending with your new position. The Observer posted an article in 2013, noting that there are less than 10 full time art critics employed by United States newspapers. On the other hand, there is more “vernacular” criticism, webs and alternatives. It is the salaried positions that are dying out. The state of the newspaper is in debate, parallel to vernacular criticism. Serous criticism is on the decline. Charles Desmarais [Bristles in defense of/support of serious vernacular criticism] It’s not the same issue. There are many people who don’t have the opportunity for a full-time position, and I feel privileged to do that. The Chronicle has created a strategy for survival. Newspapers need new ways to communicate. Few people have papers delivered to their front doors and it is likely completely going away in the very near future. Online is the direction it is going. What is the Chronicle doing to compete with other online publications, such as the New York Times? We need to be more local. The Times are not going to cover the local culture the way we do. We have a footing here. I consider my job an advocate for you. My love for art can be a guide as an analyst. GW Journalism? News or criticism? CD There is a journalistic side, but there is a critical side as well. Firstly, I get to choose what I write about [so in that sense he is a critic, and not a journalist given assignments]. And what the Chronicle does is different than something like Artforum, because we are a daily newspaper. I consider myself an advocate for the art scene. GW As a painter, I think about my viewer, the image and who the audience is. Who is your audience? Are you seen in the context of championing art? There is the challenge of advertising that might sway who you write about, also. CD My reader is a broad audience. But I don’t want to talk down to them either, that would be insulting. Sometimes I need to include a sentence or two about something for people who are not deeply educated about art—I should write about the things that perhaps people who would not normally be exposed to art, will be exposed to it in the writing. I want to advocate for art. For example, I am writing a piece on Kadist for this Saturday—it is a little known space in the Mission and this will be the first time that I write about race. [He is casting a wide net for launching his position as the new critic, and writing about a variety of genre, eras, places and issues.] GW How do you pick what you write about? CD What excites me. There are things that you know you have to include, certain shows—such as the Pierre Bonnard at the Legion of Honor. To not include it would be ignorant. GW For better or for worse? CD Museums are not always pushing the envelope when it comes to installation or scholarship and this exceeded my expectations so I wanted to write about it. GW Because of your background in museums? CD At first I thought that my background might be a disadvantage with my writing . . . so many people I know in high places and in the museum world—I didn’t want to offend them. But you know what, I don’t need to worry about that anymore, because the truth is I am not beholden to you anymore! GW Do you have a responsibility to demystify the artworld? CD Over time my observations based on my past experiences will come through in the writing. GW To some art is impenetrable. For those who don’t work in it, it can be alienating. People peer in these windows all the time and never come inside. So demystifying might have a place, particularly a newspaper, giving transparency of the artworld. CD Well, somewhere along the way someone decided that criticism had to be boring. [elitist, academic writing] I am still finding my voice. (He jokes) “Please tell me if I’m boring.” [Perhaps Williams was getting at the notion that a writer might consider educating people about the fact that art is not scary, while Desmarais seemed to interpret the question in terms of the kind of language that is used to talk about art]. GW How to you find your way—what radar are you using to make your decisions? CD Well, to be honest I’m checking off boxes to a certain degree. For example with Kadist, they are under the radar and the artist is amazing, and I have never written about race . . . I want to give people a sense of what is going on with the artist’s work and at Kadist. There are a series of things that I want to touch on at the beginning of my career and I am going down the list. It might come across like I am mixing it up a bit right now. GW Hitting the pavement is important. After doing this for 25 years I can say that we are in one of the most exciting times right now. Artists are doing new things galleries are popping up. It’s important to get familiar with your community. CD Yes, it’s a very exciting time. I go to way more shows than I end up writing about. People complain to me, but . . .
