Dirty Pink 305: A Conversation with Claire Breukel

Dirty Pink 305 is an independent project that documents the evolution of the visual arts in Miami over the past decade from the perspective of its protagonists: the artists. ARTDISTRICTS spoke about this project with its creator, Claire Breukel.

By Raisa Clavijo

Raisa Clavijo - What does Dirty Pink 305 consist of? Where did the idea come from? What are your objectives?

Claire Breukel - The first phase of Dirty Pink are video interviews with artists to get their perspective on what has happened with contemporary art in Miami -a perspective which I feel has to date been largely undervalued. This aims to gain insight into and contextualize artistic practice. These interviews are uploaded on www.dirtypink305.com, a basic website thats allows everyone to access its content. Furthermore, the videos are transcribed to text so that all the people, places and things an artist refers to can be referenced. This information will provide the basis for a future publication that aims at addressing the evolution of artistic practice in Miami-commissioning contributions by artists, curators and writers. The idea for Dirty Pink 305 was born out of frustration. As a curator working outside of the conventional museum and commercial gallery structure I felt that so much artistsic talent was being overlooked, and that artists who did get opportunities were being used to fulfil programmatic objectives that were supplemental to the main program. In addition, by being on the periphery of organization and collections whose primary focus is to prove they are on par with  the same artists as their international visitors, local artists were not being afforded the opportunities for professional development and growth. As a result, these art spaces are the go-to place where visitors read about and hear the voice of Miami artists. This is a mediated and filtered space. This a common phenomenon in the arts through the world, but I felt like the neglect of artistic presence is particularly pronounced in Miami, which has become largely commercially orientated and can therefore easily cut out the artist. The objective is for Dirty Pink 305 to provide a space where artists can converse without the presence of the rest of the art world. The project aims to be a resource by making this voice available within a public forum-and will grow and evolve as needed.

Claire Breukel, director of Dirty Pink 305. Photo: Michael Blaser.

R.C. - According to Dirty Pink 305‘s website, when people from abroad discuss about art in Miami, they seldom mention the artists. They speak of private collections, Art Basel Miami Beach, museums, but almost always ignore the artists. I agree with you and I think that this is widespread in a contemporary art scene that focuses on validating the voice of institutions, whether they be museums, foundations, major collections, biennials, art fairs, etc., while disregarding what is really important: the art and the artists. This does not only diminish the importance of the artist, but it also affects his work because he must sacrifice a great deal of time that would otherwise be spent on creative endeavors in order to focus on ‘flirting’ with the institutional, networking, not missing participation in the next fair, the next biennial, etc. We are witnessing an art scene dominated by the power of institutions, and these, in turn, create spheres of influence that marginalize artists.

C.B. - Absolutely, and this is a phenomenon despite the fact that there is so much going on behind the scenes that has been created by, and motivated by, artists. This is not to say that curators and institutions do not play an important role in the function of the art world, however it becomes autocratic when institutions become the go-to place to define and talk about the arts as if representing an entire community. Many institutions and private collections in Miami do this (and are called on to do this by external commercial driving forces). In fact, I cannot count how may times I have heard the line, ‘Oh it was me who discovered that artist.’ This is not only deeply condescending to artists who have worked consistently hard to develop a career, it also instills a system of hierarchy that places the artist as complacent and affords the organizations/collection or museum the power to ‘make or break’ an artist’s career. This is stifling and not conducive to growth. When visitors come to Miami for the art fair/s the nature of the art experience predetermined by a  ‘calendar of events’ that, aside for a handful of studio visits, places the organization and the collections as the go-to places. Therefore, IF these spaces show Miami artists, they are secondary to a ‘big name’ internationally recognized artist to attract foreign visitors. In fact, many Miami institutions have ‘local’ programming to allow for Miami artists to show their work in the project room. But, what about the main room on an international playing field? I am not trying to bash organization and collections-there is a lot of pressure to perform, but it is important to also provide real platforms for artists.

Artist Loriel Beltran

R.C. - Your initiative in documenting art in Miami from the perspective of the artist is groundbreaking. There have been very few prior efforts in this regard independent of museums and institutions. Tell me about this project‘s antecedents.

C.B. - Dirty Pink 305 is going to be a slow and steady process and will initially rely on grants to get up and running and aims to find a paradigm to become self-sustaining. There have been initiatives in the past that have attempted to document Miami but have been done by motivated individuals who, it appears, have found the task thankless in a climate where Miami investment doesn’t yet see the benefit of this kind of documentation. And therefore their initiatives are often not long-term. Julie Davidow and Paul Clemence created the first truly comprehensive Miami Contemporary Artists book-what a fantastic start! Wet Heat Project is making artist films for all to view online. These two initiatives are invaluable and have been labors of love. Another fantastic initiative is the Vasari Project that collects all colateral from all the art events and activities that have happened over the past years-an amazing resource that people are only know now beginning to recognize as vital. Dirty Pink 305 has partnered with Vasari Project and will look to engage other such projects to pool resources and find a strategy to create a useful and continually relevant platform for artists to be heard and for history to be documented in a way that is accessible and relevant.

