They Don't Sing Songs About Wallflowers
New Orleans artist Ashley Longshore is a firebrand. She’s loud, dynamic, outspoken, and makes no bones about her distaste for laziness and abstract art. She also regularly sells paintings to celebrities and hedge fund managers for tens of thousands of dollars.
She’s never been represented by a gallery or dealer and only operated and sold art through her studio/gallery in the heart of New Orleans. She declared early on that if any gallery or dealer wanted to feature her art, they could pay her in advance for the privilege because being locked into a consignment contract with no guarantee of return was a sucker’s deal.
Last week she announced moving her studio/gallery to New York, which is an insult to all gallerists and dealers in that city. The industry hub, which specializes in widening the divide between the anointed and the riff-raff, is not ready for someone of Longshore’s stature, but it doesn’t matter to her. She will knock them down if they don’t open the doors.
“I fuel my confidence. I believe in me and I know myself very well. If I can love myself then I can handle all the shit sandwiches life is gonna serve. I have no choice but to be confident. This is my life, why wouldn’t I love me?? I honor my talent and I work as hard as I can. I have nothing to hide. I will get nowhere with self-loathing”
- Ashley Longshore
I watched Beef last month; the most unsurprising performance was from David Choe, not because he was terrible, but because his animated personality lends itself to the performance we got from him.
Push aside any controversies regarding his manufactured rape stories for a moment because Choe is crazy rich, but it’s not from Netflix or his art (well, not entirely).
Choe got rich because of an early relationship with Facebook co-founder Sean Parker who was a fan of the art before bringing Choe in to paint boobs and penises all over the walls of Facebook’s first campus.
Parker became a fan of Choe’s art more from his exploits than his painting technique, and when given a choice to take cash for the wall art or stock in the early stage of Facebook, years before going public, Choe took the gamble, and it paid off.
We Don’t Talk About Artists Who Walk Softly
I read a lot of stories about art and artists because of this publication. I’m always on the hunt for anything that will help readers move the needle forward in their creative careers. However, unlike other industries where success stories about paths to freedom are plentiful, it’s challenging to find articles about how artists made their way to six and seven-figure incomes.
Nobody at the New Yorker or Vanity Fair is writing stories about your favorite watercolor artist who paints flowers and landscapes with 10,000 Instagram followers. Instead, they write stories about Longshore and Choe.
It’s frustrating because I want to share stories of creative individuals who have found modest success, but there’s not much to share. I know these people exist, but they don’t make the news, at least not in the more established publications.
It’s almost as if you must be a loudmouth or a sociopath to get attention from the nouveau riche intelligentsia and social media-addicted influencers driving online art sales beyond the walls of the megalith galleries and museums.
The next best answer is to do it myself. I’ve already started seeking out some artists more local to me that have made more of a dent in the industry than most. Gleaning wisdom from others who have achieved notable success is always great, and we can also learn from those who might be just a short distance, especially if they are leaving breadcrumbs to follow.
I don’t have a particular timeline for these stories, as I’ll be focused on sharing specialized yet thorough information about these individuals. I want these stories to be inspiring and actionable, perhaps even with challenges to work on and goals to achieve.
Anyone can write an article about a personality, but let’s make them count by turning them into action.
Also, because I want to make joining The Makers a no-brainer by delivering as much value as possible, these stories will be another value add for members.
Finally, if there are any artists or creators you’d like to hear more about, make sure to drop a comment. Keep in mind this is a small publication with not a vast reach (yet!), so I may not be able to get interviews with the A or B-List artists, but we can put their names on the someday list.
I love Longshore. Her work lends itself to her being loud and outlandish and out there. But not everyone can become a “newsworthy” character like that since the art might not be the flashy type. There’s a “gimmick” there whether we like it or not. The media loves controversy, envelope-pushing, or provocative new ideas. It seems either the work itself must accomplish that goal or the artist himself. The competition for eyeballs has gotten out of control lately as we become desensitized. I don’t know the answer, but being ourselves is the sustainable option long term.