0 Comments
Glossary is pleased to present the first in our series Review as Dialogue. There is very little (if any) media coverage on panel discussions or artist talks that often accompany exhibitions, be it at galleries or at museums. Glossary is tending to this need. On Sunday January 17th at 1pm, Glossary feverishly took notes during a panel discussion at FOG Design+Art Fair. The topic was "The Changing Face of San Francisco's Art Scene." Notes were taken in-situ, and are not literal transcriptions of audio, but rather points that were touched upon. Panelists included: Alison Gass, associate director for collections, exhibitions, and curatorial affairs, Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University Jonn Herschend, co-founder, The Thing Quarterly Deborah Rappaport, co-founder, Minnesota Street Project Claudia Altman Siegel, Altman Siegel Gallery FOG Design+Art Fair January 14–17, 2016 Fort Mason Festival Pavilion Altman Siegel
It is small here, exposure to other art worlds is hard. Repeated shows give an overview over time of an artist's trajectory - here there are less shows so it is more difficult to get a sense of what artists are doing. Fairs offer exposure to more audiences that SF cannot provide. Herschend I came to SF for the Bohemian and punk rock/DIY ethos, to make work and to make our own history. In a way SF still provides that, you can take risks here and you can be protected. The isolation is real - there is a ceiling. Rappaport SF provides the ability to take risks. The rent we provide is below market rate so that galleries can take risks too. We operate in triage mode - moving quickly to provide a much needed solution. "For profit not planning on making a profit" [is crazy] We need a new term for something that is not the traditional for-profit model, other than crazy." Gass Is SF changing? What is the change? Herschend "The change is real. Artists have left." The ones that stay are being dynamic and looking for unique ways to make money and talk about their work. Gass Is there something that galleries and museums could do? DEAD AIR Gass What do you love? Altman Siegel SF has grown up and relating to the art world as an international center, a center of art business. We have six tech companies and other corporations such as Chevron and Wells Fargo - gentrification is a problem, but there is also "new formed wealth. Fairs offer educational platforms for local people to see more of the art world. Culture can be a product of all of this." Rappaport "We couldn't make the fuss we are making if we didn't feel that art was something that the city should support." I have been thinking about philanthropy differently - and am divorcing myself from the IRS categorization of profit. For profit allows us to do what we need to do, even though we are not making a profit. Everything we earn will be folded right back into the projects. Our mission is to increase the likelihood of success for everyone involved. Audience member Natasha Boas We are missing a stepping stone, which is the artists' space. The Lab and SOEX offer a space for practice and career making. How can we have more of that - is it being addressed enough? Herschend I agree we need more of that. Artists, and students of art programs need to take initiative to participate in these spaces - including acquiring student memberships to spaces - artists need to support these things too. Rappaport We are appealing to others who have the means to offer more alternative models such as those. I feel that we [people with monetary means to invest in the arts] sometimes fall into 2 categories: Benefactors or Investors. Instead we should say to ourselves: "This is a problem I want to solve." [and then do it]. Altman Siegel Audiences are also important. Gass New York and LA have communities that create hype around them. We need more of that here - we need more criticism and writing. SMALL PORTION OF AUDIENCE CLAPS Altman Siegel 1% of the population cares about art. . . Herschend Can there be more integration between different mediums? But we don't want to water it down. Rappaport People say things like, "The tech industry doesn't buy art." We keep talking about how these people don't show up to things, ask why they aren't buying art, and then we wonder why they don't or why they don't want to talk to us - So can we blame them? Why not present this as, "You are brilliant (tech person) - How can you add to this conversation?" Audience member asks how we can build a better SF art "scene" and to nurture and educate collectors. Gass The art world is becoming more and more global, more multi-faceted. Rappaport We spoke to a lot of collectors when we were envisioning our space. The ways art is viewed and engaged with is changing - with fairs and online exposure. What was preventing us then of just creating an app? Things change, and we are trying to work with those anticipated changes and fill needs. It's that people, particularly artists need a brick and mortar space - they need to show their art. Gass Viewing art can be a daily thing - people need places to go - to get out and engage with the world, with art. Altman Siegel I was talking to the Director of Art Basel Miami - he asked me about my collectors. More than half of my collectors are local. Fairs are getting more interested in curating galleries into the fairs that exhibit local work and are building their own communities rather than relying on fairs. Artist in audience states that more critical dialogue is needed - that art writing is the lasting word of the show after it is over. Herschend It is getting better but more is needed. Rappaport We encourage writers to come to our spaces and to also talk to us about what we are doing. Audience member asks about school involvement. Rappaport We are thrilled to be working with SFArtsEd. Arts education is crucial because it introduces children to something potentially fulfilling, especially if they are struggling in other areas such as math or science and potentially helps them improve in other areas as well. Gass Greater funding is needed to support museums that want to integrate education more fully into their programming and get students to their locations. Time ran out, and the talk concluded with generalized thanks. Other conversations while wandering the fair: Better leadership is needed to create a cohesive art scene. We need more writers, there is a publication crisis - not enough covering several SF shows per issue. Artists provide a fruitful voice for art criticism because they understand how art is made. The fair is a success; exposure to a lot of new audiences, opportunity to showcase design-based artists. |
Reviews
All
shop
Eco-mindful journals by Glossary Syndicate
glossary's FOUNDER & author
thank you for visiting
Consider making a donation to support operating costs, research & writing time. Any amount helps!
reviews
All
other sf art publications
SFAQ
Art Practical Articiple SF Art Enthusiast SF Weekly SF Gate/Chronicle SF/Arts (Monthly) Stretcher Sartle global sf coverage
|