Art Ethics 101
by Armand Cabrera
We have noticed a marked increase in unethical behavior
among many artists, collectors and galleries. In our effort
to educate and uphold the highest standards of professionalism,
Outdoor Painting wishes to provide our readers with a
guideline for ethics in the art business. While some people
appear to succeed, even though acting in an unethical
manner, be assured that at some point in their career,
their actions will come back to haunt them.
Here are some examples of unethical behavior that we’ve
been observing in the art world:
- Participating in a paint-out or any exhibition and
selling to collectors---without giving the art venue
or gallery a percentage!
When you are invited to sell your work through any art
venue, you are morally obligated to honor the terms
of your agreement and give the venue their negotiated
commission.
- Attending a gallery show for a fellow artist and attempting
to sell your own work. We call it “poaching”
and it is the moral equivalent of hitting on someone
else’s spouse.
- Collectors that attend a gallery show and try to negotiate
a private deal with the artist.
The gallery represents and promotes the artist, displays
his or her work, and is entitled to a commission. If
the artist is unhappy with the representation by a particular
gallery, he should leave and find another gallery.
- Galleries that encourage an artist to paint like another
artist.
They definitely don’t have the artist’s
best interests in mind. If a gallery asks you to paint
like someone else because they think it will help sales,
they are asking you to commit career suicide. An artist’s
style should be the outcome of what they believe about
art---not what they think will make them the most money.
Unfortunately, we often see this bizarre dance between
artist and gallery all too often…artists switching
from abstract to realism…and everything in between---chasing
whatever is the hype of the moment. Be true to yourself.
Have integrity.
- Using a photo or image of a piece of artwork as the
basis for your own work that you did not create yourself
and have not been given express permission to use.
Not only is this unethical, it is illegal. There are
no exceptions! There is no “percentage”
rule. If you plagiarize, you are a thief. There are
many well-known artists (that I won’t mention
here) that are currently copying other artists’
works. Some are even copying their signature styles!
Do your research. You might be surprised. Good artists
should spend time learning to paint and draw, rather
than degrading themselves and the art world by stealing.
- Claiming a work is painted outdoors when it is not.
Do you really think the discerning eye will not know
the difference?? Painting outdoors is painting from
life---not painting from photos while you’re standing
outside or painting from sketches while outdoors. It
doesn’t matter whether you finish your painting
in one day or many days--outdoor painting is the process
of painting subjects from life while out of doors. Artists
and galleries, who intentionally represent studio paintings
as outdoor paintings, are perpetrating a fraud on collectors
who seek outdoor paintings. There is nothing wrong with
painting in the studio---just don’t claim it is
painted outdoors.
That’s all for now. We’ll continue our Ethical
discussion in further issues of Outdoor Painting.
