tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post2982234638831837897..comments2024-03-03T15:01:00.402-05:00Comments on Joanne Mattera Art Blog: Marketing Mondays: Rejection. Get Over ItUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-30514641022548466962013-01-30T11:08:25.876-05:002013-01-30T11:08:25.876-05:00I've discovered that rejection is part of the ...I've discovered that rejection is part of the process. Its going to happen! Even once you're established as an artist. How I've learned to deal with it is to expect it, go into a gallery knowing you'll leave empty handed and go on to the next. This attitude lessens the disappointment and makes the acceptance than much sweeter!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-23970227703634602652012-05-31T19:34:45.298-04:002012-05-31T19:34:45.298-04:00It's just such a sort of bittersweet relief to...It's just such a sort of bittersweet relief to see that we all deal with this. I posted something on my private facebook page about how I noticed the non-profit organization that just rejected my submission to an open call had used the vague "Dear Artist" in their rejection letter, but had been SOOOO certain to use my proper name in asking for donations... and none of my artist Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-74425963090347920772011-12-17T20:51:06.917-05:002011-12-17T20:51:06.917-05:00Dear Anonymous,
For every door that closes, ano...Dear Anonymous, <br /><br /> For every door that closes, another opens...That means you should be looking for either two new open doors, or one giant one!!!grovecanadahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08973601186376093274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-28645848540190376382011-12-17T14:44:55.603-05:002011-12-17T14:44:55.603-05:00Yesterday I was laid off from my day job and today...Yesterday I was laid off from my day job and today I was rejected by the only gallery in my small town. I'm glad I came across this post and comments, I know I can get back on my feet but right now I just need to read stories about other peoples struggles.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-1792237992969761112011-06-05T11:01:40.212-04:002011-06-05T11:01:40.212-04:00This was a great read and at just the right time f...This was a great read and at just the right time for me. <br /><br />I have only just started approaching galleries. The worst rejection so far is not hearing anything at all, I realise they are busy, but even a small rejection note or email is better than nothing at all, the wondering why you have not heard anything is destroying and you think you will get the same response from everyone. But Richard Shillinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13986006611907624065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-62525226337312252782010-02-16T22:36:22.562-05:002010-02-16T22:36:22.562-05:00I don't know if anyone else will find this hel...I don't know if anyone else will find this helpful...<br /><br />I had a job a few years ago that entailed a lot of rejection. I mean, a LOT. So I took a little 3x5 card and made a grid on it. I figured the day would be a success if I got 100 rejections, because at least that would mean I was getting off my butt and TRYING. Every time I got a rejection I'd get away from whoever said no, Seannonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-75337459651435369792009-06-12T06:48:20.254-04:002009-06-12T06:48:20.254-04:00*sigh*
I needed to read this today. :)*sigh*<br /><br />I needed to read this today. :)Little Novahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06948765720652509347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-24821909650150808512009-02-04T19:23:00.000-05:002009-02-04T19:23:00.000-05:00i know i'm a little late coming back to this, i'm ...i know i'm a little late coming back to this, i'm so sorry. there are so many awesome points here, i just wanted to say bravo to all participants. and thank you so much for responding to my post, joanne. always a source of excellent information and here a really remarkable dialogue. i, personally, am definitely working on setting things right with this gallery and develop that relationship Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-83548696769567543732009-02-02T22:20:00.000-05:002009-02-02T22:20:00.000-05:00Thankyou for writing such an insightful, honest an...Thankyou for writing such an insightful, honest and inspiring look at rejection. I admit that my fear of rejection, coupled with the few I've already received has made me terrified to approach galleries. This year, however I am making a bid to get past all that to really push my career forward - your post has helped with that enormously and I am going to bookmark it to help me conquer my fears!<Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-24936666680845874462009-02-02T17:00:00.000-05:002009-02-02T17:00:00.000-05:00Thank you for starting this great conversation. I ...Thank you for starting this great conversation. I especially like Donna Dodson's attitude and will adopt it as my own. After being referred to a gallery by another artist, calling, being asked to send information and images, packaging materials according to their specifications, I did not hear a word from them. It was as if I never existed. Ouch! Keep going.Loretta (lolly) Owenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04934176298133212614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-42307842076573718812009-02-02T14:18:00.000-05:002009-02-02T14:18:00.000-05:00Thanks!Another topic: responding to a bad review....Thanks!<BR/><BR/>Another topic: responding to a bad review. Writer Carolyn See suggests sending the reviewer a thank you note. (!) "You can control how much you suffer," she writes in her book, "Making a Literary Life." <BR/><BR/>On critic reviewed one of her books with this comment:<BR/><BR/>"See writes embarrassing surfer prose."<BR/><BR/>She sent the reviewer a book on surfing with the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-81931775289355414022009-02-01T16:26:00.000-05:002009-02-01T16:26:00.000-05:00Ok, so I'm a child...I remember every single g...Ok, so I'm a child...I remember every single gallery rejection & have taken great pleasure in recent years, to purposefully ignore those people & galleries who hurt my feelings when I was so tender...I also enjoy championing those galleries who gave me that rare chance & honour & have stayed friends with as many as I can...& if any of those kind people fall into a ditch,grovecanadahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08973601186376093274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-39510901406173426912009-02-01T15:53:00.000-05:002009-02-01T15:53:00.000-05:00I think this is the best post I've ever read on re...I think this is the best post I've ever read on rejection!<BR/><BR/>Great Point on mentioning that when told to "keep in touch" with te gallery, very few artists do. They are missing out when they don't keep in touch.