altered artist

The Rights of a Photographer

One of the things always being discussed around the fine art and photography community, is what photographers can and cannot photograph. Here's a scenario: You are out strolling around, photographing interesting stuff. You come across a terrific landscape that has a complete stranger in it. Without that person's silhouette in the composition, you have no terrific photo. What do you do? Go ahead and take the picture? And if you do, do you need the person's permission order to print or sell the photograph?

I've always thought not and in asking around, I've found that ideas and opinions about this vary greatly. So off I went in search of some conclusive answers for myself. In fact, there are, surprisingly, very few restrictions on what and who can be photographed in the public view.

At this point though, I need to make you perfectly aware that although I'm devastatingly savvy, awesomely bright, and a talented writer, I'm not not a lawyer and none of this is legal advice.

A lot of this information was gleaned from attorney Bert P. Krages website, which was chockfull of terrific and useful information about copyright, photography and art law and bunches of other useful stuff. There's even a downloadable PDF called the Photographers Right that covers quick access to your rights and obligations concerning confrontations over photography all in a handy-dandy flyer. So remember! If you have a legal issue, get in touch with a lawyer.

So What Are My Rights & What's Expected of Me?

I. Anyone in a public place can take pictures of anything they want. Public places include parks, sidewalks, malls, etc. Malls? Yup. Even though they're technically private property, being open to the public makes them public space.

II. If you are on public property, you can take pictures of private property. If you can see a building from the sidewalk, it's fair game.

III. If you are on private property and are asked not to take pictures either by staff, other authorized personnel or posted signs, you are obligated to honor that request.

IV. Sensitive government buildings (military bases, nuclear facilities) can and do prohibit photography if it is deemed a threat to national security.

V. People can be photographed if they are in public (without their consent) unless they have secluded themselves and can therefore expect a reasonable degree of privacy. People swimming at the local community pool? Sure. Somebody changing into their suit in the locker room? Not okay.

VI. Any or all of following can almost always be photographed from public places, despite popular opinion:

• bridges & other infrastructure, transportation facilities (i.e. airports)
• industrial facilities, Superfund sites
• public utilities, residential & commercial buildings
• accident & fire scenes, criminal activities
• children, celebrities, law enforcement officers
• UFOs, the Loch Ness Monster, Sasquatch

VIII. If you are challenged or confronted, you don't have to disclose your identity (except in some cases when a law enforcement officer asks) and you don't have to explain why you are taking pictures.

IX. Private parties have very limited rights to detain you against your will, and can be subject to legal action if they hassle you.

X. If someone attempts to confiscate your camera and/or film, you don't have to turn it over it to them. If they take it by force or threaten you, they can be liable for things like assault, theft and coercion. Remember even law enforcement needs a court order.

What Happens If They Get In My Face?

•  Be respectful and polite. Use good judgement and don't escalate the situation.
•  If the person becomes combative, ugly or difficult, dial 911.
•  Threats, detention, and snatching your camera are all grounds for legal or civil actions on your part. Remember to get the person's name, rank and number as well their employer, and what legal grounds they they think they have that justifies their actions.
•  Go above the person's head and speak with their supervisor or their company's public relations department.
• Call local TV and radio stations and see if they want to do a story about your civil liberties.
• Publish the story on the web yourself if you find it necessary.

Web Resources

• These facts are a kind of condensed version. I'd suggest downloading The Photographer's Right and keeping a couple of copies in your camera bag- just in case.
• Andrew Kantor, tech columnist for USA Today and former editor of PC magazine and Internet World World, has written a good PDF summary of your rights, including some of the ins-and-outs of publishing your pictures.
• The Reporter's Committee for the Freedom of Press website has published The Photographer's Right to Privacy which covers what anyone behind a lens should know about invasion of privacy standards in the US.
•  The Legal Handbook for Photographers by Bert Krages looks like a great resource covering all aspects of photography and the law.
•  If you live outside of the U.S. or will be photographing in any of these places, try these links for photographer's rights in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

Quick Tips For Submitting Your Work To Galleries

It’s difficult to find artistic representation when you are a new or emerging artist. Finding a gallery that you like is only half of the battle. Reputable contemporary art galleries receive scores of unsolicited submissions and most of them languish unopened in drawers or, even worse, end up in the trash. Only a fraction of unsolicited submissions will result in gallery representation. However, here are some steps you can take to keep your carefully crafted artist’s package away from the paper shredder.

