Wednesday, 16 January 2013
Artists wanted/see me
Social justice isn't the topic of the day, vanity art sites are.
Watch out for this vanity art site. It's like poetry.com and has a history of being poorly behaved and hiding information from the artists. I first came across them offering jobs at my local job center, these jobs were completely bogus, there was no paying work to be had from them. The jobs adverts were solely for one reason, to gather the personal information of artists in order to spam and solicit us onto what is a pay site.
Their new version: http://www.see.me/
This site should send up red flags if you are an artist, it's poorly laid out, the fees are concealed and just look how one of their staff acts when in response to advertising artists are less than impressed and feel it looks scammy.
http://www.blendernation.com/2011/04/05/artists-wanted-a-collaborative-project/
It's how the industry works!
No, no, it's not. You should never have to pay to have your work displayed in most galleries. The notable exceptions are well known juried books such as Expose that feature massive followings and that are regularly ordered by art directors and the like. Artists wanted/see me is not one of these.
(Link: Expose
Expose is a legitimate art book, the fees are upfront and it is worth getting into, it is a big name in digital art and concept art circles, if you are willing to enter pay contests, choose ones with a solid background and following like that. Artists wanted/see me does not have that.)
The See me staff member insults cautious artists.
Because saying that artists bring discredit to their community, lack experience and in particular aren't experienced in professional art is really going to get them to trust you. That's just a way of saying "Well, you're all unprofessional", it's a person attack. If artists wanted/see me was so upfront, it's staff members wouldn't namecall anyone who criticises it.
See me staffer accuses people of being rude.
Totally not defensive, because not defensive people insult others.
Suspect this is a sockpuppet, it talks the same way the staff member does.
There are negative reviews about this site as well, which is probably why art wanted became see me.
Post from a person who entered a contest and did not receive promised rewards.
A former paid user talks about their negative experience with the site.
Paid for an account, the account doesn't work. Tech support refuses to respond.
Basically the way the see.me "contest" works, is that they get $50-$70 membership fee, plus more if more than seven works are submitted by members, from tens of thousands of people. So if 50,000 artists enter? That's a minimum of $2500000 in fees they're taking probably much more since I didn't count all the alternative fees such as the $25 fee that gets the work on the front page. Btw? The space they used for the contest winner was donated free of charge. I'm sure it costs money to run the website and wages, which explains why after making 1.3 million in one years they're supposedly not profitable yet, but it's clear that this company isn't the ultimate exposure unless you have the money to pay all their fees for the most exposure on their site, plus a fan following capable of pushing you to the top, the websites staff are unprofessional, the site itself is full of hidden fees and the company has a history of being less than truthful.
My reccommendation: Avoid like the plague.
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Emily
ReplyDeletemy name is Michael Markman (Mike Markman on seeme site)I I attended the exhibit on Norfolk street in NYC last night. I waited on line for over twenty minutes to get in. When I finally got in I watched a monitor for two hours waiting to see my work. After waiting that long I went to the registration desk because other artists informed me thats what they did to find out when and where to see thier work. When I got there I asked when my work would and appear. I gave my name to the woman at the table. She told me see did not see my name listed and I should speak to you. At this point I was confused because I had recieved a confirmation that I was in the show and an email . I RSVPed and registered etc. When I spoke to you, you looked my name up and told me you that I was supposed RSVP,register etc.(see below email from you) To which told I did. You said there were problems with the online registration because of the amount of artists. You said my work was in show but it was in the VIP area. My question was how was I going to know this before I waited two hours to see my work in the main gallery.
I went to VIP for a while and still did not see my work. I went back to you and asked for proof that I was in the exhibit and you wrote down my name and number and said you would call me in the morning.
Emily I have been in the art world for many years. I have ties and connections to: The Brookln Museum
Henry Street Settlement, The Harlem Arts Alliance,The Harlem Chamber of Commerce ,Pro arts in Jersey City, I am a firend of the director of Valley Arts In NJ. I have particapted an numerous exhibitions in the US. I was selected to exhibit at the Contemporay arts show in NYC at the Javits center . I am not only an artist I am curator and teacher and I know hundreds of artists.I am a published author and illustrator. Needless to say I have a lot of ties in the art world. In all my years of in the artworld I never experienced an event that was so disorganized. I very dissapointed in your organization I feel like I have wasted vaulable time and money. I do not know at this point what you could say or do to change my opinon of your organization but you can rest assured that if I do not get a response from you I will send a copy of this Email to everyone of my art sources and the media. because I would never wish my experience with your organiztion on anyone.
Michael Markman
www.markmandesigns,net