<BR/><BR/>Being an art agent and a seminar leader on art business, I often encourage artists to know that "no doesn't mean no, it just means no for now" (read my post on this topicAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-44106522510935697152009-01-28T21:06:00.000-05:002009-01-28T21:06:00.000-05:00I agree & I like re-thinking submissions, appl...I agree & I like re-thinking submissions, applications and proposals as promotion and rejections as connections. Thanks for a great post on a subject artists KNOW first hand. It's not discussed often enough as a strategy you can manage.Donna Dodsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17068704959733467515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-61660227359749843132009-01-28T18:16:00.000-05:002009-01-28T18:16:00.000-05:00Donna says: "My art teacher always said it's about...Donna says: "My art teacher always said it's about the work you do in the studio, if that is going well, everything else falls into place."<BR/><BR/>Donna, you offer so many good jumping-off points for a conversation. Bless you! I think your teacher is exhibiting old-school thinking. Of course, the studio work has to be good, but without the other half--or two-thirds--of the equation, one could Joanne Matterahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02564594823192456546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-63091568512578371442009-01-28T16:30:00.000-05:002009-01-28T16:30:00.000-05:00Rejection stings, but looking back, there can be h...Rejection stings, but looking back, there can be humorous memories. The funniest one I can recall was sending in a set of what I thought were REALLY good photographs of my work (instead of slides) in response to a 'call for entries' from the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the late '80's.<BR/><BR/> Not only that, but my work at the time was pretty underdeveloped, even if they were pretty good Tim McFarlanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03309424145625878126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-1761182521927652312009-01-28T13:57:00.000-05:002009-01-28T13:57:00.000-05:00I'm an emerging artist but I also run a small gall...I'm an emerging artist but I also run a small gallery and I know from my gallery experience that there are a million reasons that artists are rejected, many of which don't have anything to do with the quality of the work. I can also tell you that it is a big risk for a gallery owner to accept an artist on just a portfolio and one meeting. <BR/><BR/>And even if you are rejected because your work Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12213131293368857479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-48801639060162977082009-01-28T13:49:00.000-05:002009-01-28T13:49:00.000-05:00Joanne,Our MassArt snow day has me interested in c...Joanne,<BR/>Our MassArt snow day has me interested in creating my own blog early. I like your post on rejection because it has a slightly hopeful tone and reminds me to think of the "big" people in galleries as, well, people. It reminds me of a chapter I just read from a book regarding feminist psychotherapeutic practice. It might seem off-topic, but emphasis is given to the client/therapist Kaylie Abelahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16126688940539594260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-34945601061614649802009-01-28T13:47:00.000-05:002009-01-28T13:47:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Kaylie Abelahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16126688940539594260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-76252092220418742372009-01-28T09:40:00.000-05:002009-01-28T09:40:00.000-05:00Donna Dodson has learned to engage the rejector. A...Donna Dodson has learned to engage the rejector. Are you talking about grants, Donna? I'm not sure dealers want to get so involved, given that they get dozens of submissions a month. Would you tell us more about your process?<BR/><BR/>When I was just starting out, I sent out a postcard with an image of my work on it and a synopsis of my resume on the back with the caption 'Seeking gallery Donna Dodsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17068704959733467515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-17013571647093985872009-01-27T22:13:00.000-05:002009-01-27T22:13:00.000-05:00One thing I wanted to add is that it's a little di...One thing I wanted to add is that it's a little difficult for gallerists to always say why they can't or won't show you. It isn't critique time, especially if you have approached them. If they approached you (lucky you!) and then still eventually said no, then you might say well, what did you have in mind. <BR/><BR/>But otherwise there can be a million reasons why someone decides against you. Evahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04526963554623770078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-20714271976630772412009-01-27T21:55:00.000-05:002009-01-27T21:55:00.000-05:00My rejection stories are numerous, but I'll share ...My rejection stories are numerous, but I'll share one that especially reflects the roller-coaster-bipolar-up-and-downness of the business of art. Some months ago, I was contacted by a gallery in a major city in a southern state. <BR/><BR/>The director admired my work and wanted to know if I was interested in working with them. I checked out the gallery's website, and thought sure. I let them knowPamela Farrellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14892384331947566237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-48802406139924660192009-01-27T21:33:00.000-05:002009-01-27T21:33:00.000-05:00Aloha Joanne, I appreciate you taking the time to ...Aloha Joanne, <BR><BR/>I appreciate you taking the time to respond to us all. Co-op. Ugh never again. You can do a whole blog entry on the dynamics of a co-op. I was the president and/or treasurer of a cooperative for over 7 years. The reasons gallery owners reject artists is because the owner sets a standard which is very hard to set in a co-op. Especially once an artist is accepted. If you Stephanie Sachshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11377131627540380362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-85547170471250100972009-01-27T21:05:00.000-05:002009-01-27T21:05:00.000-05:00So many interesting comments from you all. Thank y...So many interesting comments from you all. Thank you for responding. Allow me to respond to yours:<BR/><BR/>. Glenn has learned to separate the art from the artist. It's a tough surgery, but if you can do it, you're better off for it<BR/><BR/>. Donna Dodson has learned to engage the rejector. Are you talking about grants, Donna? I'm not sure dealers want to get so involved, given that they get Joanne Matterahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02564594823192456546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30832682.post-21720417627687180752009-01-27T14:15:00.000-05:002009-01-27T14:15:00.000-05:00This is such a great topic and so great to be remi...This is such a great topic and so great to be reminded to calm down and look at the "degree" of rejection for that ounce of positivity instead of being instantly devastated.<BR/> <BR/>I have two rejection stories that came back-to-back when I first began sending my work to galleries. The first came from another artist who is very well known in the Boston and Provincetown art scenes. On a whim I S. Dineenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12093282340652597928noreply@blogger.com