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VIRGINIA DWAN INTERVIEW     4-4-4

a particular work which they are interested in doing but which is beyond their means which they would have with their monthly retainer. They come to John Weber or myself and explain what the work is, and we find out what costs would be involved, and if we agree that it should and must be done. And if they come to us like that, we agree in most cases that it should and must be done.  And if they come to us like that, we agree in most cases that it is very important, we try to make sure that it is accomplished. That is we pay for the cost of having it...fabricated

E.V.:  And then what do you do when the sculpture is ready, and the artist has had his exhibition, how do you work out the fact that you have already been giving him a yearly amount . How do you work out the selling?

V.D.: The artist , until he's well known, will probably owe the gallery money for some time. That is until his works are assigned higher prices and are selling a great deal. At that time it becomes worthwhile to everyone. In the meantime, everyone holds their breath because we make the act of faith , saying we believe in the artist's work enough to advance him these amounts.  We do not set our prices accordingly. We set our prices as realistically as possible with the idea that the works should sell and go out into other realms.  Rather that a certain fixed percentage of cost or whatever it may be. In some cases, a very young artist may work on a very high cost basis and it would be completely unrealistic for us to think that the price of the work should be , say double or triple or whatever. The fee has to depend very much upon the artist and his work at that point. 

E.V: I think to sort of go back to the museum idea, in a certain respect you are one of the most idealistic galleries at the moment in that to a certain extent you are having museum shows in which there is nothing for sale. Because of the intellectual tone and type of exhibitions which they are. When they did the digs out in the desert and all you have is the photograph of it , this is not a saleable item.  As a matter of fact in the whole show, I think that the only thing that really could have been sold would have been the Smithsom in the earth works, isn't it?

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[[right margin]] unsaleable art [[/right margin]]