Fauning

Fauning:  The Mythological Beast – the Artist

Artists are inundated with the idea of marketing and branding. The artist is imagined as a brand, with fame based on good ideas, a definable style, and a notorious statement. I’ve had a few business-minded people tell me that I’d be really famous if I could just figure out how to brand myself.  I think I’m doing fine.  Being a successful artist shouldn’t be all about branding – a successful artist explores life. But, if pressed to define my ‘brand,’ I’d say it’s that of an awkward adult: youngish but old, strong but gawky, confident but insecure, artsy but businesslike, surrounded by images of other artists’ as brands, and wanting to fit in. In this image, I’ve included “Andy” (as in Warhol), a Henri Rousseau lion head, a worn-out Playboy Bunny, the jug I have in my studio that reminds me of one the brand-master Picasso painted, and a Matisse-like figure in sienna and umber. In a mix of tight and loose style, I have also included a portrait of a friend who ‘helps artists navigate the art world’.

Definitions:

adjective