Crawl 2010: Successfully Breaking Rules

Huub Keeven is an artist illustrator. (Huub is pronounced "hoop." He is from the Netherlands.) He (and his wife) have their PhDs in charm and you quickly are welcomed into the joyful atmosphere in their studio. I was shocked to see in a corner of their shared space, a table on which Huub's artwork was piled high. There were no sleeves on the artwork, no mats, nothing, and I was taught that this gives an unprofessional message to viewers. My teachers said that doing what Huub does disrespects your own work.

But, what I saw at the table was fascinating and positive. People were drawn to it and seemed to take infinite joy in finding a treasure in the pile. But everything on the table was appealing. My teachers also said, price and label everything. Nothing on Huub's table was priced or labeled, and if you asked him a price, he had no idea. "Ask my wife," he would say. He was breaking all the rules, and it was working very well for him.

I asked people as they left, what they thought of Huub's studio and about their experience inside. Everyone was extremely positive about both Huub and his studio. What they liked about the table, they said, was a kind of "treasure hunt" feeling they had looking through his work. "It was fun." they said, seeing what was there.