Fame And Art Wrap Up

October 13th, 2008 Daryle Dickens

Have you dreamed of being a famous artist? While your alive? It has been done. And it can be a good way to make a living. This post is part of a series of posts discussing artists and fame. What defines fame for the artist living in 2008? Is fame a good goal? How can an artist become famous? Please join the conversation as we discuss fame for the 21st Century artist.

What do you think? Want to be famous? Can you just see how those sales ringing in once your face is all over the Internet? Like all things in life it comes down to goals. Once you know your goals as an artist you can better decide how to reach them. And I know fame is not an uncommon goal for an artist. And now the Internet gives the artist a new avenue to chase that fame.

Internet fame is a hot topic these days so I thought I would give you some links if you want to read up on it.

• Wired Magazine’s take on Internet Fame with Vanity Meter and instructions on self promotion.
• Pop17 is a site dedicated to Internet Fame.
• New York Magazine’s steps to Internet Fame.

I’ll end this series with this video from Nico Di Mattia. Thanks to these video his work is becoming well known. You can check out his web site here.

Posted in Business of Art, Resources for Artists | 1 Comment »

The Danger Of Internet Fame

October 8th, 2008 Daryle Dickens

Have you dreamed of being a famous artist? While your alive? It has been done. And it can be a good way to make a living. This post is part of a series of posts discussing artists and fame. What defines fame for the artist living in 2008? Is fame a good goal? How can an artist become famous? Please join the conversation as we discuss fame for the 21st Century artist.

We have been discussing how an artist can use the Internet and social media tools to gain fans and become famous. This has been a strategy that has worked for painters, photographers, and musicians. But courting fame can be dangerous. It could be possible to earn the wrong kind of attention. Just ask Allison Stokke.

Allison is a pole vaulter. A pretty good one too. In 2004 she won the California state pole vaulting title, has broken five national records, and in her high school vaulting earned her a scholarship to the University of California. And she is Internet Famous. But not because of her achievements or her efforts to become famous.

In the summer of 2007 a popular sports blog posted a simple picture of Ms. Stokke adjusting her hair at a track meet. And that picture sparked a wave of Internet fame stalkers. Her MySpace page suddenly had over 1000 messages and a video interview of her on YouTube had over 200,000 views. And that was just the beginning of the unwanted attention she would receive.

Pole vaulting is not a high profile sport. Not a sport that the media flocks too, especially at the high school level. But mobs of journalists starting showing up at meets Allison was competing in. At first Allison attempted to control the attention but quickly learned that was not possible. All she could do was take measures like never leaving the house alone and have her father, a lawyer, patrol the Internet for potential stalkers.

Major life changes from a single image, and one that Allison did not even post herself. If someone who was not trying to become Internet famous gets this sort of attention those that are being intentional about it should beware. Fame has a price that must be weighed when thinking about using the Internet to broadcast yourself. Every word and every picture you put on the web will be there forever and will be available to anyone and everyone to use how ever they see fit.

Washington Post article on Allison Stokke.
CBS News version of the story.

Posted in Artist Life | No Comments »

More Art Is Needed In Public Schools

October 7th, 2008 Daryle Dickens

 
Have you heard the news? Kids who take art classes do better in school. (At least in Colorado.)

Colorado high school students with more access to art courses did better at reading, writing and science, regardless of their ethnicity or socioeconomic status, according to the study funded by the Colorado Council on the Arts.

Denver Post

Too bad schools have constantly had to cut funding for art programs in recent decades. 53% of high school students do not take art courses. Maybe this study will be the beginning of change in our public schools.

See also:

• Educators say art education improves test scores
• Art and Education 2008 Study

Posted in Art | No Comments »

Speaking Of Fame And Art | Skull-A-Day

October 2nd, 2008 Daryle Dickens

Have you dreamed of being a famous artist? While your alive? It has been done. And it can be a good way to make a living. This post is part of a series of posts discussing artists and fame. What defines fame for the artist living in 2008? Is fame a good goal? How can an artist become famous? Please join the conversation as we discuss fame for the 21st Century artist.

My last post in this series mentioned how a blog can be a tool for internet fame. One of the blog examples that I cited was Skull-A-Day, which is written by Noah Scalin. It is a blog that is just what the title suggests. Starting in June 2007 Noah began posting a skull he had made each day, he did this for one year. Now the blog posts skulls made by its readers. Simple. And it is a subject that some might find strange. But it is working for Mr. Scalin.

Skull-A-Day got a book deal. The blog to book is happening more and more these days. The book has gotten Scalin even more attention, including an article in The New Yorker. Which I am sure helped him pick up a few more fans.

His blog also won a Webby this past year. A Webby is a lot like the Academy Awards for the internet. Skull-A-Day won People’s Voice Award for Best Personal Web Site. The fact that Skull-A-Day won the award based on the People’s Voice demonstrates that Noah has built quite a fan base from his simple blog.

And oddly enough an artist who used a blog to publish a skull he made each day for a year is finding himself on the Martha Stewart Show. You read that right. No matter what you think of her Martha Stewart has a huge following and I am sure Noah is going to pick up some more fans after his show airs. Further building on his fame as an artist. (By the way the episode with Mr. Scalin airs October 10th if you want to tune in.)

The root of all this is a blog. A free blog at that. Noah uses Blogger which is completely free. And based on his web address Noah has kept using the free version even though he has gotten all this attention. So you can throw the excuse of cost out the window if that has been holding you back. If a guy using a free blog platform to post a skull a day can land himself an appearance on the Martha Stewart show I am sure there is hope for the rest of us.

Check out this video of Mr. Noah Scalin:

• Post One in this series: Do You Want To Be Famous?
• Post Two in this series: The Internet Famous Artist

Posted in Artist Life, Business of Art, Resources for Artists | No Comments »