Well here’s the kind of publicity I least expected. I’ve not yet turned this lemon into lemonade.
When artwork is destroyed by an accident, does payment for the artwork cover the loss? What about the gift and intention of that artwork. When I make my art, I make it to express peace and healing, something that I feel is of great importance in the world. I work in materials (stone, bronze and cast glass) that will last well beyond the life of most consumer goods. When it is purchased, the intention of the buyer is to enjoy and share my art as a part of their living/working environment. Selling my artwork is the main way that I get to continue making more art.
It was not my intention when I made this sculpture that it would be damaged and not enjoyed by the person who purchased it. When I am paid for damaged artwork it is different than selling my artwork. I have lost one of my creations and the purchaser doesn’t get to enjoy their purchase.
Last winter when I exhibited in the Louvre, I signed up for Google alerts. Yesterday I got the alert for this article. The irony of this article garnering publicity for me during the Sundance Film Festival, is that it was at the cost of a damaged sculpture. The author S.T. VanAirsdale for Movieline twists and turns the story to create what he calls the Sundance Sculpturegate; who pays for the broken sculpture? So now, I get the publicity and a check, and someone who I don’t know gets to pay for the broken sculpture. Unfortunately, it is a loss for both of us and the world as well.
Here’s the link to the article in MovieLine.com.
Phoenix Rising falls and breaks
Well, to dispell the uncertainty and doubt in the article, I will get paid for the broken sculpture, though this is not the way I like to make sales. Getting my artwork into a Harvey Weinstein movie or being purchased at Sundance by the many film makers, actors, and film lovers is one of the benefits of exhibiting in the CODA Gallery in Park City. So as The Sundance Film Festival comes to a close, MIRAMAX Films closes it’s doors, my Phoenix Rising returns to prima materia. Maybe Mr. Weinstein will want a Berman Phoenix sculpture of his own.
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