"All's Fair" - A Summary and Slideshow

Note: This is a long post. Don't miss the slideshow at the end.

Over the past two weeks I've had the opportunity to reflect on my experience with "All's Fair." I'll try not to repeat some of the things I've discussed before, but I wanted to review the before/during/after of the event.

The idea to mount my own show in NYC came to me during my first week working in the city. I had thought of the idea to mount the show prior to a meeting with a gallery director about my work. However, when he stated how much he wanted/needed to see my work in person, I decided to mention the idea to him. He thought it was a fantastically subversive concept and said, and I quote, "You'd be an idiot not to do it." I decided at that point to began experimenting with hanging solutions in my room and tentatively scheduled the "show" for January 16-18.

As time went on, I became more and more excited about mounting my own show. As I began to tell people about it I was astonished that everyone was supportive. Well, except perhaps for my parents who A) thought I was crazy, and B) worried about me being thrown in jail for vandalism. Both A and B made me more excited.

Over the next couple of weeks I brought to NYC with me an assortment of nails and velcro. I had to be sure that neither would damage the walls, and even if they did, that I could hide or repair it. I found that the velcro worked wonderfully though when I peeled it from the wall (with wallpaper), it was pull the wallpaper from the wall, but it wouldn't tear it. In other words, you couldn't tell it was ever there, visually at least. As for the nails, I had to find a quiet way to "hammer" them into the wall. See, I estimated that I would need about 20 nails total, and that much knocking would surely be suspicious. After experimenting, I found that I could push my tiny nails into the wall with the aid of a quarter. Though the holes were barely noticeable on the wallpaper, I still wanted to fill them. I discovered that naturally colored wood filler matched the wallpaper perfectly. I took a Q-Tip, dabbed on some wood filler, and "spackled" the hole. Magically, it disappeared. Well, until the hotel replaces the wallpaper, that is.

With the hanging logistics determined, I began to focus on publicity. I contacted everyone I knew in NYC and invited them to attend. I suggested that they invite anyone they wanted. I asked art bloggers to post something about it if they were so inclined. Before long a nice buzz began and people said they were coming. All that was left was to actually go through with it.

The weekend prior to the show was insanely busy. I didn't get in from NYC until Friday night. On Saturday, I had to drive to Chestertown, MD (about 2 hours away) for the opening of "The Next Generation." That was almost an all-day affair. Early Sunday I had to drive to Richmond, VA, to uninstall "Nature|Nurture." After a 2 hour drive there and about 2.5 hours of work, it was back in the car towards D.C. Quickly I unloaded the car and began gathering/packing the work for "All's Fair." At approximately 6pm it was back in the car for the drive to NYC. Somewhere along the way I took a wrong turn (though I've driven that route several times) and the trip took 2 hours longer than expected. I arrived at the hotel at 12:30am Monday morning. Though tired and weary, I had to somehow get several awkwardly shaped bags through the lobby and up to my room without arousing suspiscion. Fortunately I think the hotel staff was as tired as I was and they didn't notice a thing. I gave my car to the valet person and said goodbye to it for the bargain price of $40/night. Yeah right... fortunately that cost could be expensed. Once in the room I couldn't help but to begin planning the installation of the show. Finally, I went to bed around 2:00am, not at all looking forward to the workday ahead.

Quittin' time came quickly on Monday and soon it was back to the hotel for installation. Have I mentioned that my girlfriend, Bren, accompanied me on the trip to help out? Did I mention that she was a huge help in Chestertown, Richmond and packing for NYC? Did I mention that by the time I got to the hotel room Monday night all of my work was unwrapped and ready to be hung? Yeah, well she did all that and without her help I'm not sure I could have pulled it off. So thanks, Bren!

The work went up more quickly than expected and although I struggled with the lighting, I was surprised by how it almost looked like a real show. We put the bags away, tidied everything up, took a ton of pictures and went to bed. Bren awoke at 5am to catch a train back to D.C. for work. Fortunately I got to sleep in. Before I left, I put the "Privacy" tag on the door handle and went to work. Yes, I tested the "Privacy" sign in the weeks prior to be sure that the cleaning people would not enter the room.