1. Select approximately 10 pieces that you think are representative of your work. Hire a professional photographer to shoot slides. It’s important that you have both slide and digital versions of the images. Some galleries do everything on their computer and prefer for artists to submit via e-mail. However, you’d be surprised how many successful contemporary art galleries are trapped in the technological stone age.

2. Update or write your artist resume and artist statement. Avoid flowery prose in your artist statement. It’s best to keep things short and sweet. The statement should be a summary of your creative process and thoughts about the body of work you are submitting. It should not exceed two paragraphs. Be careful not to over explain. Leave some room for the viewer, or in this case the gallery director, to create their own relationship with your work.

3. Consult your local gallery guide and visit local galleries. Find interesting exhibitions and galleries that exhibit work similar to yours. . Jot down the names of galleries that impress you. Make sure they are venues that suits your work. Be sure to ask if the gallery accepts unsolicited artist’s materials. Be sure to ask whether they prefer digital or hard copy submissions.

4. Contact any of the galleries that you did not query in person via e-mail or phone. Check their websites out on the web and look for their exhibition calendars, calls for entries and submission policies.  Often galleries accept unsolicited  submissions for a period of time each year. E-mail  the gallery directly or if you call speak to the person who answers the phone. They should be able to answer your questions  and are qualified to give you the information you need regarding unsolicited artist materials.

5. Put your disc of images or slides, artist statement, resume, and copies of any press clippings in an attractive folder, along with a business card and a cover letter. Be sure to include a self addressed stamp envelope. If the gallery doesn't accept your submission, at least you will be able to reuse the artist packet.

6. Know that if the gallery likes your work and wants to represent you, they will most likely call you. However, it doesn’t hurt to follow up. Allow six weeks to pass and then call or email to inquire after your submission.

Start My Own Business?*

No one has to tell me I have creative work many people envy. I set my own hours, I can move with my creative flow, choose what projects I work on every day and have a great deal more independence and flexibility than I would ever have if I had a typical nine-to-five job.

So when people tell me they could never possibly do what I do, I often I wonder why. I’m told it’s too scary, too hard, too expensive—or they could never pay the bills let, alone turn a profit from being self-employed. I understand their concerns. We all need to pay the bills, have health insurance, and keep food on the table.

But getting to where I am didn’t come easy and I am still not where I want to be. There were barriers for me, too. I had to reinvent myself and focus on what I could do instead of what I couldn’t.

This makes me believe that the difference between those who pursue a creative career and those who don’t seems to lie mostly in attitude and anyone can break through a fear of starting a business by remaining open to the wisdom and advice of others who have done it.

Certainly not having enough money is a valid enough reason for not quitting a day job and not one many people would argue. But no one says you should abandon your cubicle and paint the next Warhol or write the next great American novel. Often the secret to taking a creative plunge is in what SARK calls, MicroMOVEments:

Here are some of my own microMOVEments for fledgling creatives who think doing creative work they love is nothing more than empty, wishful thinking:

Listen to your heart. Do you want to write full-time? Do you want to build websites or blog for extra money? Do you want to stay at home with the kids and write? Doing what you love doesn’t necessarily mean you have to do it full-time. Assess your skills and talents and consider taking a few courses at your local art center or community college to brush up if you want or need to.

Create a support community. Creating a community of supportive friends and family is important, especially when you are embarking on a new path. I’m not talking about a group of “yes-people” but surround yourself with people who genuinely care about you and can be honest with you, even when you might not like it. If you can find a mentor who can show you the ropes and share insight with you as you are starting out so much the better.

