Are artists hard hit by the economic depression? Well, yeah. Maybe. But most artists have been so poor and out of the mainstream for so long that they hardly notice. Galleries too. They may have to make some creative adjustments to weather the hard times, but geez Louise, weathering the hard times has been their modus operandi since the first time an art dealer opened to the public. Let’s face it, it was not easy for Theo van Gogh to sell his brother’s paintings.



Just this week Fulcrum Gallery announced that “due to the increased demand and high volume of traffic” the gallery has been “forced to extend” its hours. It is now open Thursday through Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. How’s that for caving in under the pressure of economic depression?



And Paula Tutmarc-Johnson at Two Vaults Gallery seems to be riding the recession as if it’s a bucking bronco. “The first half of 2008 was just not so great. The third quarter was weird and quiet, and the fourth quarter was downright scary,” Tutmarc-Johnson says. “January 2009 was no better, but something has happened in February. Is it just a feeling of hope? That maybe someone (Obama) has their attention on what the heck has happened to this country’s economy. Things are selling again. Familiar faces are coming in, and new faces are returning to purchase what they fell in love with a few days ago.”



On other fronts, Robert Stocker from the Robert Daniel Gallery says sales are going well, but just to play it safe the gallery is making some changes such as featuring smaller works that can sell for less and making the gallery available for private parties and corporate events. Isn’t it weird how artists have always been among the poor in society but have always had to schmooze with the wealthy in order to survive?



Some local artists have been forced to make big changes in their lives. David N. Golberg and CJ Swanson, for instance, changed their plans to relocate to Portland because they decided this is not a good time to venture into new territory (much to Tacoma’s good fortune), and Chip Van Gilder has decided to get out of the art game altogether (a huge loss to T-town).



In order to understand how our present monetary woes affect artists and the business of art, two things must be understood right off the bat. The first is that very few artists have ever made a living from their art. They teach; they work a variety of odd jobs or depend on “day jobs” that have nothing to do with art, or they sponge off spouses or other relatives — or combinations of all of the above. The second is that very few art galleries make money by selling art. They double as frame shops or gift shops; they supplement their incomes with art classes, or they have other sources of income that help them keep the doors open.



Sometimes artists and dealers band together to help each other weather the storms. A prime example of this was when AOC Gallery went under — a group of artists got together to run it as an artists’ co-op under the new name, Grand Impromptu. It has been somewhat successful, but obviously not successful enough considering that Van Gilder, a prime mover in the inception, has been forced to drop out. Not only a fine photographer but a longtime curator in various arts venues in the Tacoma area, Van Gilder says, “I‘ve pretty much dropped out of the artist community. I found a minimum-wage day job. I have been getting overtime with it so that helps. I don’t think my work was financially successful — at least here in Tacoma. Everyone wanted everything for free. I put a few years effort into getting my work out there and helping others, but the foundation didn’t produce any long lasting results.



“My personal feeling is that the good ole boy society of the Tacoma business has done everything it can to eradicate art as a culture in Tacoma.”



Artists Becky Frehse and Betty Ragan have joined together in an effort to survive the depression. “Artists have to be creative during these difficult times,” Ragan says. “Becky Frehse and I have rented a new studio space, an old cafeteria at the F.S. Harmon Building in Nalley Valley, to help us survive the dip in revenue. We offer lessons to cover the rent and to help buy our art supplies. I teach a teen-age to adult group, and Becky will be starting a younger group in March or April. It has been a real adventure and a challenge to convert the large space for our use. We have been working on it since November.”



By way of advice to other artists who may want to work together, Ragan says, “If you band together as artists to save costs you want to be sure that the personalities combine well and that each artist shares his or her part of the time and money requirements. Becky and I are very different as artists and as personalities, but we each try to carry our part of the load.”



As the saying goes, appearances can be deceiving. You’d think of all Tacoma artists Lynn Di Nino would be very successful; she’s surely one of the better known artists in town. But she’s not doing so well. A year ago she invested in rental property to augment income that was “sliding, with no art sales.” But her rental property remains vacant, and she sounds panicky. “I am that survival-type personality that gets anxious; yet, immediately I begin to list my skill-set and also to think of dinky yet practical things I can create to sell … Potholders? Aprons? Door-to-door? Become a waitress? Work for the census? Even a very mundane job sounds satisfying, and of course, bringing in any money at all would be an improvement over what I’ve got. I wouldn’t describe myself as optimistic, but I am practical.”



A little more upbeat is glass artist and gallery owner Oliver Dorris, who says: “As a professional glassworker jobs in my field have always been few and tenuous at best with little or no job security. As a ‘self-unemployed’ artist the constant hustle and the trick of making something out of nothing is a way of life. This economic downturn has affected me very little. There is no large company I can be fired from. My art career is still taking off, and I am making roughly the same amount of money this year as I did last year. When you are used to just getting by one develops a simple lifestyle. I don’t expect my lifestyle to drastically change in the next few years.



“Concerning the recession, in every economic downturn there is a percentage of the population who remains unaffected. It is generally this stable population that are the donors and collectors of our community. Times of economic strain are also often periods of economic and social innovation. The artistic drive exists in all human beings however differently it manifests in each. Professional artists take this drive and focus it into some marketable product or service. This drive cannot be suppressed; rather than curl up and die, artists are chameleons who morph into other avenues of creation.”



Robert Daniel Gallery is reaching out to other venues not only in this area but in Eastern Washington and across the country, placing art in venues such as wineries and making its space available for such things as charity auctions. Such ventures increase artists’ exposure and ensure that the artwork and the gallery are enriching the lives of collectors and the community at large.



Stocker from the Robert Daniel Gallery sums up what may best describe the state of the arts today: “Although the economy has many people feeling reluctant to purchase original works of art, we believe that art of the highest quality will continue to be a sound investment and at this time (that) is proving true.”

Sobering trends from the National Endowment for the Arts

• Artists are unemployed at twice the rate of professional workers.


• Unemployment rates for artists have risen more rapidly than for U.S. workers as a whole.


• Artist unemployment rates would be even higher if not for the large number of artists leaving the workforce all together.


• The job market for artists is unlikely to improve until long after the U.S. economy starts to recover.