The artist foots the bill

An interesting logistical art anecdote from Nine Tons of Marble today:

I put two sculptures into an exhibition last year. It was a travelling show that was going to fund the shipping from place to place. It began and ended in the Washington/Baltimore region, which meant that I could deliver and pick up the work myself. Nonetheless, the work had to be professionally crated, which cost me about $500. Now that I have moved, I’m no longer in the metro area to pick up the work and in order to have them shipped I will have to shell out $600 or more. In addition to the cost of making the artwork, I will have had to have shelled out more than $1100 to be in this show. FOR WHAT!?! So that I can have another tick on my resume? Let’s just say that this will be my last exhibition, unless all expenses are paid by the venue. This is another way that the way art is displayed and marketed poses the most risk, both financially and emotionally, to the artist, who can least afford it.

Sculpture has become too impractical and we’re breaking up.

I’ve also been pondering how important it is to create or add on to a resume as an artist. I suppose it’s things like that that aid in acquiring grants and internships, but shouldn’t your portfolio speak for itself?