Know your industry. Creating a business is different from weekend painting or creative writing at night after you tuck your kids in bed. It’s a good idea to build a solid foundation—and a creative career often means starting a small business. If you are a writer, do you want to go into copywriting, editing, or essay and short-story writing? If you are an artist, are you interested in painting, sculpting, ceramics or textiles? Decide on your focus and study it. Research the Internet and read about latest trends and what other people are doing in your area of expertise. Join local and online discussion group, or volunteer at a local art center to learn more about your industry community.

Don’t quit your day job if you have one. You can build a fruitful career in a creative field while you are still doing the nine-to-five thing. Start small but think big. Create a solid, but personable clientele and you’ll still have steady income and while you are working toward your goal.

Get out. Don’t rely on a few clients or word of mouth—constantly market yourself. Be prepared, especially in corporate markets, to meet with clients face to face. Network and connect with others outside your social sphere. Build a website and/or a blog and market your business like any other. Make use of social media like Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed and Social Median to connect to others in your industry around the world and learn about what is new, exciting and profitable. Work will not come to you in the beginning. You have to create it.

Good businesses take time to build—as in years. Don’t look to get top dollar right away but you can earn a good second income and eventually a living. Build a strong base by knowing your industry, practicing your craft, keeping your mind open to new things and fresh perspectives. Remember start small, think big.

Life is wide, grab a swizzle stick.

 

* Orginally posted on Active Gray Matter Blog.

Defining Creativity

We often believe one of the biggest challenges to creating is time. Often I still hear that voice in my head say, "There's no time for THAT because you must do THIS". Even more often, I still listen to it and do what it says thus losing another inspired moment to create. I convince myself there is not time for all the things in my life that are important, that the email won't wait, that the answering machine can't pick up my phone calls, that I don't have enough time. Oddly enough though, of all the things in life we may not have, time is not one of them. We always have time. In fact, it's all we really have but we convince ourselves that we have too little of it to do what we love, to create, to inspire, to live.

For many years, I held my writing close and hid both my interest and my art from others. I was certain I didn't have the time to be "good enough" and even if I had the time to devote to it, no one would enjoy what I created. I complained of having no time, yet spent what time I did have doing things I really didn't want to be doing with people I didn't really want to be with. I remained so weighed down and stressed about relatively unimportant events, creating rarely entered my mind. The voice, the pull, the calling was almost always drowned out by the din of day-to-day life. When it came to making time for creativity, whether it was writing or making art, that stuff that was fun, imaginative, healing, life-affirming, nourishing and mood- lifting, I was usually hard pressed to make the time and justified my choices with a myriad of excuses. Sometimes, I wonder if I would forgotten the call completely had I not been injured and forced to change my life.

When I see the world outside myself, outside the little artistic microcosm I have created for myself, time is a synonym for money and it's use is measured by profitability. People often spend years in school getting degrees and diplomas, not to learn but just so they can make more money. The world sees art, our work the same way. If it makes money, it's considered time well spent. If it fails to make money, it is wasted time. Many define themselves by what they do to pay the bills when what we do rarely has anything to do with who we are until we are listening to calling in our hearts, the hugging on the heart, or in the work that has little to do with money.

My concept of time has evolved and changed over the last few years as a result having a spinal cord injury and being forced to change my life. I've learned that whatever time it takes to create, is never, can never be a waste. When we arrive at our work with the intention and knowledge of creating something that only we can make, something that reflects who we are and what we have experienced, then we are participating in creative activity that is worthy and deserving of whatever time it takes.

Making time for our art, our creative time, regardless of our medium, is often like making time for meditation or prayer. For some it is meditation and prayer. Creating is a holistic act that involves all parts of us as well as the known and the unknown, the seen and unseen. Creating can be healing as we build something whole out of the pieces of our lives, seeing how each piece matters, understanding where they fit, and seeing them more clearly. Making time for creativity can be a break from the confusion of the surface to the stillness of the center.

