Okay, so I think I'm going to like the new open mic, if that's even what we keep calling it. Right now "Open Mic 2.0 BETA" (I'm serious that's what I'm calling it for the next month) is off to a good start.
When 716 moved to Racine, I changed my philosophy on how I wanted to run the gallery. In Kenosha, and this has more to do with time/experience than the geographical change, I was trying to please my customers, and I took everyone's advice. If someone said, "You know, you should really sell more photography here." I'd jump up and try to find more photography. The same with jewelry, paintings, and anything else, but that resulted in an unorganized mess of work, that I didn't really have an emotional connection to. Therefore, I wasn't a good salesman, or a good gallery director.
When year three came around, so much changed for the gallery. We were moving to a new city, the business model was completely changing, I got a full time job at the Kenosha News and I was moving out of my apartment. This resulted in, myself running the gallery in a completely different way, though I didn't expect it at first. The whole thing has happened kind of naturally. Basically, the gallery will be run, exactly the way I think it should be run. The gallery will show exactly, and only, the art I want it to. No more democracies on picking work, no more 'board' meetings. A democracy does not a good gallery make.
Alferd Milona said it best when he was discussing filming making in an interview. He said, "Film is a fierce dictatorship." He went on to explain that even though all the people that work on a film are obviously very important, in the end one person is responsible for making the choices, and everyone who is on the crew or in the cast, are involved in that process because, in the end, they respect and support those choices. Art to me is all, and only, about 'the choice.' I have no problem if someone is uncomfortable with the art that I exhibit at 716, and people in the past HAVE, as I said earlier, given me advice on what should be displayed. To that I have to say, "Thank you for your thoughts (a.k.a. fuck you), if you're uncomfortable with what I choose to exhibit, you don't have to come in!"
The gallery is getting to an interesting point in it's life in Racine. I'm starting to have customers that come in because they know what kind of work they're going to find here. The gallery is establishing its identity. It has become my child, my house & my church. Maybe 716's new tagline should be, "Stuff that David Geisler thinks is cool…and you might too." If not, awesome, there are plenty of other galleries you can visit.
So, to wrap this up, last night marked the final step in purging the shadows of a philosophy that I was never truly comfortable with. Open Mic will be run exactly how I want it to be. If you're not respectful; get the fuck out! If you're not comfortable; no problem, maybe it's not for you, but thanks for giving it a try. If you come and you're into what's happen on the rug; come back, you will be welcome. Open Mic is not a place to hang out, which is why we might have to change the name, because frankly it's 'open-ness' is now debatable. I love giving people the opportunity to share their performances with an audience, but I have a responsibility to ensure that the audience is a quality one. I'm looking forward to next Wednesday.
