Just to further my previous post on the grant that I received, here is the link and a print screen of my name on the awards page for 2022, for validation purposes: ​https://mainearts.maine.gov/Pages/Funding/past-awards#

Super excited that I have been selected to received a Maine Arts Commission Springboard Artist Grant in 2021. The funds will be used for my up-coming residency at Watershed Studios in Galway, Ireland in November of 2021. The residency will be for developing a stronger body of work in my abstract photography series, currently titled "Redirecting the Message", but it will also be used to develop a series of collage-based abstract photography works, as well.

This is a bit of a defining moment for me, as it is the first grant I have ever received. I'm super grateful, too, as I also didn't think I would be getting the grant based on the panelists' comments when they scored my application. I felt some of the negative feedback was undeserving and unrelated to the requirements of the grant. The most common note was that I didn't link my residency to Ireland with me being a Maine artist, and this was frustrating because it wasn't a requirement to make that link. I applied for this residency for a few reasons, but one is because I knew I had a connection with the residency and I knew I'd have a better chance at getting accepted as a result of this connection (do panelists have any idea how difficult it is to get accepted to good residencies?). But, a few weeks later, and I got the email stating that I had been accepted, and the amount was sufficient to pay for most of my costs. Yes, this is awesome, and I'm really happy to be putting this official statement on my website: The Greg Mason Burns Watershed Studios Residency in Galway, Ireland for November, 2021 is funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Here is the timeline of events. Please note that I have the email thread from the director of the program, so what I'm stating is true and I can prove it legally if need be. 

• Jan of 2020: I was asked by the Copelouzos Family Art Museum to participate in the 35 x 35 project where they sent me a canvas and I created a free piece of art and donated it to the family's museum. They would hold an exhibit in Greece (I was invited) and I would get put into a published book. The deadline to submit the artwork was noted as "until the end of April".

 

• Jan: I asked if there was a social component similar to that of the Imago Mundi Project, and I was told that any work I created would be "included in the permanent Museum's collection." It was hinted that this could be an opportunity to "begin a longtime fruitful communication with you." Therefore, no social component. 

 

• Jan - Feb: I accepted and for about two weeks there was a back-and-forth discussion on where to send the canvas (their expense via DHL). I received the canvas late Jan or in early Feb.

 

• March: My contact at the museum asked me to send a photo of myself for the project. I hate selfies, so I sent a self-portrait that I often use. They didn't like that, and asked for a proper head-shot. I also let them know that the artwork was still wet (painted thickly with oil) and needed careful handling when it is received (something I also said to my Imago Mundi contact, and that person duly noted to handle the work with care). I was told by the museum to hold on to the work until the courier would be dispatched in April.

 

• April 23: I sent in my self-portrait again as well as a description of the artwork. I stated: "This piece represents how artists are constantly being asked to provide artwork for free despite the high costs of creation. However, artists often have little-to-no choice on how to proceed. Therefore, this piece represents both how agreeing to participate dilutes the artist’s standing, while saying no continues to block access to collectors and markets." Yes, it is worded strongly, but that should not have mattered to the recipient. They asked for an art donation, and that's what I gave them. But I digress...

 

• April 23: My contact responded claiming that my text is "...somehow a negative criticism to the 35x35 art project...". In this email I was also told that if I "do not feel well with the idea of offering/donating this 35x35 cm work, then you should decide not to participate." It was also stated that "Of course, you are free to express your opinion, even to protest wherever and however you like but if you disagree with the whole idea of this art project, you should express to us your disagreement and not participate. We respect everyone's opinion, we do not expect that everyone share the same opinion with us."  At this point I kind of knew they weren't going to allow me to participate, but I was a bit surprised they didn't reject the work outright. It was up to me to withdraw, but of course...

 

• April 28: I responded stating that I would not withdraw and that I had changed the text to the following: "Created during the COVID-19 quarantine, this work reflects the struggles of artists to stay afloat during a time of work stoppages and a dwindling supply of art buyers and patrons. A dual criticism of the art market and the artist himself, it shows how the artist was woefully underprepared to engage in a market where surface funding stopped and left little support underneath." So yes, I remained in the proeject and changed the description to fit their mood better. And BTW - that whole COVID-19 losing work thing is true, I lost my job during this period due to work closures, and I told them that, too, stating that we were all in this together.

