Burart Diary
Burart Diary is published every Monday morning.
The editor-in-chief of art on writes freely, in diary form, about art and the everyday things he loves or thinks about. Please read at your leisure.
Over the weekend, I visited the studios of Nanae Mitobe and Yuka Shiobara.
They have converted a disused factory into a working studio — with a high ceiling and generous space, it is a superb creative environment.
We also dropped in on the adjacent house and had a lively discussion about art.
Studio visits are a luxurious opportunity — you can experience the artist’s creative environment firsthand while hearing plenty of stories and thoughts directly, with the works in front of you. In such a peaceful setting, time flowed slowly as we enjoyed coffee.
By the way, Nanae Mitobe will be participating in the Colle-Colle Exhibition starting December 27, as one of “the artists I want to add to my collection in 2020.” Please look forward to it, together with her ongoing solo exhibition at Maki Fine Arts (running through December 22).
Writing Prose That Is Easy to Read
This site, “art on,” is now in its third year since launch.
The desire to write prose that is easy to read is always on my mind, and I do my best to live up to it.
In running the site, I have three mentors.
One is deeply versed in the world of the web — a leading practitioner of content production whose latest efforts have drawn wide support. From content strategy and SEO to photo editing techniques and the latest PC gear, he gives me advice across many fields.
Another mentor comes from the publishing industry.
He holds a certain position in that world, and offers me a great deal of guidance — from general advice on writing to pointing out my own personal habits.
The third mentor is myself.
I try not to be swayed by those around me, but to write articles that are mine alone, valuing the insights and energy that arise from within.
Many people write short-form text on blogs, note, Twitter, and so on.
For those readers, I recommend two books. Both are excellent.
As a small aside, I have placed a “Typo & Omission Report Form” in a corner of the site.
If you notice anything, please feel free to submit it. *I will consider a small thank-you as I see how it goes.
The Invitation-Only SNS “CaM by Muuseo”
Recently I have been uploading works from my own collection to a certain web service. It is an invitation-only SNS for art lovers called “CaM by Muuseo” (hereafter CaM).
CaM is a closed web environment where collectors and primary galleries share images of their collections and inventory works. Because it is invitation-only, it is a safer platform with much less risk of being harassed by anonymous or unidentifiable users.
https://cam.muuseo.com/
Beyond sharing collections and works, CaM also supports functions such as exhibition reviews by collectors and introductions of favorite artists, enabling communication through article posts.
I hope that the community of art collectors will mature, that the joy of collecting will spread, and that the base of collectors will continue to broaden. I feel that services like CaM becoming better recognized and more active is one form that this can take.
I received the baton of invitation from a collector named Fukano-san.
If you know a collector who is a member, please try to receive an invitation from them. Alternatively, you can also register with an invitation from a commercial gallery affiliated with the “Contemporary Art Dealers Association Nippon (CADAN)”. If you’re interested, please inquire at a gallery.
It is a service aiming for a high-quality community of collectors and galleries. As the service is still new, I look forward to future upgrades as well.
Responding to Search Terms
Looking at the Google Analytics (hereafter GA) dashboard, you find all sorts of information packed inside.
The item I sometimes check and use for reference is organic search terms.
This is the section where you can see the terms visitors typed into search boxes to land on the site. Some of them are quite interesting and give me new ideas, while many make me laugh out loud.
The idea of this column is to pick a few terms from last month and answer them in detail.
November search term (1): I want to exhibit at an art fair as an individual
I see…
Perhaps this was typed by an artist without gallery representation?
There are almost no individual artists exhibiting on their own, I think. Art fairs are basically something galleries enter, so unless you run a gallery yourself and exhibit that way
November search term (2): What is an exhibition catalogue
Deep question…
An exhibition catalogue can be understood as a record of an exhibition — but it may not be limited to exhibitions; any publication containing plates of artworks could be called a catalogue.
For contemporary art exhibitions, the catalogue is often released only in the latter half of the run. Come to think of it, I forgot to buy the Izumi Kato exhibition catalogue at Hara Museum on opening day…
November search term (3): Why are Yoshitomo Nara posters so expensive
I couldn’t agree more.
Works related to Yoshitomo Nara are extremely marked up, even at the poster level. High-priced trades happen on the secondary market, and it seems the presence of buyers looking to flip them is pulling prices up.
At N’S YARD, which Nara-san runs directly, you should be able to buy at more reasonable prices, even online. Please check the article below.
It’s already December. 2020 is just around the corner…
See you next week!
Editor-in-Chief, art on
Mahiro Kobayashi