Tuesday night came and the show began. People stopped by, looked and talked. Many people I expected to see, some I did not. Though fewer people attended than I expected (or that confirmed they would come), I was pleased by the quality of visitor. It was simply a lot of fun each night. Only one problem was encountered and that was an email with the location of the show never made it to Barry Hoggard and James Wagner. They could only attend on Tuesday night but the problem wasn't discovered until Wednesday. Fortunately, we scheduled an impromptu visit for Thursday during lunch. I left work to meet them there and they visited for almost 2 hours. I'm glad we were able to make it work.

By 10pm Thursday night everyone was gone. It was time to pack the work up again though as any artist knows, it's much easier to take it down than to put it up. Everything was packed a little after midnight and it was time for bed again. Friday morning presented an interesting challenge. I had to check out of my room and get my bags in my car, but I couldn't leave the city until early afternoon. I called the valet to bring my car around and began making the 4 trips it took to get all the bags. I wouldn't allow the bellman to help with my luggage as many bags were fragile. It took some time but the car was loaded and I asked for my car to be parked again.

After work on Friday I went back to the hotel, got my car and began the drive back to D.C. Miraculously, I took no wrong turns and arrived home in a hair over 4 hours. After unloading, again, I went to bed, exhausted. No time for the weary, however, as on Saturday I had to drive to Baltimore to install 2 pieces in a group show and attend an opening. While at the opening, someone came up to me and said, "Hey, I heard about what you did in NY." I hadn't told them and they don't read this site.

That's what the "All's Fair" experience amounted to for me. While fewer people than expected came to the show in person, almost a dozen Web sites wrote something about it. People talked about it. And I think it's for good reason. While I won't be so brash as to claim the idea is completely unique, I hope it demonstrates that artists can, and in fact should, take advantage of the opportunities that are presented to them. Artists are quick to complain about their work not being seen or talked about. If you believe in your work, you can practically MAKE people see it and talk about it. Artists are by definition creative people but it amazes me how stale and conservative they tend to be. If you want to show your work, show it. But unlike the person who emailed me earlier this week, never, ever pay $600 to mount your work in a small section of wall near the ceiling in a suspect gallery. There are other ways. Let your client pay for it, perhaps.

"All's Fair" was an opportunity for me to show my work to an audience in NYC. It was also a "commentary" on the nature of the art business today. Art fairs are now being held in hotels. While not all artists have access to the fairs, we do have access to the same hotels. We have access to other venues, right? We can't always afford to rent the hotel room ourselves, or lease that empty storefront space down the street, but we can find ways to make an impact. All IS fair in this art world. You might need to fight a little dirty, but what will you do for your art?

Here's a slideshow of "All's Fair." My apologies for the poor image quality. You try getting good images in that awful light!

Thanks to those who talked about the show, saw the show or wrote about the show. I sincerely appreciate it.

Comments

[Tara]

JT --

Fantastic! Your enthusiasm is electric.

I hope good things come out of your show(s) for you. You already have given us the gift of your experience!

Congrats

[Shante B]

I was rooting for you when I read your ideal on this blog. Your art looks great on the hotel walls.

I agree with you. Nowadays there are so many ways you can show your work. I remember a few years ago when I lived in Chitown a few student did a showing in a huge truck. It was the coolest thing I ever saw and made me go okay, there are so many ways besides galleries. It's all about marketing and finding those ways.

[J.T. Kirkland]

Thanks Tara and Shante!

Shante - You bring up great points. Though I want to be clear... I don't intend to show like this forever. I'd much rather pursue traditional gallery representation, but in the meantime, this is how you've got to get out there and be seen. Hopefully this will lead to bigger and better opportunities.

[wwc]

Really nice J.T.

The only thing that would have made it better was to see you all tucked in to that bed during the show. That would be great - you greeting folks from the bed in your pajamas...

[Susan Constanse]

What a great idea, JT. And the work looks really good in the hotel room.