 

• April 28: My contact agreed that were in this COVID-19 thing together and asked me to send the rephrased text (note, this is in response to the email I had already sent earlier that day with the rephrased text in it already. The contact simply didn't open it, didn't read it, or didn't acknowledge it).

 

• April 28: I responded again with the re-worded text, but this time I added the line at the end: "It also shows how the lack of availability of wealthy patrons deeply affects the market of art development, which is an essential, expensive process where ground-breaking art is developed." Hey, if you aren't going to read the first one I sent earlier in the day, this is what you get for giving me a second chance to respond.

 

• April 28 and 30: My contact sent two emails requesting an image of the artwork, of which I replied to. There was also an exchange about my head-shot, which I finally relented to and sent in something more proper.

 

• May 1 to May 5: Crickets. Nothing. I followed-up on May 5 and my contact never responded.

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• May 10: The day I am writing this post. April 30 was the deadline, and they never asked for a pick-up or responded to my responses to their own requests. It is clear they rejected the artwork by silence. 

 

• June 15: More than a month after I wrote my original post, and more than six weeks after they requested my profile photo and gave my statement to them (and six weeks after their deadline), the shipping company got in touch to send the artwork to Greece. What's funny is that it was the shipping company that got in touch, not the museum. I was suspicious, so I sent an email to my contact at the museum and that person confirmed. Another odd thing, my contact found me via LinkedIn when we connected late in 2019, and we are no longer connected.

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• June 17: The package was picked up off the front porch by FedEx (I presume - I never saw them coming and left it out on the front porch as instructed).

So you're probably wondering if I'm going to send the artwork in. The answer is that I will. This only makes sense. They sent the canvas, and I accepted to participate in the program. Considering I wrote this post, it is only fair that I follow through with my original intentions. However, I will continue to update this as I learn more. This is because submission is supposed to mean an exhibit at the museum and well as publication in a book. I'll be waiting to see if I get the book and proof that it was, in fact, exhibited as noted.

