Art Sites Go Mainstream: Is the Media Noticing?

I've noticed a trend in the last few years involving art sites. First, many art sites are starting to take the social networking route. Second, many are meshing with the mainstream art world. Charles Saatchi broke the mold for this new direction with his site for artists which has since been included at major art fairs, including the SCOPE art fair. Others have entered the art fair circle as well, such as Myartspace, another social network for artists, that will be included at the Bridge Art Fair this coming December during Art Basel Miami. Very few online art communities have been able to reach this level of success. Saatchi was able to do it by his name alone while Myartspace was able to do it through mere ambition.  The irony of their success is that other art sites who deny the importance of the mainstream art world have continued to have more press than Saatchi or Myartspace combined online and in publications. One must ask why.

Look to deviantART for a perfect example of this. deviantART has had wide success with both online and traditional press even though the site has never been featured at a major contemporary art fair, has never been involved with mainstream galleries, and has never had professional jury panels involving jurors from the Tate Modern and other prestigious institutions as Saatchi and Myartspace have had. Yet deviantART continues to nab the attention of the online and traditional press. Could it be that the media focuses too much on traffic and membership numbers instead of investigating how legitimate an art site is based on the connections they have and the opportunities they offer? Sadly, I think that is the case.

Another example of an art site dominating the press is Redbubble. Redbubble, like deviantART, is an art site with huge membership and traffic. However, Redbubble has yet to mesh with the mainstream art world. The founder of Redbubble has actually spoke out against the mainstream art world on his Redbubble blog. So the chances of Redbubble being accepted by the mainstream art world is slim. Yet the media rushes to interview core members of Redbubble. Is the media missing something? I think so.

I like deviantART and Redbubble just as much as the next person. However, I also like an art site that can have artists featured at an art fair or shown in the heart of NYC. Saatchi and Myartspace have done that and have continued to do that. Neither have had much press for their efforts compared to the range of press that deviantART and Redbubble has had. Instead, the media focuses on deviantART's competition involving Megadeth or one of many Redbubble  member organized coffee house exhibits. It seems to me that the media needs to check their priorities when covering art sites rather than focus on hype alone. That goes for social networking media outlets like Mashable that have also dropped the ball on reporting about art sites and their importance within the mainstream art world.

The media might be missing out but the artists are not. While sites like Saatchi Online and Myartspace may have low traffic compared to deviantART or Redbubble they continue to gain more traffic with each passing month. Artists realize that those two sites offer career making opportunities and connections compared to what deviantART or Redbubble has to offer. At the end of the day a group exhibit in the Chelsea art district or a showing at a major contemporary art fair is going to pay off for an artist more than having work displayed on an album cover or some other form of merchandise. I realize that. Why can't the media?

At some point the trend of writing about art sites that have an anti artworld and anti corporation approach will phase out. Especially when people realize that deviantART and Redbubble are both very wealthy corporations when it comes down to it and that neither could be involved in the mainstream art world even if they wanted it. It is easy for an art site to play the rebel role when they are not wanted by the mainstream art world. Once the hype is burned out maybe sites like Saatchi Online and Myartspace will finally obtain the exposure they deserve from the media.