Social media’s effect on galleries, artists and art
AN art gallery is an essential space for exhibiting visual art. In Western cultures, galleries have evolved from narrow covered passages along walls and have become a primary platform for artists to showcase their work. Initially, art was displayed as a sign of status and wealth or for religious purposes. The first galleries were situated in the palaces of aristocrats or in churches. As art collections grew, buildings were explicitly dedicated to the exhibition of art, becoming the first art museums.
In contemporary times, galleries play a critical role in supporting and promoting visual artists and exposing their work to the public, collectors, media and cultural institutions. Galleries offer a platform for emerging artists to showcase their work and gain recognition within the art world. This support can lead to increased success and exposure for the artist, translating into better financial rewards and opportunities.
Art Galleries today is a big business. The local art scene is dominated by big galleries that attract wellknown artists, while new and struggling artists aspire to be included in their list of artists. However, there are issues with some of these art galleries that are rarely discussed, as artists fear being kicked out. This has long been a problem and artists suffer in silence.
What’s the problem? Gallery owners issue postdated cheques for up to six months or even years. Artists need help to cash these cheques and sometimes resort to loan sharks for help, losing up to 30 percent of the cheque amount. It’s a pity. It’s been a wrong practice ever since. Artists buy art materials in cash; they buy food, send their kids to school, and many more. They need money; why do you give them postdated cheques and lose 30 percent of their hard-earned money? Worst, these galleries pretend to make the art exhibit of a solo artist a sold-out show; the truth is, they buy this wholesale with a price of only 20 to 30 percent of the actual value, after which they will give the poor artist a three-month allowance deductible to the gross amount of his or her artworks. This practice is disgusting, yet artists cannot do anything.
Because of the problem mentioned above, many artists are grateful for the emergence of social media. These affected both parties: the galleries and the artists themselves.
Art galleries can no longer dictate the price of a particular artist; it is so because the artists already have another option, which is posting on social media — Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, among others — and negotiating directly with the buyers. In this case, the artist can get his artist’s price and sell it faster than the supposed gallery.
On the other hand, the gallery could also post the exact artist’s work. However, they are already affected by the self-promotion of the artist. Social media, therefore, is a big help for artists as they can sell their works quickly without needing the influence of big galleries.
However, there are times that the big galleries manipulate these social media — posting sold-out shows, making the artist a more prominent name even if the truth is that it is a wholesale art piece by the gallery itself. In this setup, the gallery has a black-and-white agreement with the artist, making the latter beg at the mercy of the big gallery — they can make him or break him, depending on the relationship.
Another positive and negative effect of social media is that the real artists themselves are affected by the hobbyists. Sometimes, the hobbyist demands a higher price than the actual artists. The poor real artist would do his detailed artwork in three weeks or even months and sell it for P150,000. A hobbyist who saw a YouTube video and learned the process of pouring art would buy a prepared canvas, pour his liquid acrylic, and, with the help of a hair dryer, he or she would experiment with the mixture, and after a few minutes, a well-celled abstract would emerge, could be sold at the same price but was done in 30 minutes only, see the difference?
In addition, social media became a fair playing field for the big players and the neophytes. Astute art enthusiasts and discriminating buyers now rely on social media and casually look for wall art that matches their living rooms. Only the art collectors look for the big names, and the buyers who rely on aesthetics would go to social media. So, everyone is affected by the phenomenon and will continue to do so as high technology advances every minute of the day.
AI is just around the corner, and dear God, is it getting worse? Is it a blessing or a curse?