We don't need to have our art installed in museums or galleries or posses the praise of critics to be artists. It's not imperative that we earn a living from our art, that we are published or even that the famous own one of our works to be artists. To be artists, to live creatively, we need only to breathe deeply, taste the colors of the mountains and the sky, to know the wind, feel the bark of an old oak, the smell of a storm, the sound of swamp grass bent in the breeze. To be artists, we need only live with our eyes wide open, to take in every detail, rub life all over and jump when we reach the edge of a plateau. To be an artist is to notice gorgeous moment, bear witness to the small miracles and messy mishaps, to feel freely and collect these events, shaping them into forms and images and words others can share.

Creativity is being productive and alive with every moment instead of whining about not having the time. Our creativity isn't about waiting for others to define who we are, but defining ourselves, claiming our own lives and creating for ourselves, for love, not money. Being an artist is about becoming familiar with creativity's mojo and how it works: we hear a voice, feel a pull and begin the work.

We create, often not knowing where it will lead us. Clues arrive and then they don't and still we continue until one day the piece is complete and we know it is ours alone. So we bow our heads or life our faces to the sky and give thanks. This is what it is to be an artist. a creative spirit.

Towns and cities are stuffed full sculptors, painters, composers and writers who wait tables, check groceries, answer phones, and drive taxicabs to pay the bills. Very few of us are paid much for our creative work and passions, so it gets squeezed into the in-between hours. Our books get written in between loads of loads of laundry, soccer practices and homework. Our short stories are written in waiting rooms, parking lots and at bus stops. We paint in our studios through the night and work in our darkrooms in the wee hours of the morning. It's hard to think of ourselves as artists under these circumstances, but we are. It is our creative work that carries us to life, feeds our spirits, nourishes our souls and sees us through the darkness. We often feel alone but we are not alone. There are literally hundreds upon thousands of us trading stolen moments and sleep for the serenity of creating.

There are many things we may not have in life, but time is not one of them. It is really the only thing we do have. We have this lifetime to produce a catalog of art, a body of work that says, "This is how I see the world around me". Indeed, our art, our creativity, is worthy of whatever time it takes.

 

Call for Entries from RVA Artists

The 5th Annual Art Surviving Art Show is seeking artists who have survived breast conditions that would like to share their experiences and stories through their works of art during Breast Cancer Awareness Month – October 2009.

Call for Entries will be on Friday and Saturday, September 18^th & 19^th from noon – 4:00 p.m. in Studio 125 at Art Works.  Artists may submit up to 2 entries and the cost per entry is $5.00.  This will be an all media juried show. Art may be of any subject matter that is considered healing to the artist.  Artwork may be for sale or for showing only.  Artists are encouraged to attend the opening of the show.

The Art of Surviving opening reception will be on September 25^th, 7:00 p.m. at Art Works on 320 Hull Street in Richmond.  The show will display through October 18^th. The Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation will be present to answer questions and share the latest information about breast cancer awareness. Donations may be made that evening to the VBCF in honor or in memory of those whose lives have been affected by breast cancer. For more info on entry submission, please contact Terry Lynn Smith at terry@eyesofthesoulart.net or 804.731.2481

Phyllis Kind Annouces Retirement

NEW YORK, July, 23, 2009  Phyllis Kind has recently announced that she is planning to retire after over 40 years. The Phyllis Kind Gallery will close at the end of July 2009.

Phyllis Kind opened her first gallery in Chicago in 1967, initially exhibiting master prints and drawings. At that time a group of young artists was emerging in Chicago who were making personal, complex, narrative statements at a time when critical attention in New York was mainly directed at "mainstream art." It was this very exciting ground-breaking phenomenon in Chicago that prompted Ms. Kind to become involved with living artists. By 1970, she had established a stable of artists there, many of whom later became known as Chicago Imagists.

