September 25, 2006

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote "Target Your Message," in which I encouraged you to buckle down and define a style that you can become known for. If you haven't read that issue, you can find it here.

For some artists, the problem isn't that they don't have a style, it's that they have more than one. And they don't want to let go of either.

It almost goes against my grain to say this, but here goes. In situations like this, in which you have more than one style, you might find it beneficial to market your art with different names for completely separate bodies of work. I'm not talking about work that just contains different subject matter. You can make all kinds of art with various subjects (landscapes, portraits, sculpture, paintings) and still, somehow, have them come off as a cohesive body of work that looks undoubtedly like it was by the same artist. No, you don't need to worry about that. I'm talking about art that looks like two or more artists created it. It's in these circumstances that you might use separate names to market them.

The reason I say it "almost goes against my grain" is that I'm a champion of the heroic artist. As a student, I learned that art history is a history of individuals (as is history itself). It's critical to know the players by name and what their roles are. I counsel artists to use their own names for their businesses when they want to be well known. In my opinion, if you hide behind a business name or other name, your work seems less handmade, less special.

However, these days I'm no longer a student, but dispensing marketing advice. As a marketer, I know that branding is everything. If you don't send a clear message, you make it difficult--if not impossible--to be memorable. In today's crowded art market, you have to stake your claim and fiercely protect it.

Some artists use their real names on the artwork they consider to be more serious. It's the work they want to be their legacy. They might have another line of work that they consider more commercial or even one that isn't developed that they're testing. They either assume another identity for this work or create a DBA (doing business as) name.

If you've been struggling with the Artist's Split-Personality Syndrome (ASPS), it might be time to embrace your multiple personalities and give them each a name and their own space.