• July 2: I received a phone call from an associate of the family / museum. This associated asked not to be named, but it is not the same person who I associated with during the process to submit. This person stated we had had a conversation in the past, but that was not true (neither email nor phone call, unless one of the emails was attributed to my "normal" contact but was actually written by the person who called - and I wonder if they were, in fact, the same person all the time. I have no proof of this and it may not be true, but I wonder). In short, however, it was a productive conversation. It should be stressed that my contact wanted this conversation to be informal, and it was. The conversation was healthy, and we both provided our arguments. There was no animosity during the call, just some polite disagreement and clarification of miscommunication on both parts. This is the summary. I was unprepared with regards to recording the conversation (and recording is illegal in Maine without the other person's permission, so as I saw the "Greece" on my phone light up, I had little time to get set up). 
  • ​The conversation, in short, revolved around a few things that were definitely not clear before. I was initially asked to remove the social media posts, but that request was changed to me adding something positive to my social media by the end of the call. This latter request was actually my own in the beginning as a simple update to this post (something I had stated I would do anyway), and I believe it was accepted / offered on their end by the end of the call.
    • ​They stated that they used professional photos in the book, which is contrary to what one of my artist contacts had stated. It is unclear if artist photos were used in earlier editions and professional later on, or if my artist contact simply didn't know the difference. My artist contact in this regard did say that the photos had varying quality, but my phone contact disputed that.
    • There has yet to be an exhibition of past 35 x 35 project submissions (previously from China, Russia, and a few other countries). However, the Copelouzos Family Art Museum has not stated that the exhibit would happen at a specific time. My phone contact stated that a larger exhibit of all the participants will be held in the future, and that it will not be in 2020. I should note that I've been told this before by another museum that accepted a free piece of art from me in Brazil, and while I have had good relations with that museum, that exhibit has not yet happened. So until an exhibit happens, it is only talk until it does.
    • It was stated that the museum cannot be public because it is on the grounds of the family's living estate. Of course, in my mind, this confirms that this is a family asking for free art to add to their private collection.
    • Furthermore, the contact stated that it would be difficult to buy all this art in the project, and if it was to be a purchase of art, then artists such as myself likely would never have gotten noticed. I agree that donation-style projects do inherently expand an artist's exposure. I also agree that if it were a purchase project that I probably wouldn't have been noticed by this family all the way in Greece, BUT art is not free, and there are enough artists who don't make ends meet. This isn't just part of the system, it is inherently unfair. Support your artist, because if you like art, it's the right thing to do. One thing I want to make clear: I was asked to participate in this project. I was asked via email, and that email came not long after I was connected on LinkedIn via my first contact with the museum (who is no longer connected to me). I never applied or requested to be a part. I was told twice (once by email and another on this phone conversation) that if I didn't like the project then I should withdraw, and each time I declined to withdraw.
    • The explanation for the silence in the months of May and June were due to COVID-19, according to my phone contact, but also miscommunication between shipping agents in Greece and in the US. I can understand this to some extent. It may very well be part of the truth. However, my email contact was always quick to respond before. Why would they not respond to multiple emails leading up to their own self-imposed deadline? It is a strange gap that may be partially explained, but definitely not completely so. My phone contact noted it was a small staff and a large project, and that this particular part of the project was a bit overwhelming for such a small staff. I can imagine that some parts of projects are more difficult to manage than other parts considering the same-sized staff. I'm still not sold that this is what happened in May 100%, but I can believe / imagine this being part of it.
    • I stated that my artist contacts never heard from the museum again after submission to previous editions of the project. My phone contact asked me if the artists had ever re-initiated contact with the museum after submission. It's a fair point, and I don't have an answer. I'll try to get one if it's possible. However, now I know how to get heard. And I may very well have a project for them to sponsor. I guess we'll see how that goes. I'm honestly curious.
    • The only quote I got was that my contact said, "Our goal is to support the artist." I agree that may be one of their intentions. I have also read that they are very active in the Greek art scene, promoting various projects and events. I don't think they are bad people, I just think the idea of a donation project without a social component is misguided. The contact asked me to send info about other donation projects with a social component. I plan to do so. Maybe this will spark a change.​

​What can you do? What is my point? Here:

• ​Share the shit out of this post. Not for my popularity's sake, but to call these guys out. If there was a social component to this, then that'd be different. But there isn't. Artists need to stop this kind of relationship. We deserve better. Share this so that we can change this project for the better. The more artists who know the more who will ask for change. If the Copelouzos Family Art Museum decides to start buying art for the project instead of asking for donations, or decides to respond and provide a social component, then I'll fairly update this post.

 

• Support me on Patreon: Yes, I'm getting some value out of this in the end (why shouldn't I?). But this is more because I'm going to transition the painting into a sculpture using the box they sent the canvas in (UPDATE 6/16 - Since they've actually requested the canvas, I'll be sending it to them un-sculpted, so no sculpture from this painting). By subscribing you'll get to see updates on the progress and you'll be supporting an out-of-work artist (due to the COVID-19 work stoppages). The minimum is $1/month, and you get rewards. (note: yes, Patreon says there are images on my page not suitable for minors: yes, I've attended nude drawing sessions like any other artist. No, they aren't unsuitable).

 

• Buy a Print: If you don't want to subscribe, then please buy a print. Doing so will not only help support me as an artist, but it will also spread the word that what this museum is doing isn't cool. The more people who buy prints the more it gets seen.​

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• Remember to fight back. Yes, it sucks that artists often have to participate for free to be seen or heard. It's part of the market and game. But it doesn't mean we always have to do so. Stand up for yourself. Maybe you'll get screwed over it, or maybe you won't. Either way, you'll own what you do, and as artists that is one of the most important things we can do.

Thank you!

Just got accepted into the Spring Issue of the Maine Arts Journal. The title is "Sanctuary" and I wrote about how the abstract is my sanctuary. Here is the link, enjoy: ​http://maineartsjournal.com/members-showcase-greg-mason-burns-gail-wartell/

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This was recently published by The Prostitution of Art, which is a contemporary art blog based out of Boston. The site discusses the unfair treatment of artists by society / market. Articles are meant to be abstract criticisms of these forces in the contemporary world. Here is the link to the original text: The Prostitution of Art.

