Castings, the Future and the Power of Online Networking..

Woke quite excited with the reality of casting some new designs into nickel. Social networking has now provided me with a platform to explore some new avenues of converting some of my 3d designs into very high end market pieces which will slot very effectively into the Interior Design markets and hospitality trade. Ive been looking for a company locally to tackle the concept of nickel sculpture and suddenly there it was...found...or rather they found me. Its truly remarkable how what would take months to source and put into production can now take just a few minutes with an end time turnaround not previously possible.

Linking through multiple platforms has now certainly opened up the market possibilities for many of my 3d designs , and this can only be a very real step into areas of exhibition that were previously not possible.
Sourcing the right company and foundry has alway been an issue of geography , but with multi-level platform linking, web2 and social media application the business opportunities are opening up at pace that is quiete remarkable. Having recently explored the concepts around web2 and the long term implications of linked applications within educational environments , the direct spin off to those learning processes can now be applied to business networking and resultant revenue increase as the end product. (thanks Kevin !)

I guess it only takes a new door to be opened as others close to present those opportunities in a far changing technological world that we now live in. Its almost, "get with it or vanish"...as opposed to "publish or perish" in academic circles. Times are changing in how we conduct business and advertising and promotion is driven so much in how we utalise platforms on the web.

Ones business suddenly becomes a world wide player in a much larger market , accessible , with effective tagging and links , not possible 12 years ago....certainly for me , the advent of FB and LinkedIn have extended those opportunities and markets , not previously possible and being artistically relevent now is so much easier than in the past , where one had to lick the boots of Gallery Directors to get a showing. Now we as artists and designers have full control of own artistic integrity and can reach the the largest audiences without compromising our artistic style and originality, akin to our own individual definitions of art and genre without the criticisms of Gallery Directors. Essentially we take back ownership through our own virtual galleries and stand free of rejection and out pricing the market through high commision sales. A good site will get more visitors daily through effective tagging and linking than any real time gallery in todays world , governed now by mobile technology and browsing. We have, as users of the www, have 5 minutes to browse a gallery online, but to travel to a physical gallery , takes more  time, effort and planning. Its the pace and ease of the web that I believe has altered the way we sell our art today , and the days of physical galleries controlling the art market and who makes it, or is pushed aside , due to a Galleries paticular taste, are now over. (long may there be artistic diversity)
When Manet and other artists Exhibited their rejected works of art at the SALON DES REFUSES, after being turned away ,by the then controllong Academy system , they essentially could be compared to the majority of artists artists today in the 21st century , who now exhibit their own work to larger audiences , free of any physical contrlloing body that endeavours to dictate art taste and direction. The www is now the Salon des Refuses and in it that comparison , true artistic expression now flourishes ,(mostly) free of censorship and control.

Today, looking at all the current commercial online Galleries, one is certainly made very aware of all the artists selling work online and how the sheer volume of that exposure , makes competion fierce, but the upside is that we, as artists , are now essentially free to be exposed to worldwide audiences and platforms, not possible in a restricted  physical location , with an by invitation only policy or protected client /collector list governing essentially what the Gallery sells , to pander to a selective taste or style.

However , at the end of the day its what works for you as a commercial artist , selling work to make a living, is not easy, and takes most of us years to get into that position. With online networking and applications that process has now changed in the favour of the artist, and certainly the chances of being professional faster, are now possible to so many more. We as artists now have to be tech savy and learn all the new advances at speed and apply them to promoting our work, to utalise , what for me , has been just as creative and fufulling as creating a new work of art at times...such is art promotion now and as we move so fast technologically into the future , so we will have to adapt our strategies accordingly. Long live change and long live Art.