January 30, 2006

Super Bowl Sunday is coming up and, sadly, I'm left without a whit of care for the outcome since the Broncos bit the dust last week. (Go Seahawks! Go Steelers!) Still, it got me thinking about defensive reactions and offensive posturing in the art business. Bear with me.

Shelley Higman, Firenze Italy (Il Cipresso Villa), 2005. Oil, 20 x 10 inches.  © The Artist http://www.shelleyhigman.com

What do you want people to say when they look at your art? Notice I didn't ask what are they already saying. I don't really care about that. I asked, what do you want them to say?

Are they saying it?

You have more control over your fans' reactions than you might think. The trouble is that you're conditioned to accept any feedback as fact. You begin to believe it yourself. You start getting frustrated because it's not what you want to hear. Now, you're on the defensive. You must respond to the person with the ball.

Wouldn't it be better if you always had the ball? Wouldn't it be better if your viewers had responded in the first place exactly as you had intended?

If fans aren't supporting you as you would like, assess the situation:

• What can I say differently?
• What should I add?
• What should I omit?
• Does my appearance and body language (smile, eye contact, gestures) work for or against me?
• Do I emit confidence?

Football teams do this every week after a game. They talk about what went wrong, they watch tapes over and over again, and then they change the playbook. They want to win and do everything possible to improve their plan before the next game.

After you've assessed your situation, change your own playbook. Your artwork is the spark, but you can't let it down. You have to back it up--even enhance it--with spoken and written words. Try not to get too used to the words you use. There's almost always room for improvement. Communicating is a never-ending process.