By Danielle Braff
Special to Inside
Michael Bonfiglio spent weeks painting his jacket, briefcase and shoes with bright polka-dots in a desperate attempt to get noticed in Chicago, a city with too many artists and too few galleries.
Bonfiglio stood in a crowd of 75 artists, all with the same goal: to see and be seen, gathered in the Loop for the kick-off of Chicago Artists' Month, a month-long promotion of Chicago-area artwork by the Chicago Cultural Center.
"We want to raise the visibility of the Chicago artists," said Karen Ryan, marketing associate for the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, and one of the people in charge of the Artists' month. "We have such a vibrant art community—we need to make people aware of what great artists are living and working in Chicago."
One of the goals is to publicize and celebrate the artwork of Chicago-area visual artists through more than 120 gallery exhibits, workshops and demonstrations in October.
As artists and gallery owners frantically mingled, handing out flyers and business cards to one another in an attempt to be noticed in the fierce art world, Bonfiglio was the only one visible enough with his colorful, hand-painted outfit, to succeed in getting noticed by the other artists and gallery owners.
"I don't have the money for advertisements, so coming to a luncheon with my painted bag and shoes gets me some publicity," Bonfiglio said, adding that he will custom paint anyone's clothing, and would be happy to design a line for Target. "What gives an artist power is when people can associate something with the name."
While the other artists and gallery owners didn't come dressed in self-promotion, it was clear that most people attending the Chicago Artists' kickoff wanted to get noticed as an artist at a time when most museums would rather exhibit works that attract the most visitors.
"Business is business," Bonfiglio said, accepting that galleries are not going to exhibit his work if they don't think the work will help sales. "The owner has the right to do whatever is in the best interest of the gallery."
And the best interest for some galleries is the artwork that people have heard of and will travel to see.
The Art Institute attracts the masses with its extensive collection of the masters of the art world: Monet, Degas and Renoir are just some of the well-known artists who comprise the permanent gallery. Although tourists flock to Chicago to see the famed Art Institute, Chicago-area artists are not their focus, said John Hindman, associate director of public affairs. Hindman said the Art Institute does not choose artists by location.
On the other end of the Magnificent Mile, the Museum of Contemporary Art makes a concerted effort to highlight local artists through its monthly "12 X 12 New Artists/New Work," a series of one-person exhibitions by emerging Chicago artists.
"We actively collect artists in Chicago—any time we have a group exhibition, we make a point of trying to see if there are Chicago artists to fit in," said Staci Borris, associate curator at the MCA.
However, even those museums that do make the effort to exhibit area artists stress that competition to get into the galleries is fierce.
The Museum of Contemporary Photography on Michigan Avenue has a rotating gallery reserved for the work of Midwestern photographers. An average of about 10 photographers each month submit work to be exhibited, and the curators will choose one photographer every other month to have their work shown in the temporary gallery, said Natasha Egan, associate director of the museum.
Despite their best efforts, "there are so many great Midwest artists that don't have the opportunity to be shown," Egan said.
Artists have realized that they can't depend on the major museums to feature their work, and that's why they are embracing alternative means of publicity, such as attending events by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, a Chicago institution that is trying hard to get Chicago-area artists noticed.
Last year, Marva Lee Pitchford Jolly of Hyde Park received publicity as a result of being a sculptor featured in the Cultural Affairs' annual Artists' Month.
"Once collectors see that you've been written up, it affects your sales," Jolly said. "And it increased my own confidence—I like to be affirmed and recognized." |
