Nothing is more frustrating than rejection, and many times artists
inject a rejection letter—often merely a form letter—with more meaning
than was intended: The art is bad; the artist is an idiot for
submitting it; the letter writer is biased or expressed the opinion of
the entire world.
by Daniel Grant
Nothing is more frustrating than rejection, and many times artists
inject a rejection letter—often merely a form letter—with more meaning
than was intended: The art is bad; the artist is an idiot for
submitting it; the letter writer is biased or expressed the opinion of
the entire world. Handling adverse—or even favorable—reaction to one’s
work is a learned behavior, the result of maturity, confidence, and
experience with how art dealers, exhibition jurors, and collectors
think.
“When I reject an artist, it’s generally because the artist and the
gallery aren’t a good fit,” says Franny Koelsch, the owner of Koelsch
Gallery, in Houston. An artist and gallery might not be “a good fit”
for a variety of reasons: the artist’s style or subject matter isn’t
compatible with the gallery’s other artwork; the price of the pieces
are too high or too low for the collector base; the work is too large;
or the dealer only shows local artists or subjects.
Success may mitigate the sting of rejection, but it doesn’t
eradicate it. And rejections do mount up, particularly in the early
years of an artist’s career. A growing number of artists, however, are
attempting to look at them in a positive light. “In a weird way,
getting 100 rejection letters is a good thing,” says painter Deanna Wood, of Denton, Texas, who is represented by Koelsch Gallery, “because it means I’m putting my work out there for people to see.”
Wood writes about rejection on her weblog (http://artistemerging.blogspot.com),
which offers other beginner artists useful marketing and personal tips
based on Wood’s own experience. In one entry she admits, “I do get a
little depressed when I receive a rejection letter from a gallery that
I really liked or a show that I really wanted to get into. But I just
file it and try to figure out what to do next.” In another posting she
offers some sample rejection letters to gallery owners to help them
avoid hurting artists’ feelings.
Other artist websites describe creative re-uses of rejection letters,
such as for wallpaper and Christmas wrapping paper, or their responses
to those who rejected them. Suzanne Clements, a painter in Melbourne, Florida, created a website (http://myrejectionletters.blogspot.com)
specifically for publishing her rejections.
In one posting she writes about entering two pieces for consideration
in a local juried art show. She includes photos of the paintings as
well as the text of the standard electronic rejection letter she later
received, commenting, “All in all, it’s not a bad letter.”
Clements explains that putting her rejection letters online “gives a
purpose” to her experience and may encourage other artists. “It’s
important for all of us to deal with rejection, and I’ve learned that
it isn’t necessarily personal or serious; it’s not even a big deal.
It’s just part of the process,” she says.
Clements says she
considers the more personal rejection letters “near misses” and often
finds them helpful. “They give me pointers for when I apply next year,”
she says. But unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of them are form
letters into which little can be read. “So many of them are photocopies
with a checked ‘yes’ or ‘no’ box on it,” she says.
Perhaps rejection is a “badge of honor” since it suggests that one has “taken risks, broken taboos,” says Catherine Wald, the author of The Resilient Writer: Tales of Rejection and Triumph From 23 Top Authors (Persea Books, New York, New York). Wald created a website (www.rejectioncollection.com)
that features her own rejection letters and those posted anonymously by
other writers and artists. She developed the site after writing a novel
that never got published.
Wald, who earns her livelihood as a freelance corporate writer,
says,“The reality that it really wasn’t going to be published hampered
my ability to do my work.” She says being rejected so often made her
feel ashamed, but she came to realize her experience was one that was
shared by many others. A history of being rejected “speaks to your
professionalism,” she notes, because “it shows you’re willing to stick
with your art.”
Of course, Wald adds, it is important for all artists and writers to
assess whether rejections indicate something lacking in their art or
whether they are being rejected because of marketplace forces over
which they have no control. Part of the job of being an artist is
determining which one applies, and there is no website as yet to help
with that.