Here is the original text:

I want to be creative, but society has its own rules. There are no rules for creativity, and yet here we are. Where? Here, today, when art is no longer supported except through behemoth organizations sucking up money from the artist direct. Sure, you’ll go out and buy your prints from Target and destroy the artist even more. But they’re cheaper and look more professionally done. You need to be competitive. Competition is good. And bad, because the artist has no competition. He or she is unique, without comparison. That's foolish, think outside the box. There is no box. Not even an amoeba. The artist is the box, forever changing form and shape, pushing boundaries that only exist because we need a word to describe what we’re supposedly pushing. Then why the expression? It’s a corporate thing, meant to give permission to exceed established efficiency boundaries. And art doesn’t have efficiency boundaries? If no, why are you so poor? Because my world isn’t your world. You can never conquer the creative world, only diminish it, lessen its importance in society, the society you create, always pointing to what you call progress, upward, always making it hard on the artist. Sounds phallic, hehe. It is a fallacy. Art sold for millions never goes to the artist, the creator. Give me an example. A dangling light. A light? That shows the way. A light that shows the way is a fallacy in of itself because it only shows what it can shine upon and everything else remains darkened by the soft edges of the light and its limits and how far it can go and how far it cannot go. Auction houses are the light, but creativity is the darkness. Too deep for me, just like the price of your painting. Another car payment? That and a family cruise to Aspen. A cruise that can’t be taken. And yet I’ll pay for it just the same. Here’s a quarter, what can you make me for a quarter? I’ll take your quarter and take a picture. And you’ll send it to me by email? So you can reproduce it on the Internet and make more money than it cost you? Sure, that’s what I’m talking about. No need to give me your card, I’ll remember your email by memory. Now that’s why I only gave you a quarter. And it’s why your idea that art will always exist on a quarter is a fallacy. If art is darkness, it will always exist. Someday the light will go out forever. Art will conquer? Not if you only have one word for darkness. Maybe I’ll create another one. Ah, maybe. ​

Color Field painting, a derivative of Abstract Expressionism, is essentially the attention to color in abstraction as opposed to form or structure. The early Color Field painters, such as Mark Rothko, Clement Greenberg, and Clyfford Still wanted to create large works such that when one was standing up close one was absorbed in the color. Color Field has developed since then with various tendencies moving both further from shape and form and closer to it. 

I'm developing color field in a way that combats the color against the figure (and will be doing so this year mostly at a residency at Contemporary Arts International with an exhibit following in November). This is not easy to do. First and foremost I need to have worthy figures that can both compete with the color but not overtake it. I do this by developing minimalist charcoal drawings, and the ones that work get transferred to paintings (digital studies below). But that's not all that's difficult. Color Field requires the fluid consistency of color, and the more colors that are added the more they must contrast and compliment each other at the same time. Make one mistake, and you've lost that jarring awakeness, so to speak.

So it's important to note that while creating one of these paintings is actually technically easy to do, what is difficult is the discovery and development of the painting. Many studies are done before a piece is finally ready to be painted on the final support. For example, Color Field #4 (noted above) is the study for Color Field #7, the latter of which is almost 3.5 times larger than the smaller version. Below are a couple of "failed" studies, too. Again, once the paint is done, there's no going back, so one needs to be right before going in.

It's the same with Jackson Pollock's streams of paint. Those look completely random (while Color Field tends to look quite prepared - a stunning contrast of the diversity of Abstract Expressionism), but Pollock did a lot of studying to prepare for his final pieces. Those paintings are anything but random. Neither are these paintings that focus on the color. So I have actually four steps:

1. Find the right color combinations;
2. Develop good minimalist images;
3. Discover which images go best with which colors;
4. Pay close attention to all previous studies when creating the final piece (and hope nothing goes wrong!)

We'll see how this develops and if the idea sticks in the exhibit later this year.

I noted late in 2017 that I was asked to participate in the Luciano Benetton Imago Mundi project, which is a collection of artworks from every single nation on earth. Each country has it's own collection, but some countries, such as the UK, have separate pages for the nations that exist within the UK. I was asked to participate in the Scotland Collection.

