Saturday night I rode my trusty three-speed up to Flux Gallery to check out Kurt Polkey’s auction. I admit, there was a drawing or two that I’d seen, and I was hoping that the prices would accommodate my severely curtailed budget (recession=fewer hours).
I got there a little early, and the crowd was thin, but I just figured it’d flesh itself out as the night went on. I was wrong, except for a few people who wandered in then muttered among themselves “this isn’t art,” and a few friends and supporters, the auction didn’t ever get of the ground.
In addition to feeling badly for Kurt, I also felt that to a certain extent his/our community had betrayed him. This post certainly does not need to devolve into a lecture about support, but on some level I just want to say c’mon people. Even if no-one had bid on a thing, a crowd of tipsy well-wishers would’ve made a bitter pill easier to swallow.
And now that I have had a couple of days to ponder it, I think that in the future, a "studio-clearing" event like this might work more effectively with a few more artists, and even a preview of some of the works available (say online), and not on a football night...but I could be wrong. We might just be in the wrong financial place to be going all Sotheby's (even if it is the keg-in-the-corner 5pts version) on our own asses.
On the plus side, I got to chat with Morrison, and he was right about at the six-beer point, so his drawl came out, his talking points were a little murky, and he folded his skinny self into a chair and held forth of a myriad of topics...including his KFC (maybe he said Popeye's) chicken dinner.
The point being: the overall tone was fun...it could’ve been a great night.
*the image pictured is the one I took home.
3 comments:
Holy Crap! I finally got to meet you and didn't even know it.
I'm the long haired guy that just had to question the swim goggles in the basket.
I too felt bad for Kurt. What puzzled me so, was the number of people I heard the night prior at the poster show talking about attending. And then witnessing that dismal turn out for Kurt.
I think you are correct that next time (if there is one) it should be more than just one artist.
Madeleine, it is finally nice to put a face with the name.
that is so funny! no worries about fondling my goggles though, fingerprints are easy to wipe off.
And it is good for me to put a face with a name too.
Plus, I think we share one other commonality, I think we lived in the same apt (at different times) the little studio over Judson's on Oak?
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