Chapter 1

I think this chapter did a great job of explaining the art world to you. Often times people believe you can pick up a pencil and become great at drawing, or pick up a paint brush and become a great painter. While you may have the skill, becoming a well known artist takes more then having fantastic art. You have to get yourself out in the art world, and to do that you have to have a better understanding of how the art world works. Like the text says, the art world is an ever changing thing, something new and exciting this week could be considered not so great the next. Theres a few things to consider when your looking at jumping in the art world, an understanding of what different galleries and musuems do, who is all involved and the work are some key things.

Galleries and Musuems are different depending on where you are in the world, and who owns them. For example. Musuems see themselves as preserving the history in the art world, they often have a permant collection of work that stays in the musuem. The pieces in this collection are circulated and showed at different times. Non-profit musuems are often times smaller, lack a permanant collection and are supported by memberships or grants. They often focus on local artists. Commerical galleries focus on the wealthy, and selling as much art as possible. While you may have a show at a commerical gallery, their focus is to sell, often times to collectors.

Another aspect of the art world is who it includes. There a many different people that play a role in the art world and the success of showcasing and selling art, but a few main ones are the artist (of course), the art dealer, and the art collector. Without these few key people the art world would crash. Of course you need an artist to make the art, but you need someone interested in the art. While the art dealer is less of a key link to the art world, it does make it much easier to get your work sold.

This chapter really shows you the reality of what it takes to be an artist, and it is a bit scary to think about all that goes into it, but in the long run, its well worth it to get your work seen, whether you become famous and well known, or your work is just seen by people.