Marketing Mondays: The "Difficult Artist"

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Dismantling Training Ground for Democracy at Mass Moca in 2007, the out-of-control project by artist Christoph Buchel

Image from The Boston Globe

“Count me out if you include him in the next one,” said an artist friend, stunned by the unreasonable demands of a particular artist during a collaborative project.

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“She would have had a different kind of career if she weren’t such a whiny pain in the ass,” said a dealer I know.

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"Never again,” said another dealer recently, reeling from the extra work a difficult artist caused her at a time when she was already overburdened with a project.
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As always I’m not naming names, but I guarantee these comments are 100 percent true and pretty much verbatim

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What Makes a Difficult Artist?
Well, of course there are degrees of difficulty, but here's an extreme: Swiss artist Christoph Buchel, who worked on Training Ground for Democracy for Mass MoCa in 2007. Commissioned to create an installation in the museums's vast, former-factory space, Buchel amassed an unmanageable 150 tons of stuff—including, according to Geoff Edgers in The Boston Globe,  "a 35-foot oil tanker, a two-story house, a carousel of bombs, and an old movie theater, rebuilt down to its water-stained ceiling tiles"—conceived to reference war, poverty and consumer culture. The exhibition, which reportedly went several hundred thousand dollars over budget, was neither completed nor shown. Suits and countersuits followed in a year-long legal battle. Buchel was described as "difficult, demanding and temperamental."

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I think it's reasonable to say that most artists don’t come close the kind of behavior described, whether or not we have access to projects of that scale. (Also, in fairness, let's assume the artist has a different take on the situation.)

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So what makes the average artist—that would be us—difficult?  
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Here’s a list, drafted by a few friends and myself during a casual conversation:.

. Lack of attention to protocols set in place

. Disregard for deadlines
. Disrespect for peers, whether dealers, curators, collectors or colleagues
. Unreasonable demands that create extra time, trouble or work for the institution, gallery or people the artist is working with
. Someone who’s never satisfied, never says thank you, never seems to appreciate the effort expended on his or her behalf
. The coupe de disgrace: a personality that's obnoxious: loud, rude, sexist, racist, vulgar
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An Unreasonable Demand
Megashows aside, here's an example of a difficult artist with unreasonable demands: At a recent project I happened in on, one artist created extra work for his already overworked colleagues because of the way he had managed his part of a collaborative project. He did not communicate with his colleagues or return emails; consequently, as plans evolved, his colleagues didn't know what or how much he was aware of—or even if he was still in. His oversize work was delivered late and to the wrong address. On the day of installation he arrived several hours after his colleagues and then started suggesting (“demanding,” clarifies one of the group members) changes in placement because his work was fragile, required special attention and, well, was just more important than everyone else’s. Never mind that they had moved his work into the space for him and that the show was mostly installed by the time he’d arrived.
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A collective sigh was breathed when Mr. Self-Important Artist received a call on his cell and dashed out, leaving the rest of the group to finish the job they'd started without him. .
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Standing our Ground

As artists we sometimes find ourselves finessing a difficult balance. My assertive request may be seen as aggressive. Your quiet request may be dismissed for not being forceful enough. We don’t want to create problems—we have worked hard to get into a gallery or included in a curatorial effort—but we labor mightily to create our art, and we want it to be presented in the best possible way.
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For a solo show there are many issues about which an artist should reasonably speak up: selection of the art, the design of the postcard, the information on the press release (provide a good artist statement, because that's where the info is going to come from), the installation itself, the date of the opening, the ad, the catalog. For a group show, exercising the same kind and degree of request would likely be seen demanding, since a curator is considering the best way to represent many artists in an institutional context.
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A Double Standard
Women, in particular, can be at the receiving end of considerable scorn for asserting our needs and intentions. While a male artist may be seen as rightfully attending to business, the same attitude in women is often seen as bitchiness. Damn, how does one finesse that?
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The Opposite of Difficult
On the other hand, there are the artists everyone responds to warmly and positively.
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“She’s so professional, I love working with her,” says a dealer I'll call Juan Smith, about an artist he has been working with for some years. What makes her so special? Smith listed several qualities: “She’s easy to work with. Her paintings are dependably good. She delivers them on time—dry and ready for hanging. She provides the materials I need to promote her and responds quickly to my requests for information. She gets that I’m working hard on her behalf and she meets me halfway. It’s always a pleasure to do business with her.”

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Smith says in an aside: "You wouldn't believe how much time can be wasted chasing after artists for information, or following up for better versions of what they send."  [He's talking about good images and appropriate information about them, updated resume and statement, and clips of or links to recent press.]

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You never disagree on anything? “Sure we do,” says Smith. “This is a relationship, and like all relationships, we have learned how to give and take. But it's a professional relationship. Our livelihoods depend on it working well. Maybe I'm lucky, but I have relationships like this with all of the artists I represent.”  

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So, is it fair to say that the personable, responsible, easy-to-work-with artist has a greater shot at the  gallery roster?

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“All things being equal, yes. I would prefer to work with talented artists who don't make my job more difficult." 

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And the talented artist who’s a pain in the butt?  

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"Listen, running a gallery is not easy. Over time I've learned to identify and avoid the personality types I think will make my job harder—and believe me, I do my homework," says Smith. "There are many talented artists out there. I want artists I can work with, not fight with.”

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Artists, dealers, durators and other art professionals: Your comments are welcome here.