This article by Matt Mirapaul is great; the title is just the name of the=
song I have on. Not that I support the Clash and Sandinista or object to=
Bono and DATA. I'm just alarmed to hear Eyestorm is chapter 11. I've
followed David Ross's career, beginning in Syracuse, through the Whitney,=
then SFMOMA and recently Eyestorm. He's big news no matter where you get=
your corn-pone. The ultimate 90's curator you could say, on equal footing=
with Peter Weibel at ZKM, in short a serious player.
So on that basis I'd like to sell–offlist of course–this url:
http://rhizome.org/object.rhiz?1866
that's a rhizome artbase object, not for sale really, but these two are, fo=
r
2k each offlist serious requests only pending copyright and other
considerations:
http://www.geocities.com/genius-2000/SFMOMA82700.html
http://www.geocities.com/genius-2000/SaleArt.JPG
Proceeds of the sale go half to Rhizome and half to me via whatever cash
management consensus Zanni, Tribe, and Paul work out this weekend (JK). =
Which reminds me of the factor of a Rhizome Book or Rhizome editions, sold =
to
benefit Rhizome, that should be on the table at the Zanni thing. It's a
living working reality, as Gregory Peck said, that we all know about.
Ross is a curator, excellent in many ways, who specializes in growth or
development; that his newest choice is abruptly over affects the whole
curatorial and artistic scene. So I copied this, enjoy
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/20/technology/20EYE.html
Online Gallery Is on the Block: Visitors Came, but Didn't Buy
By MATTHEW MIRAPAUL
yestorm.com, an online art gallery that was established to sell exclusive=
artwork to the Internet masses, has been declared insolvent and is now itse=
lf
for sale.
David A. Ross, who abruptly left his post as director of the San Francisco=
Museum of Modern Art and became Eyestorm's chairman last October, confirmed=
in an e-mail message Thursday that the company, based in London, was being=
liquidated. Mr. Ross said he was not authorized to comment and referred
inquiries to BDO Stoy Hayward, a British accounting firm.
When Eyestorm went online in December 1999, it sought to capture a corner o=
f
the online art and poster market, which has been estimated at $13 billion, =
by
selling signed, limited-edition prints from well-known artists to buyers wh=
o
might be hesitant to step inside a gallery. The company flaunted its fine-a=
rt
credentials, signing up high-profile contemporary artists like Damien Hirst=
and Jeff Koons.
But the company soon learned what most suspected: unlike the online
purchasers of books and CD's, art lovers are reluctant to buy works they ha=
ve
not experienced first-hand. To compensate, Eyestorm opened galleries in
London and New York — a seeming contradiction to its original premi=
se of
allowing buyers to avoid the gallery scene. The company began selling works=
to hotels and home-furnishings stores, and set up a business to license
images for advertising agencies.
Eyestorm also attracted money from art world patrons. New Enterprise
Associates, a venture capital firm cofounded by C. Richard Kramlich, a note=
d
collector of video art, supplied money for the start-up. Charles R. Schwab,=
the discount-brokerage founder and arts patron, was also an Eyestorm
investor. Neither Mr. Kramlich, an Eyestorm board member, nor Mr. Schwab
returned calls seeking comment.
With only $2.5 million in annual revenues, Eyestorm continued to lose money=
.
The company may also have had some problems controlling costs. Former
employees said staff members who were assigned to attract big-name artists=
spent lavishly in the pursuit. They also said the company had paid a premiu=
m
to open galleries for the 2000 holiday season. To offset these costs, the=
company set high sales goals that, when they were not met, resulted in
frequent layoffs and reorganizations.
Eyestorm is not the first online art gallery to run into trouble. Last May,=
<A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=h=
ttp://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb==
GETY">
Getty Images</A> folded its Art.com venture. The domain was bought by
Allwall.com, an online poster vendor that continues to operate a site at th=
at
Web address.
Last Wednesday, BDO representatives arrived at Eyestorm's London headquarte=
rs
and sent everyone home without pay, except for a skeleton crew, former
employees said. A sign in the window of Eyestorm's New York gallery yesterd=
ay
said that the store "will be closed today."
Mr. Chadwick said orders were still being accepted on Eyestorm's Web site,=
but that they would not be shipped or credit cards debited until the
company's future was settled. Creditors are set to meet Friday.
London Calling: Light-Winged Dryad of the Trees
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Type: discussion
