Why are virtual art fairs failing?

We ended our last post about digitalization of the art world with 2 images which illustrate quite well what’s going on. The first – a screenshot of Jan Hoet’s profile on the Open Art Collection – was… empty. Although a member since 2010, Jan Hoet has 0 friends, 0 galleries, 0 collectors and artists linked to him on the platform. What a contrast with his offline address book, probably one of the most valuable items in Belgian art world and beyond. The second screenshot –  a tweet from @artamsterdam about the first sale on the virtual art fair – shows how painfully underperforming this platform is (first sale on Saturday, while fair was open from Wednesday).

So why are virtual art fairs failing? One of the reasons is the way most of these initiatives approach the digital space. They seem to lack every understanding of how digital works and simply try to copy what is happening off-line in an online environment.

Let’s take Art Amsterdam Online as example. This virtual art fair is hosted on Open Art Collection platform. After spending 5 minutes on this platform, clicking left and right, you will already hit the first barrier: you need a subscription.

Crisis Crisis Crisis

Lots of crisis in the wind, but it wasn’t the vibe this weekend in Amsterdam.

The organizers of Performance Art Event (PAE) hosted an evening at the Brakke Grond last week, which begin with criticism and an open ended question. According to organizers, ‘The creative arts sector is worried about the crisis and its impact on the arts.  The more crises, the more performance is an expression of the growing awareness of this tendency. Live art doesn’t need much, it can take place always and everywhere, and especially in a period of crisis this could evoke a renewed interest in performance art. Could this mean that more artists will turn to performance art, leading to a revival of the genre?’

Is Blogging a Form of Criticism?

I should start by saying that my Dutch isn’t that great and while I did my best to follow the discussion, I may have missed some nuances along the way. I could be talking mousse … but that’s what I was invited here to do so I’m gonna indulge before I head out again. I write, right now, out of duty and respect. I write from a critical position and without time to process, reflect and self censor to provide a more economical and useful answer.

First Response: The Medium is not the Message

Is putting ink on paper a form of criticism? Is spraying white paint out of a squirt gun a form of criticism? Is using the word Mousse a form of criticism? Is recording yourself ranting on skype and putting it on Youtube a valid form of criticism? It would be if you were Allen Kaprow or Jerry Saltz, but not if you’re a 14 year old up past your bedtime. The medium is not the message. It might provide grammar. It might deliver, but it isn’t the blog I’m reading. It is the thoughts and attitudes of the person who fills it. From the very beginning the discussion made me think of Douglas Adams and the answer to everything in the universe, which when delivered makes no sense, because the question failed to ask for a meaningful answer.

Welcome to Art Amsterdam Media Lab

With great pleasure Art Amsterdam, het Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, de Groene Amsterdammer and Domain for Art Criticism present to you Art Media/Lab: Bridging the Gap, a special and innovative program for cultural bloggers  during Art Amsterdam 2011, which takes place 11-15 May.

Art Media Lab: Bridging the Gap is an experiment. A selection of active bloggers is invited to form an editorial staff and take responsibility for a series of multimedia productions on the cutting edge of journalism and art criticism. These individual productions will be open to a broad and international audience. The Dutch media partnering with the fair(De Groene Amsterdammer and Trendbeheer will  also open their channels to the bloggers’ output.
The three day program provides for ample interaction with the driving forces behind institutions and galleries of national and international acclaim. Besides the fair the participants will visit innovative art initiatives in Amsterdam.

Participating bloggers so far are:

Daniël Bertina,

Yasmijn Jarram,

Maxi Meisner

Michelle Kasprzak

and Harlan Levey