The art opening is actually destructive to the art is it intended to support. The opening says, “There will be food and drink, because we’re not sure the art is enough to get you there.” The opening is a social occasion, to be seen and to chat with friends and where the art is in effect a backdrop, not necessarily to be looked at. More time is spent away from the art than with it. Unlike a performance, where patrons pay for the experience of the art, here it’s free and free to be ignored. And, maybe worst of all, the day after the busy and glittering opening, the galleries are virtually empty.
I say dump the openings. Turn them into small group tours, Q&A’s, artist talks, panel discussions, answering questions from attendees. Something that says the art is the important thing. Attendance may be less, but the art will be surrounded by those who really care about it.
In the end, art doesn’t ask to be celebrated, it asks to be taken seriously.
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