This past April, Austin saw the closure of yet another independent art gallery. Tiny Park was not the first space of it's kind to shut it's doors this year. In fact over the past few years there have been several gallery closures. There have recently been several articles written about them and it is not my intention to report about it here. But i would like to comment on the bleak future i see in store for Austin's art community.
When i first moved i can remember being excited to join the small but lively art scene. There were lots of small independent art spaces, places like Pump Projects where artists could rent a studio space and have oportunities to show of there work began sprouting up quickly. EAST (east austin studio tours) was still young. And i can remember how great it was to visit small garage studios and artists living rooms. To me that idea of a collective sharing was incredibly inspiring. It was something i felt was missing in New York, especially after i left school. Finding it here in Austin gave me new hope for the arts as a community. But, being creatures of habbit, human nature reared it's selfish head and I watched this glorious little dream slowly start to crumble.
As with all young artists, ambition, confidence and competative nature began to grow. Since I have lived here the population of Austin has grown substantially. This small city has consistantly been in the top 5 of lists such as strongest economies and population growth over the past 5 years. With the surge in new people with new ideas, the nieve austin artists found their small pond growing. And when we find ourselves threatened we push back and become defensive. The small austin art scene needed to work harder for recognition.
In 2010 i took part in EAST for the last time. It was a great time sharing my work with the community. In 2011 i wasn't able to participate as an artist but i was able to participate as a visitor. I found the vast majority of the studios were now peddling crafts, handmade goods, furniture and ,what i would describe as, "postcard" art (small, inexpensive, usually prints of friendly images of flowers and cityscapes). The younger independent artists trying to be heard were having their voices drowned out by so much flashy work. It was also around this time that several large computer companies made there new homes in Austin bringing with them the young professionals such as designers and programers. People with new money that buy the expensive flash over the investment (i realize this is a great generalization but it was a point).
In the art world there are two types of collectors. There are the collectors who buy art as an investment, something that is not necessarily popular at the time but they see growing in value as the years pass. The other type of collectors are the ones that buy what is hot at the time. The art that makes a statement about themselves, like how people buy a Prius. It's less about self satisfation and more about the statement to others. It is the latter that infultrated the art scene in Austin. What this type of marked causes is a narrowing of artistic ideas. Artists are often more concerned with pleasing their audience then creating NEW conversations and bringing NEW ideas to to the table.
As an art community we have to look at our identities in the art world as a whole. We need to be aware of everything going on around the world and stop focussing on our own small space. Focusing on the individual scene creates stagnation and eventually death. Tiny Park is one step closer to death.
