One of the major flaws of art education in Guyana rests with the absence of the business of art in its curriculum. This was one item on the list I submitted to Dr Denis Williams after I had refused to attend the Art school back in 1983, and as I was in his employ, he insisted that I compile my contentions. Though through the years I read books on the subject, I found out the hard way that talent and what existed in Guyana was inadequate to bargain to hold on to a reasonable portion of the negotiating stick in the business of the arts. So it is necessary to share this “case-study” of my experience to provide awareness among upcoming talent.
Usually in Guyana, because we live in professional familiar cliques, our legitimacy is known as well as our reputations and so much of what consists of our professional paperwork is side- stepped. But we also live in the world, that competes’ on a much more complicated stage, where self-preservation prevails over familiarity; as a matter of fact familiarity was not an option when knocking at the door.
I had decided in the mid -90s to tap into the North American industry as the arts at home had definitely taken a down side, from the Government administrative support end. I had written a couple of entities and had received favourable responses, sending a portfolio that consisted of a short Bio-data, and a page of each of the four items I had intended to launch through collaborative efforts.
Based on enthusiasm, I secured a joint loan from a local bank and departed for New York where most of the entities I had contacted resided. I had walked with at least the twelve first finished pages of each of the graphic series I was marketing. This was what I was accustomed doing at home. I soon realized that what in Guyana was described as the Art scene was in New York and the developed world serious business. After my first four interviews, it occurred to me that I was found wanting in the business aspect of my strategy. They had all requested the Copyright certificates for the concepts presented, business was not going to be done on my word.
The other options lay in contracts that implied “collaborative” and “work for hire.” I knew enough to realise that either term compromised my full Copyright ownership in the case of collaborative, and terminated my Copyright altogether with “Work for hire.” I was not in a nice place psychologically and my wife agreed with my brave decisions, though things at home were not as they should.
The reality that pounded my head was that you couldn’t copyright eight pages of a forty page original issue of a graphic concept. This meant that I had to finish the entire book. My little studio, reference morgue and library was in Guyana, and this task for one project would require at least eight months. I had to soberly conclude the adventure shelved. I proceeded to put a barrel together of saleable items, to recoup part of the expedition’s costs and then concentrate on exploring the New York terrain for individual “pot boilers” because as a Guyanese, those return home gifts are not excusable, thus, TOYS- R-US and other places still had to be visited. Also, necessary research and development items and art tools not in Guyana had to be sourced.
I hooked up with my buddy Ras Ita and Guy-American Andre Sealy. Andre was at that time working out of a studio with Scot Cikin at Spring and Greenwich Street. In Studio 325, there were sculptors. I did the graphics and some sculpturing. Myself and Ita visited the Marvel and DC offices and acquired much needed clarity in confirming what the Independent publishers [Graphic-comic book artists who were self publishing] were saying in the trade magazines. I should emphasise that trade magazines are important to persons in any field, or you can easily become Jurassic, or miss out on important time and finance saving avenues. All in all the expedition was a fertile experience.
Fast forward to 2016, today there are e-book handlers, but the traditional distributors still play an important part. If you’re reading this article and you are a painter, understand that you can sell a painting for decorative purposes but own its commercial rights, meaning that I bought your painting and can make as much money as your status grows, but if you had me sign a receipt that still allows you to commercialise the image, this doesn’t mean you can paint another copy, but rather place a digital image on place mats or greeting cards; you would not be in any violation. That’s if the client is not also interested in the commercial rights. Wherever the situation stands, your knowledge base and determination in the business of the arts will be important along the trail to the enchanted mountain.