By the time Phyllis Kind opened in SoHo in 1975, her stable had become finely honed. Early in her career, Ms. Kind developed an interest in contemporary American and European Art Brut. She began using the gallery as a showcase to investigate and promote Outsider Art within the context of the contemporary art dialogue, and it was this investigation that became the core of her concentration. Her gallery was the first to promote such work, including artists such as Martin Ramirez, Adolf Woelfli, Henry Darger, Howard Finster, Joseph Yoakum, and Carlo Zinnelli.

Phyllis always maintained her involvement in showing the work of contemporary artists, including but not limited to Robert Colescott, Hiroyuki Doi, Gillian Jagger, Alison Saar, and Domenico Zindato. In February 1986 Ms. Kind visited the Soviet Union and fell in love with the work of a number of "unofficial" artists that led to the first showing of Soviet art in the West in May 1987.

From its inception and throughout its over 40 years, the Phyllis Kind Gallery continually searched for work that was unique and as transformational as possible, with well-crafted and personal elements. Phyllis sought to promote artists, schooled or unschooled, who have developed a personally consistent vocabulary of form that was both complex and wide-ranging. She has always believed in the primary individuality of human creativity which is never without reference to its time.

CONTACT:
The Phyllis Kind Gallery
Ronald L. Jagger
Email: Ronald L. Jagger
Tel: (212) 925-1200

Phyllis Kind Gallery 236 West 26th Street, Suite 503, NY, New York 10001
Web: www.phylliskindgallery.com

Photo Credit: amazon pixels

Art Show and Benefit - Equality Virginia - Celebrating 20 Years

To celebrate their 20th anniversary, Equality Virginia is currently accepting submissions for an Art Show and Auction Benefit. The application deadline is February 27, 2009. Selected artists will be showcased at the GCCR Gallery March 13 through April 2, 2009. All works will be auctioned at the Equality Virginia Commonwealth Dinner April 4, 2009.

Equality Virginia
Equality Virginia is a statewide, non-partisan lobbying, outreach and education organization seeking equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Virginians. We work to help protect families, end discrimination and build safe communities. Your donation of art will help Equality Virginia achieve these goals. For more information, go to Equality Virginia's website.

2009 Commonwealth Dinner
More than 1000 GLBT and allied people are expected to attend the dinner this year. The evening will include recognition of twenty OUTstanding Virginians (historical and living). Emmy award winning actor, Leslie Jordan will provide the evening’s entertainment. For more information, visit Equality Virginia's Commonwealth Dinner page.

Art Show and Auction Benefit
The application deadline is February 27, 2009. Selected artists will be showcased at the GCCR Gallery March 13 through April 2, 2009. All works accepted will be auctioned at the Equality Virginia Commonwealth Dinner April 4, 2009. Submit JPEGs to artshow@equalityvirginia.org

Awards
Cash prizes totaling $1250 will be awarded. All selected pieces become the property of Equality Virginia and will be included in the auction. Artists have the option of retaining up to 25% of final auction sale.

Eligibility and deadlines
Original works in all mediums considered. Pieces should have a minimum value of $250 and be easily transportable. Submissions should be made to artshow@equalityvirginia.org in JPEG format by February 27, 2009. in JPEG format by February 27, 2009. Images must be less than two megabytes in size and submissions should include a brief description of the work and the artist.

About the Juror
Norman F. Goodwin: Born and raised in Norfolk, Norman Goodwin was educated at Cooper Union, Columbia University and the London School of Conservation. His paintings are widely collected by both individuals and museums, including MOMA, the Chrysler Museum, Art Institute of Chicago and the Nasher Museum at Duke University. Norman is a certified fine arts appraiser and conservator.

Altered Book Show in Oregon

For those of you in Oregon, this looks like a terrific show to see. For those of us who aren't, we can see it online!

During the month of February, the Mary Lou Zeek Gallery will be
presenting "Inside-Out, Educating Without Boundaries" the 6th annual
100 Artists show. Participating artists received a book through the
mail and were asked to use this as their starting point for their
piece of art, with a completed maximum size of 8" x 8". Each book was
sent "as is", and was not packaged, but rather processed directly by
the postal service firsthand. The stamps and addresses on the back
will remain a part of the artwork for identification and for evidence
of the actual mailing.

