THE ART OF BEING AN ARTIST: A USER’S MANUAL

Ask yourself why you want to become an artist and give yourself and others a convincing answer – one you truly believe in.

-Be aware that form and content need not be mutually exclusive. In fact, they should ideally co-exist.
-If you copy, acknowledge your sources.
-When stealing from other artists, make sure your work is better than theirs. If not, don’t do it.
-Read, but be sparing when using text. People go to exhibitions to see art, not read dissertations.
-Be wary of one-liners and slogans unless they are very, very intelligent.
-If you are into ‘politically’ or ‘socially’ engaged work, ask yourself what this engagement actually consists of and why; make sure your motivation springs from genuine political conviction; know the difference between presentation and representation; be aware of your own privilege and bias.
-If you want to make a real contribution towards political or social change, join a party or an NGO.
-Always remember what it means to be a visual artist.
-Always carry a notepad and a pencil with you. You will not remember that brilliant idea.
-If you have a brilliant idea, sleep a night over it. See if it sounds as brilliant the next morning.
-If you want to make something ‘interactive’, make sure that it’s not the kind of ‘interactivity’ that you wouldn’t want imposed on you.
-Never apply for a commission that you don’t find inspiring. If you get it, you’ll for sure screw it up.
-If you have a talent for big scale, practice it. If not, don’t.
-Stay away from mirrors.
-Know your materials.
-If you paint, don’t neglect the medium’s great heritage. Identify your darlings before you kill them.
-When taking digital photographs, pretend you are working with an analogue roll. Think twice about that image before shooting.
-If you are making a narrative video, make sure to get a good voice-over. There is nothing more annoying than subjecting the viewer to monotonous mumbling.
-If you are making a documentary video, get a good editor.
-Does your video really need to be 60 minutes? Economise on time, unless you intend to make a feature film.
-Do you really think you have to make a video? If yes, be aware that it starts without a camera.
-Don’t try to be original. If you are, it will show; If you’re not, ditto.
-Are you sure those high production costs are really necessary? Think economically.
-Understand there is a difference between mere representation or replication of reality and artistic filtering, interpretation, translation, and transformation. The latter should be your business.
-Signature is not everything, but it does help to have your own language.
-Stay away from commissions in public space unless you really have some damn good ideas and the stomach for it.
-Experiment, but don’t hide the failures that might transpire as a result. Discuss them and learn from your mistakes.
-Remember, not everyone has to be a conceptual artist.
-If you suffer from a chronic lack of ideas, ask yourself: “Am I still in the right business?”

-Don’t accept sloppiness and cutting corners when the presentation of your work is concerned. Anywhere. But be reasonable when working with institutions or spaces whose resources are not unlimited. Be ready to negotiate.
-Don’t accept to show work in substandard spatial conditions.
-Don’t cut corners in the presentation of time-based media.
-Remember to respect other artists’ space in group exhibitions.
-Learn to say no when the conditions are not right. You will not miss the train, but you will keep your artistic self-respect.

-Talk to other artists, share ideas.
-Manifest your work also online, in whatever way. Website, Vimeo, YouTube, Instagram, but maybe not Facebook.
-Publish your work on a website, but avoid giving it too much time. Keep it updated. That bio from ten years ago needs to change.
-Don’t send huge files by email; don’t send proposals and work-related material by WhatsApp.
-Networking will only get you so far. The rest should be done by your work.
-When presenting your work in public, talk about what you do and not about what Rancière, Badiou, Agamben, Haraway, et al. say.
-If no art magazine is paying attention to your work, start one yourself.
-If your work is not getting the attention you want, join up with other friends and artists. Start your own initiative.

-Keep an archive and documentation of all your works.
-Your portfolio should always be up to date, complete, and organised.
-Keep track of all the exhibitions you have taken part in, and always document them.
-Keep all catalogues and publications of your exhibitions.
-Keep an ordered list of texts and reviews about your work.
-Keep people who show an interest in your work always informed about what you are doing, but without being pushy.

-Don’t run after star curators. They will not have time to invest in you. If they are interested, they will come to you.
-Do not hound curators and be pushy about your work. Be discreet. If they are interested, you will know.
-Don’t send unsolicited material. Ask first.
-Do not send proposals to organisations and institutions unless they have publicly announced that they are accepting proposals. Keep in mind that their program is likely already set for many months or even years.
-Also, remember that organisations and institutions receive dozens of proposals every day, and there is nothing more dismissive of your work than for it to become part of yet another list of emails that need to be answered.
-Choose to work with curators who are curious about or genuinely interested in your work, able to give you time and good advice.
-Only go out with a portfolio under your arm when requested to.
-Don’t be afraid to ask for advice from curators. Many have a very good eye.
-When you do get it, think about it and discuss it with them before applying it.
-Don’t think curators are all self-serving careerists. Some are actually genuinely interested in art and artists.

