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Jeff and friends,

I apologize if my comment was taken wrong.  I totally agree with what you
said in response.  It was not meant as a comment about the personalities of
either profession or as a judgment on the quality of the work produced by
either but just a statement of an economic situation. The only thing more
"real" about their jobs is a regular paycheck, health insurance and boring
meetings they have to attend.

Most of the scientists I have worked with are working for a university where
the cool images they make are a secondary source of income. (There is a good
argument to be made if these are art at all or just a pretty picture of a
natural phenomena.) The artists I have worked with are free-lancing or
teaching and rely on the sale of their art as a primary source of income
making it more expensive.

I would not classify any of the artists that I have worked with as flakes,
and I never meant to imply that they were. In fact my personal experience
has been that these are some of the with it people I know.  Being an artist
is a rough way to make a living and if you are not on top of things it just
won't work.  So folks that have been a studio artist for awhile are
generally great to work with.

Mike


On 10/6/08 9:37 AM, "Jeff Courtman" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
> 
> I came to the science center field after an art degree, have worked
> with artists on several occasions.
> 
> 
> Mike, I do take exception to this statement.
> 
>> #4......Scientists generally have real jobs and
>> don't rely on selling art for income.....
> 
> There are many experts, be they scienctists, science center people,
> artists, craftspeople, etc.   Some have good business skills, some
> don't.  But to make a blanket statement like this seems a little
> flip....I can tell you from experience, I've worked with several in
> the science community who were more arrogant, more demanding, and
> more inflexible than just about anyone I can name.  I can also name
> several artists who's art  is suspect, but whose business acumen
> allows them to be highly successful financially....
> 
> A corollary to Mike's statements is that we, as professionals, don't
> understand very well the cultural differences (and by cultural, I
> mean the culture of experts in a certain field) owing to a different
> realm of expertise.  I would say the main difference we fail to
> appreciate fully is that many, many artists work alone; we, on the
> other hand, are used to and comfortable with collaboration.
> 
> Mike's list is excellent but it makes it sound as if artists are
> aliens.  The top ten list provided is a great guide to working with
> just about anyone - not just artists.....And I dare say most of us
> respond best to positive feedback....The bottom line for working with
> artists, as it is with anyone, is to be clear in your expectations
> and your communications.
> 
> If you really want a kick in the pants, create a team that includes
> both an artist and a person trained in science.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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