Art & Artist Brochures and Catalogs Make Great Promotional Tools

Q: I'm beginning to get more recognition as an artist and want to print a brochure or catalog to help market my art. I'd like to include a short bio, exhibit listings, and some black and white or color reproductions.

A: Artist brochures and catalogs make great promotional tools. If you can afford it, go with a catalog as opposed to a brochure, preferably in the 8 to 20 page range (assuming it's your first). Catalogs look more substantial than brochures, they're taken more seriously, and they tend to end up on bookshelves and in file cabinets rather than in the trash.

A good catalog greatly improves your ability as an artist to market your art. For one thing, it lets you promote yourself without having to open your mouth-- all you have to do is hand over a catalog. You can also use it to reach people who live too far away to visit, are hard to get by phone, or who need time to decide whether or not to buy your art.

A well thought out catalog becomes a record of your artwork that outlasts you and serves to document this stage of your career for anyone researching your art in the future. A conversation with an art librarian at a museum or major public library will give you an instant idea of the scholarly and historical value of art books and catalogs. If possible, have them show you examples of older publications that have turned out to be particularly useful research tools.

Regarding the structure of your catalog, the most important rule is to be concise and stick to the facts. People want to know who you are, what your art looks like, and what you've accomplished. Resist tendencies to delve into subtleties of your work or spell out personal philosophies in detail. You'll lose readers here.

A one to three page bio containing basic career information is usually all that's necessary as an introduction to you and your art. If possible, have a respected art expert, critic, dealer or personality do the writing, or at least some it-- like the foreward or preface, for instance. The bigger the names that you can associate with your art and your catalog, the better.

In addition to the bio, provide a list of your exhibitions and a chronology of career-related events. Readers, especially researchers, prefer easy access to important dates, honors, awards, grants, people and places. A listing of books, magazines, catalogs and newspaper reviews that mention you or your art is also worth including.

Show all finished writing to a variety of people from different segments of the art community BEFORE you publish. Ask for their opinions and seriously consider everything that they say. If you hear similar criticisms more than once, think about reworking the necessary paragraphs. You want your end product to be easy to understand and have as broad an appeal as possible.

Color illustrations are always superior to black and white, but if color is too expensive, black and white will do just fine. Include as many illustrations as you can comfortably afford. Your goal is to provide a comprehensive visual record of your work. Once again, getting a consensus opinion as to which pieces should be reproduced is preferable to making all the selections yourself.

Additional Considerations:

* Whenever possible, list owners, dimensions of pieces, dates they were completed, places where they were exhibited, and other relevant specifics.

* In addition to illustrations, provide a checklist of your major works. The more comprehensive it is, the better.

* Illustrate significant pieces from various stages in your career. This gives readers a better idea of where you've been and where you're headed. Things to Avoid:

* Name dropping. Mentioning the world's great artists or art movements with the intention of forming connections between you and them is self-defeating. Readers won't take this seriously. Only the passage of time and scholarly consensus determine these sorts of things.

* Excess padding. Don't include the names of every single person who owns your work or every single place that's shown it. For example, mentioning that you once hung a painting at Bob's Pizza and Subs can actually demean your work rather than promote it (not that Bob doesn't serve great food). Knowledgeable readers spot excess padding in a second.

* Exaggeration. Tell it like it is and not like you want it to be. Misrepresenting yourself or your accomplishments can negate everything else you say in your catalog, whether it's true or not.