Genius or Victim

I do not know what to make of old Kieron Williamson, his parents or his buyers—the kid is NINE YEARS OLD and he has a gallery selling his original watercolours and derivative limited edition prints. Today, a news release says he has just bought his parents a home in Ludham, Norfolk; his parents have announced a retrospective of his work for next year—and again, he will be ten years old.

This story joins those of other child prodigy visual artists (sample) and the painting elephant whose stories make me wonder about the artists "owners," agents and buyers. Children and animals have no rights; they are virtually "owned" by their guardians. When children prodigies become known to the world, you know that their "owners" are behind the exploitation.

Keiron cannot sign any legal documents. The empire of exploitation surrounding him is entirely facilitated by his parents—the new home owners. Although he may enjoy the special status his talent brings him, I see him as a victim. The lad will never know life without pressure—from his parents, the galleries involved, the media and the market. He will lose the joy and freedom of his youth. Stories like this make me very uncomfortable.

Link to story about "the Mini Monet."

Another Scammy Feeling Email

These people just want your money.

I get too many things like this because of my profile as a writer/teacher in the visual arts. The other thing I get often, is emails asking my advice about accepting the offer to be printed in a publication or to be included in a show somewhere impressive. I get the impression that these are all scams. I am NOT saying they are, but I just find that there are far, far too many people out there preying on our vanity and eagerness to be seen and to sell. I say: IGNORE ALL THESE UNSOLICITED INVITATIONS.

Beware of Scams

I get a lot of emails from artists asking about unsolicited solicitations from international organizations that propose to publish their work in a book (or to put their work in an exhibition). By default, I am always suspicious about these kinds of proposals and I urge you to be. In most cases, I find that these proposals are by disreputable people or firms that exploit the artists' desire to be seen and to further sales and their name awareness.

There is nearly always a substantial fee, rather than a licensing agreement that I would expect. So I urge you always to be suspicious. Seek advice, if you have to, but due diligence will usually reveal the pointlessness of the exercise to objective eyes.