Artists have had over three months to transform, build, infuse, reduce
or reinvent the book into their work of art.

The exhibit will open on Tuesday, February 3rd at 10:00 am pacific
time. The public will be able to bid on their favorite artwork.
Beginning bids are $50.00 with increments of $5.00 with a maximum of
$300. The entire show will be posted online at www.zeekgallery.com.

Calls can be made to the gallery to place bids: 503-581-3229 beginning
at 10:00 am on February 3rd. The bidding ends February 27th, 2009 at
6:00 pm pacific time.

Also posted on the Altered Artists Online Yahoo Group and the Altered Artists Online Facebook Group

Get Involved! Keep Arts & Culture Thriving in RVA!

The Task Force of the Richmond Region Cultural Action Plan is pleased to host a series of meetings on January 12 & 13 that will engage our entire community in forming a comprehensive plan for strengthening the region's arts and cultural community. Attend one or all of the upcoming meetings, which will include a presentation about the project by consultants, WolfBrown, and opportunities for the public to get involved.

To keep up with progress on the Richmond Region Cultural Action Plan, please visit the Richmond Cultural Plan blog for more information visit the Richmond Region Cultural Plan website.

You're Invited to Attend the Community Meetings about the Richmond Region Cultural Action Plan:

Monday, January 12, 2009
4:00-6:00pm
Hanover School Board
200 Berkley Street Ashland, VA 23005

Monday, January 12, 2009
7:00-9:00pm
Pine Camp Cultural Arts Center
4901 Old Brook Rd
Richmond, VA 23227

Tuesday, January 13, 2009
4:00-6:00pm
Cultural Center of India
6641 Ironbridge Parkway
Chester, Va. 23831

Tuesday, January 13, 2009
7:00-9:00pm Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen
2880 Mountain Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060

What is the big picture goal of the Cultural Action Plan?

The plan will look broadly at the importance of arts and culture in our region to create a collective and inclusive vision for the area’s cultural sector. It will identify strategies to increase participation, financial support, awareness and collaborative opportunities that will lay the foundation for a thriving cultural landscape. Richmond, Virginia follows other cities across the nation that have developed cultural plans that have successfully guided the promotion, planning, development, and funding of their community’s arts and cultural organizations.

Call for Entries: "Revealing Culture" Exhibition

VIA Stephanie Taylor/VSA arts

(202) 628-2800 ext. 3883

SKTaylor@vsarts.org

Call for Entries: "Revealing Culture" Exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in 2010 Seeking Applications from International Artists with Disabilities

Deadline: April 30, 2009 (midnight, MST)

 VSA arts is seeking artists with disabilities for display at the Smithsonian Institution's International Gallery in the S. Dillon Ripley Center in Washington, D.C., from June through September 2010. Artists are asked to consider the theme "Revealing Culture" as it relates to their work. Accepted mediums include two- and three-dimensional art, craft, digital art, installation, and time-based media. Work that is not selected for this exhibition will be considered for alternative spaces throughout Washington, D.C., during the 2010 VSA arts International Festival.

Disability is a requirement for eligibility, but is not disclosed during the jury process. Artists will be selected based on the aesthetic merit of their work.

VSA arts' International Festival is the largest arts and disability event in the world attracting thousands of participants. The festival will take place in Washington, D.C., June 6-12, 2010. Venues across the city will play host to artists from all media-visual arts, performing arts, literary arts, and media arts. This signature event features the achievements of people with disabilities, as well as the diversity of the arts and cultures of the participants.

A panel of distinguished practicing artists and arts administrators will determine work standards, review submitted materials, and select artists for the exhibition. The jury will be looking for the development of original ideas in the work submitted.

All materials must be submitted to CaFE prior to midnight (U.S. MST) deadline of April 30, 2009.