PUBLICITY FOR FINE ART ARTISTS – WHY PR WORKS

Many people assume that they what they read, hear and see in the media in connection to certain artists has just naturally occurred due to the artists talents of the artist. This of course would be wonderful but is rarely the case – most artists who have great media coverage have hired a PR to tell their story and raise their profile. Banksy, Tracey Emin, Hockney – some of the artists whose PR has worked wonders for them worldwide from national press to the top fine art magazine and media outlets.

Artist Tracey Emin

Art Print by Banksy

Do nothing and indeed nothing will happen – you have to be prepared to sell your personal story as well as your art. Your work may be amazing and you may feel that is enough – it’s not! You need to give your work a back up – thinking about your life, your influences, unique style, family, how you design and create your work – all these angles could add to the press being interested in you and your story.

We know Van Gogh was an artistic genius alongside Gauguin but most people know more about Van Gogh chopping his ear off and his self portrait of this moment – the personal aspect of Van Gogh’s rather traumatic life is one of the main draws for his PR and media presence. Tracey Emin’s ‘Unmade Bed’, her honest discussions of past and present relationships, create immense media interest and then of course public interest, raising her profile. People may be confused about some of Tracey’s art but they do empathise with her honesty about the influences of events in her personal life – through this they can understand her work better and realise the many messages she is trying to share through her artworks. Such artists are of course an art marketing company’s dream – an artist that is not afraid to talk about their personal life, the more personal the better, is creating a back story for their work, therefore opening their work up to a much wider audience. Some people may not understand the actual artwork, sculpture or installation as a stand alone piece of art but give them the story behind its creation and they see so much more, the may relate, understand, sympathise, certainly a whole new range of emotions open up.