The way the project works is that the artist is sent a canvas. Each artist has the same sized canvas, and that's to make it easier to store and exhibit all the different artworks. The artist uses the canvas in any way he or she prefers, and then sends the canvas back. It becomes a permanent part of the Imago Mundi collection, and is exhibited all over the world.

My painting, titled Incomplete, was done with a single brush stroke of the closest I could come to of the official color of the Saltire (St. Andrew's Cross) flag, Pantone 300. My photo here is a little darker than it really is, and the photo of the Imago Mundi Scotland Collection link is a little lighter than it really is. I think I got close enough.

This is obviously an abstract work, but it has a pretty significant meaning to me. First off, it is only one part of the Saltire, or in another way, half. From this it gets it's title of Incomplete. But this incompleteness is more symbolic. Scotland is still a member of the United Kingdom. There is a practical and romantic surge of a belief of the right to self-determination in Scotland. Whether one agrees Scotland should be independent is another question, but this work approaches the subject of independence as if there is still work to be done. So the Saltire, the painting, and the independence movement are only half-way there.
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Anyone remember Piss Christ by Andres Serrano? Yeah, that one - the one where Serrano received about $20,000 in tax-payer money to create art. In my mind, nothing wrong with that - he's an artist who had a provocative photograph, and that's pretty normal in contemporary art - but there were several conservative politicians who did take exception and, as luck would have it, these politicians managed to change how the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) would distribute tax dollars to artists.

Before this controversy, the NEA offered grants to individual artists. After, they offered grants to only organizations and institutions as a sort of protective buffer. It would be the organization that would take the blame if anything such as this ever came about again, and not the NEA.

As one might imagine, this caused a problem in the art world. Contemporary art is definitely something worth collecting, but it's not something that typically hangs on a person's wall for decoration. It's an investment, and investments are often saved for the wealthy. If an artist is lucky enough to have wealthy admirers, then there's no problem with art creation - the lucky artist can find a way to pay the bills and put food on the table. But if that artist doesn't have the client base? Well, supporting the development of art is expensive and that money has to come from somewhere. Step in fiscal sponsors.

Fiscal sponsors took over the role of artists in the world of granting money to artists. Instead of the money going to the artist, it now had to go to an organization, but why must that organization be a well-known one such as the Warhol Foundation? The answer is that it need not be. Fiscal sponsors simply apply for the grant on behalf of the artist, and then pass on the grant money to the artist after taking a fee (usually 3% to 10%).

Now, don't get to thinking that the fiscal sponsor will write that grant application for you. They won't. You need to write it first, they need to approve it, and then you send it on their behalf. They are the ones applying, but you're doing the work. Often times an artist needs to apply to the fiscal sponsor as well. This is a good thing as it shows some level of standards and quality.

How can you find fiscal sponsors? Well, just about any non-profit arts organization can be one, and it often helps to find one in your state. I recommend an experienced one, though. Mine is Fractured Atlas and I've successfully raised over $1,500 dollars for my project there. The good thing, too, is that anyone who donates to me makes a tax-deductible donation, because technically the money initially goes to a non-profit.

Where can you find these fiscal sponsors? I googled and got references, but you can find a listing of ones at these sites:

• Fractured Atlas
• The Field
• Women Make Movies
• Alliance of Artist Communities
• National Network of Fiscal Sponsors

There are fiscal sponsors for a variety of art specialties. Find the one that best suits you and get after it!

I haven't done a Kickstarter proejct for a while, mostly because I'm just not the kind of artist who needs a lot of "one-off" projects fulfilled. My most pressing need at the moment is studio space, and I've been working on my Patreon page to get me to a point where I can have on-gong long-term relationships that help me create art on a regular basis. However, when I saw that Kickstarter was going to be doing a Commissions project, I knew that this type of project would work well for me on that platform.

I've been doing a lot of minimalist charcoal drawings lately, mostly because of the models sessions that I've been attending. I started these a while ago, in Brazil, and have developed a line of portraits, landscapes, and abstract drawings that would make a very nice exhibit in of itself. This Kickstarter project gives me a chance to develop new clients from a different perspective. So please, check it out if you get the chance. I'd love to hear back from you on it.