sharon arnold | dimensions variable: Shut Up Already... I'll Look At Your Art!

Don't say you haven't had the chance for a Chelsea gallerist to view your work, because now you surely do.

In a refreshingly democratic (if not tongue in cheek) format, every artist who knows about it has the chance to upload one photo sans resume and rhetoric on a site called Shut Up Already...I'll Look At Your Art. From SUAILAYA's blog:

Gallerist Ed Winkleman and guests (persons to be recruited by Mr. Winkleman to join him, for different periods of time and varied group size) will spend a portion of his time in his gallery during #class reviewing digital images of work sent via the internet to #class by artists globally. Artists will be asked to submit a digital image of one piece of art to be reviewed by Mr. Winkleman and his guests.

While you shouldn't necessarily expect a call from Winkleman, this does eloquently prove a point that while artists are desperately clamoring for attention, Winkleman is willing to show us he can take time out of his day to look. In this post, he tells us about how it all got started as an anonymous proposal for #class, currently ongoing at Winkleman Gallery.

And lest ye still be cynical, lacking in hope via this lighthearted #class project, take note. Ed says:

OK, so what do you get out of this if you participate? It's hard to say. Kind of depends on what you submit or who volunteers to be my guest on any given day. I would hope other dealers would be willing to look as well from time to time (hint! hint!), so that even should certain work not be quite right for our program it might be just what another dealer is looking for.

In other words, the mantra for artists is and always will be: you never know, so it never hurts to try. Go get 'em tiger, submit your work here - you know you want it. (do it, I did!)

More info from the SUAILAYA site:

The Rules (roughly):

Artists will submit one digital image to "Shut up already. I'll look at your art"
Mr. Winkleman and guests will view the image for no less than 10 sec.
Mr. Winkleman and guests will be monitored by a volunteer as they view the work to assure full compliance with the rules.
Mr. Winkleman, his guests and the Monitor will sign a certificate of viewing stating the image has been viewed
Mr. Winkleman and his guests will have no obligation to provide representation to any of the artists, make any comment about, or critique any of the images.
Once an image is viewed by Mr. Winkleman and his guests the artist cannot complain that their work is not being considered by a professional gallery for one year from the date of viewing, Mr. Winkleman and his guests will be absolved of any further obligation to take complaints by artists that their work is not being considered by a professional gallery seriously for one year from the date of viewing,
As Mr. Winkleman and his guests view the images, they wiil be available on the internet to be viewed.

#class is an exhibition in the form of a think tank organized by Jennifer Dalton and William Powhida. #class will feature over 50 events, discussions and performances presented in response to an open call for proposals on the topic of ambivalence about the commercial art market system.