Bruno Bischofberger's Non-Sequiter Approach to Marketing

Ever since I became acquainted with Artforum magazine, I've wondered why the Galerie Bruno Bischofberger always shows these bucolic photographs of alpine scenery, which includes cows, nuns, villagers in funny hats and farmers milking their cows on the back cover of the magazine. The photographs are rural and extremely odd.  What are these cows doing on the back cover of Artforum and why is he doing this?

Bischofberger knows what he is doing. A Swiss art dealer and gallerist, he started with collecting Appenzeller Folk Art, wrote a PhD thesis on it, and has been a major figure in the international art market for decades. He was the first to bring Pop-art to Europe; first to purchase whole series of Warhols and Lichtensteins at once, and first to deal in art on a large scale. He initiated the collaboration between Warhol, Clemente and Basquiat, and the list of his accomplishments goes on.

Back to these advertisements. There has to be some logic there somewhere.  Wikipedia defines Visual Marketing as "the relationship between an object, the context it is placed in and its relevant image".  The Bischofberger ads show strange, non sequiter (Latin for "it does not follow") images to engage and create mystery. The Surrealists did likewise. These images of Switzerland conform to our stereotype of that country, but there is a collision of meaning here: what is being shown in the advertisement (cows) and what is actually being represented (internationally renowned art) are two different things. This technique piques our interest and obscures the meaning at the same time, thereby rendering abstract what is in fact an extremely precise system of marketing of value and information exchange, of public relations, art and commerce.

The take home message for me is if its good enough for Bischofberger, maybe I should try a bit of non-sequiter in my own art, by engaging the viewer more in questioning what I paint and draw, tantalize them, keep them ever so slightly guessing, “Why did she do that?”

Baselitz Doesn't Stack Up (Paints Mostly Upside Down)

Back in February 2013, Georg Baselitz claimed that women lack the basic character to become great painters, because we don't "pass the market test, the value test”, adding: “As always, the market is right.” With this dismissive comment, centuries of female artists were wiped away with a stroke. His comments sparked a backlash then, and recently his comments surfaced again on Facebook, with the same result. Women were outraged (me included) and a few men chimed in their support (thank you men!).

The arguments on whether men are better than women, or women are better than men at doing XYZ, are really boring, don't advance dialogue and understanding, and at worse, result in vitriolic responses (me included). The truth is, most men do not paint well and most women do not either. According to Griselda Pollock, if a man paints brilliantly, it's because of their individuality, not their masculinity. Sarah Thornton adds, “The market gets it wrong all the time. To see the market as a mark of quality is going down a delusional path. I’m shocked Baselitz does. His work doesn't go for so much.” 

How much would a "Baselitz" set you back by? The record for a work by Baselitz was £3.2m in 2011 for his work Spekulatius. When Georgia O'Keeffe's painting Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 (1932) sold at Sotheby's on November 20 for $44.4 million, tripling its high estimate of $15 million, it became the most expensive painting by a female artist sold at auction. The record was previously held by Joan Mitchell, for Untitled, which sold for $11.9 million, and was set earlier this year at Christie's New York in May 2014 (see "O'Keeffe Painting Sells for $44 Million at Sotheby's, Sets Record for Work by Female Artist.")

The sales of the Mitchell and O'Keeffe paintings were among several notable sales this year of work by female artists, including Cindy Sherman, Yayoi Kusama, and Barbara Hepworth. ArtNet recently had a piece on living artists (see "Who Are the Top 10 Most Expensive Living Women Artists?"), with all the recent movement among female artists at the auctions, whether living or dead, here are their top 11 female artists (and all of them with more than double or greater value than Mr Baselitz').

1. Georgia O'Keeffe

Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 (1932) sold at Sotheby's New York on November 20, 2014, for $44,405,000.

2. Joan Mitchell

Untitled (1960) sold at Christie's New York on May 13, 2014,  for $11,925,000.

3. Berthe Morisot

Après le déjeuner (1881) sold at Christie's London on February 6, 2013, for $10,933,245.

4. Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova

Les fleurs (1912) sold at Christie's London on June 24, 2008, for $10,860,833.

5. Louise Bourgeois

Spider (1996) sold at Christie's New York on November 8, 2011, for $10,722,500.

6. Tamara de Lempicka

Le rêve (Rafaëla sur fond vert) (1927) sold at Sotheby's New York on November 2, 2011, for $8,482,500.

7. Camille Claudel

La valse, permière version (1892, printing/casting 1893) sold at Sotheby's London on June 19, 2013, for $8,018,941.

8. Yayoi Kusama

White No. 28 (1960) sold at Christie's New York on November 12, 2014, for $7,109,000.

9. Barbara Hepworth

Figure for Landscape (1960) sold at Christie's London on June 25, 2014, for $7,083,050.

10. Kay Sage

Le passage (1956) sold at Sotheby's London on February 5, 2014, for $7,074,026.

11. Cindy Sherman

Untitled Film Stills (1977) sold at Christie's New York on November 12, 2014, for $6,773,000.

So next time someone states something just plain stupid, don't reply.  Check the facts, and thus armed, post them for all to see! 

Catch Up - And Plans for the Future

I have been reminded today how little I update my blog. Seems that lectures, writings (theory class), paintings, drawings and prints, oh! and gallery visits, leave little time for eating and sleeping, etc.  As the semester at UBC finished on December 5, I have had some time for housekeeping - literally - and striking some 'must do's' off my list.

For starters, I have updated my website (www.jannakumi.com) with some new work, and more to come.  Also entered two drawings in the FASO December competition (http://faso.com/boldbrush/painting/78229). Those were completed for the drawing class this semester.  This August I was accepted into the Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA) and I have entered two works, a coloured pencil on paper and an acrylic on canvas, which will be shown at the Federation's Granville Island Gallery from January 7 - 18th.  I will enter two more drawings into the FCA juried 'Works on Paper' which will run the last two weeks in January. In case you want to look me up, I am now also on Saatchi Art on line (http://www.saatchiart.com/jannakumi). Finally, I recently sold two drawings in the North Shore Artist's Guild Annual Fine Art Sale last week, so that was nice.

Plans for the upcoming months and into the future two years are to, first, graduate in April with that BFA I started in 2009.  Since retiring two years ago, I've really packed those credits on and now have the required number to graduate.  Might even attend the ceremony, cap and gown included.  Second, to establish my art practice in earnest by entering as many FCA shows and FASO competitions as possible.  I find that a heavy schedule of shows is a great motivator to produce. And that last one is third on my list: Produce a body of work that is either good enough for a solo gallery show or that I can pick and choose from for group shows. Oh! and fourth, post on this blog more.

Beside working in my studio, I've been thinking of what's next academically.  I've found university so stimulating, that the thought of going 'cold turkey' gives me the shivers.  So, I am seriously thinking of taking a postgraduate degree in Art History, one course per semester, and that should leave plenty of time to paint, draw, walk the dogs, and enjoy life.  That's what it is all about, right?

In case I don't get to this blog by Christmas and New Year's - have a joyful time with family and friends. Best wishes for the New Year everyone.