-If you have a gallery, make sure they are giving you something back in return for the 50% they are taking from you.
-If producing new work for a show, make sure there is a clear agreement as to who is paying for what.
-Not all galleries have the capacity to pay for production, but they should be able to help to the best of their capabilities. Ask for support even if you may not get it.
-Calculate the costs of production in the selling price.
-It’s the job of your gallerist to keep collectors abreast of what you are doing, not yours. It’s the job of your gallerist to publicise your work, not yours.
-It’s the job of your gallerist to get you exhibitions, not yours. If you don’t have a gallerist, that job becomes yours. Get organised.
-What should they be doing for their 50%? Regular presentations of your work, including opening costs, invitations, advertisements, contacts with collectors, museums, curators, press, crating, transport and insurance of your work, storage.
-Keep a close and regular contact with your gallery. Make sure they are still thinking of you. If not, it’s maybe time to migrate elsewhere.
-Never sign a standard contract with a gallery. There should always be space for negotiation.
-Never pay a gallery for doing things they should be doing.
-Always make sure the gallery regularly informs you which works you have sold, when, to whom, and for what money.
-Make sure your work is not concentrated in the hands of one or two collectors.
-Discuss your work with your gallerist, make sure he or she is able to support it and is not talking thin air.
-In the end, you might not need or want a gallery. You can represent yourself if you like and if you are smart enough.
-Be ready to argue with your gallerist for your rights. Don’t be too polite if you feel neglected.
-Avoid making ‘art fair art’.
-Avoid being present at art fairs. It’s not a place for artists.

-It is not that important to be in a museum collection. Your time will come.
-Do not donate your work unless the museum has actually done something for you in the first place.
-If a museum does actually buy your work, then you can think of donating something as a sign of appreciation.
-Museums – especially public ones – are the best and safest places for your work in the long term; that is why all artists and galleries give them a very good discount.
-Try to interest museum curators in your work. A temporary museum show gives you more exposure than being in the collection.
-Being early in a museum collection looks like a good start. It could be an early finish.
-A museum for old art is a better source of inspiration than a contemporary one.
-If you’re stuck, it is always a good thing to go out and visit a museum of any kind.

-Always apply for grants, residencies, and commissions if you recognise yourself in the conditions.
-Unless otherwise advised, avoid long texts when writing dossiers for residencies. Jury members do not have the time to read them. Be short, clear, and concise.
-Make sure the images in your dossier have a precise description.
-Avoid wordiness.
-If you cannot write clearly, get someone who can.
-If you are fortunate enough to get a residency, make the most of it.
-Don’t sit around doing nothing for a year, and start working just before the open studios. It will show.

-If you do not have commercial representation and are making work that is not object-based and thus more easily sellable, make sure to ask for a fee and insist on it if you are invited by an institution or gallery. The designer, printer, art handler, AV company, etc., never works for free. Why should you?
-If you have no gallery, no dealer, no agency, no grant, no collector, think of other ways of making money.
-Sell your practical skills. Assist other artists. Teach. Get a job, if you have to.
-As soon as you make some money, get a bookkeeper and tax adviser. It will pay you back.
-Exchange work with other artists you admire. In the future, this might be valuable.

-Know your art history. Before you think you invented the wheel, make sure that no one else did before you.
-Be curious. Visit galleries, museums, exhibitions. There is too much going on for you to be ignorant.
-Talk to other artists, share ideas.
-Do not read philosophers you do not understand. If you don’t understand philosophy altogether, stay away from it.
-Read poetry.
-Don’t pretend to know artists that you don’t.
-Don’t theorise too much about your work. Let that be the task of others.
-Know where your work stands in relation to art history and current practices.
-Don’t be amnesiac. Revisit the past, then discard it if necessary.
-Ask yourself what makes your work contemporary and why it is relevant now.

-Avoid business cards. You are an artist, not a banker or a lawyer.
-When setting up an exhibition, don’t behave like a spoiled child. Many people around you are working towards your benefit.
-If you have any, don’t treat your assistants like shit.
-Don’t start your sentences with, “The other day, when I was with Larry/ Hans Ulrich/ Massimiliano…”; avoid name-dropping. It sounds ridiculous.
-Don’t trash hotel rooms. Leave that to the rock stars.
-Be aware that ‘bad boy’ and ‘bad girl’ tactics have a sell-by date. Focus on your work rather than your public image, unless you are a performance artist.
-Be modest. What goes up can come down.

-Do not be afraid of beauty, poetry, humour. The first two are a sign of imagination. The latter is a sign of intelligence. There should be more of them in contemporary art.
-There’s nothing wrong with fantasy and imagination. It’s great when you have it. Even better when you use it.
-A light touch need not be superficial.
-‘Aesthetic’ is not a dirty word.

-Inspiration only comes while working. If you wait for it, it will never come.
-The more you work, the more ideas you will get.
-Try not to follow trends. Be yourself. Question what you see around you.
-Don’t forget those who have helped you if/when you become successful.
-Be generous. Particularly with other artists.
-Don’t take yourself too seriously. You are not solving the financial crisis nor the Palestinian question, but do take your work seriously.
-If things seem slow, don’t wait around for some invisible hand to come and pick you up. Get organised.
-Be aware that being an artist is not easy. There will be many downs, and perhaps some ups, if you work hard and are convinced yourself by what you are doing.
-Don’t complain about your fate as an artist, not even when things are not going well. It’s your own choice.
-Of course, you can drink, fuck, and party. But do realise it needs more to be an artist.
-Remember to always work as hard as you play.
-Be politically incorrect, but don’t try to shock for shock’s sake.
-If you feel annoyed in your studio, get out and annoy the others.
-The more known you get, the less time you will have to develop.
-Your most deep desire is the engine for your work.
-Enjoy what you do; it will turn out better.

-Do you still know why you wanted to become an artist? Remember what made you decide to be one.
-Make sure it is still the right reason.
-If not, it is never too late to stop being an artist.
-No matter what, always remember: it’s your work that counts.
-Stick to your guns.