- one of the problems I face as a sculptor in stone is that while most people have an understanding of the process of painting few have the same of stone carving. Their understanding rarely goes beyond the Michelangelo accredited cliche of ‘finding the form within the block’ and ‘what happens if you knock the wrong bit off?’ or “you must be very patient’ (Im not patient – a good stonemason isn’t necessarily patient but is highly trained – you have to work fast to make a living!).
- this makes it hard to price one’s sculpture, find a gallery that understands stone sculpture, at least a little ( i have had work damaged by mishandling and even by wet paint), or find a market.
- I am lucky in that I have a teaching position that enables me to make sculpture. I have decided to focus on building a body of work that expresses the things I need to express. Uncompromising but I have spent 20 years acquiring the skills I need to do so by working as a restoration mason and carver.
- would I like to live by selling my sculpture? its not a straightforward thing. Right now I am working with tools and equipment rarely available directly to sculptors in stone. In order to make the work I want to make right now I need access to a big table saw. I am trained how to use it. Without it I would have to show my designs to others and get them to do the primary cutting. But the thrill of doing it myself, basically directly drawing in the stone in 3d and seeing whether or not it is a success or a failure, is a huge part of what I do and why I do it. If I ‘succeeded’ as an artist ie gave up the day job – I would have to do so to the extent of buying my own table saw. £80k. And hiring a space to use it. etc. Also the tension created by balancing life, job, family, money and sculpture is part of the dynamic.
- Would I like to sell more? Money is always welcome of course. Recognition of my work as a thing of monetary value? All good for ones ego and self esteem! But the most pleasure I can get outside of making the work is seeing it all together as a BODY OF WORK as it is intended to be and offering it to the public, with or without my guide notes, for them to have their own experience of it. (And if one sells in a gallery then the percentage cut paid to the gallery that took a chance on showing my work comes as a great relief!)
- just listened to
The New Curators: Who Decides What’s Culturally Important?
On BBC Radio 4.
- when we first discussed the curator in class I came at this with considerable prejudice which has dissipated since hearing the cohorts input. My feelings towards what i saw as an artificial layer of self-invented non-artists were of suspicion and irritation. Yet another Management Class between the worker artist and the consumer public that is not needed and in fact is a barrier to real communication. Like Gallery owners and Auction Houses commodifying creativity: not art lovers or even art understanders but niche marketeers playing percentages etc etc.
- I now realise that as with everything there is a spectrum of curation ranging from enabling to controlling. Helpful.
JON WHITBREAD ART 