R.C. - I have seen the list of artists who have to date participated in Dirty Pink 305. Most of them are represented by four galleries: Snitzer, David Castillo, Spinello and Dorsch. What are the requirements for participating in Dirty Pink 305? Is there an age limit? Can any artist residing in Miami participate? Is there a selection process?

C.B. - The list of artists is random according to who we bumped in the first two months of the project. This is a fundamental start. There is definitely NO AGE RESTRICTION. In fact it is vital to include a diversity of voices. There is also NO SELECTION process. Phase one has been created and phase two is in edit phase to start the project. As our resources are slight, our next step is to apply for funding to build a platform where artists can self-contribute. A second goal is to create an open blog that invites artists to contribute, however, we want to be able to provide honorariums for this.

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Paul Jacober designed Dirty Pink 305 website

R.C. - You have built a career as an international curator and art critic. You came to Miami seven years ago. Why did you choose Miami?

C.B. - I was lucky and didn’t realize how much so at the time. The first three months I was here I didn’t gel with it-but then I started to see that there was so much more to Miami’s art ’scene.’ Art Basel was, of course, a whirlwind experience. I was interning at the Rubell Collection so was at the epicenter of the ’scene.’ Then I began working as a full-time curator/director and witnessed the more ‘experimental’ artists bumping up against the art fair and commercial phenomenon with interesting results. Before I knew it seven years had passed, and I left Miami for two years to travel for work-but found myself returning. There is something about the duality of arts existence here that is unpredictable and refreshing.

R.C. - In December, The Art Newspaper published an article that was criticized by local artists and galleries alike. The article said that apart from Art Basel Week, Miami‘s cultural life was virtually non-existent, and that 10 years after the arrival of ABMB, the Miami art scene has barely gotten off the ground. What is your opinion in this regard?

C.B. - These kinds of articles are important to contextualize Miami in relation to outside perception, whether we feel this perception is right or wrong. It is interesting to note, however, that the article interviewed collectors, galleries, museum directors, Christie’s auction house representative and only one artist, Robert Thiele - but this was in relation to the space he runs. I would assume, and by no fault of the author, that as an outsider they found it difficult to know which artist to interview. Which artist is empowered with an authorial voice? This is the condition of Miami that spaces speak on behalf of artists. Consequently, I believe that Miami artists have been denied the opportunity to grow-having the art world come to Miami has created an art community that is prone to looking inward to be self-analytical. Galleries, museums and collections are all focused on what will we look like in front of the crowds that come. If artists had the incentive to get  ‘out there’ and have an increased exchange I believe Miami would become a place to foster major international players.

Artist Julie Davidow

R.C. - Do you believe that the artistic community, which has been created here over the past 10 years, would vanish if ABMB were to relocate to another city?

C.B. - I had this conversation a few days ago, in fact, looking in to the fear-filled eyes of an art fair attendee. No I don’t. I think if Art Basel had to go another fair or initiative would take its place. Miami has proven it has the capacity to be an ideal host-both in terms of its geography and the nature of the city and its art organizations and collections. There may be a momentary quieting of overseas collectors, but I believe something would take its place-and who knows, with the experience of hosting ABMB, Miami’s art fair coordinators and city representatives may even bargain for something that is more engaging for the Miami community and productive for its infrastructure. Also, we need to remember that ABMB came to Miami with a lot of hard work by local art professionals. They made it happen and can do it many times over.

R.C. - In your opinion, do the government and private institutions provide enough support to Miami artists? What do you think should be done to support and promote local artists?

C.B. - There has been a recent, very late realization that in order for Miami’s art community to develop there needs to be the support of its artists to develop their careers and get to the next level. Miami has largely been running with a singular objective for a long time-ABMB-and has as a result not given its resources to artistic development. However, initiatives such as the South Florida Consortium and individual grants have stood their ground, and the Knight Foundation has started to make an impact. I hope these increase. New initiatives such as LegalArt have sprung up and will hopefully fill a void of cross-continental dialogue. This will take a little time to get traction and show results, but there is monumental talent in the city, and support continues to grow.

R.C. - How long will the interview process and book publication take? When will we be able to see the final result of this project?

C.B. - The interview process will be set up to continually collect information and become an archive of information through time. Editing is minimal, so some of the videos are long, which is fine as it’s about capturing ideas-like an online time capsule of sorts. At the moment we are applying for funding to create a publication. As the project is new there is a sense of urgency, but our approach is to be methodical and raise money to do something that has content and will be lasting. Not only this, collaboration is key. So finding ways in which to engage with partners in a manner that is supportive and productive, whether it be contributing blog items, sharing footage, providing information for the publication. This takes time, and we are applying for foundation support to get the publication rolling.

For more information about this project visit http://dirtypink305.com