Posted on: Sunday, May 29, 2005
Artists reflect on business of art
By Victoria Gail-White
Special to The Advertiser
Three years ago, six friends, all graduates of the University of Hawai'i, decided to open a gallery in Kaimuki and call it "workspace."
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser The Advertiser interviewed Higa and Cade Roster by phone about their experiences in launching and running an alternative gallery.
Q. How many artists have exhibited in the gallery over its lifetime?
Cade Roster: More than 60 artists ... The "workspace: A-Z" exhibit will show the work of more than 40 artists.
Q. Do you think that your academic background prepared you for running an art gallery?
Ryan Higa: All of us who have been involved from the beginning came out of an academic art background. We shared an idea that there's a noncommercial background to art. But art schools need to better address the commercial aspect of being an artist. What lies outside the institution for you? What are the opportunities, and how does that relate to the theory? It was eye-opening to realize what it took to run a business and not to have to support the gallery ourselves. I don't think I've really learned how to do that.
Q. What have you learned from running a gallery?
Roster: It's hard to make artists happy, even when you are supporting them. It's a tricky business. Art is not a strong moneymaker. I am happy I did it. There was a harsh learning curve. We all had to become less naive.
Higa: We thought that the kind of art we wanted to show would take care of itself.
We were idealistic and naive. As the years went on, we realized there were commercial pressures on us. We had to get shows together to get people in to support the gallery.
And it's hard to find a balance between showing artwork that is cool and edgy and what people want to buy to put in their houses. I think being successful means finding that balance and floating in that area without thinking. It takes a lot of time, money and energy. I had to reconcile the business end with my own idealism.
Q. I'm sure many established as well as emerging artists who exhibited at workspace will have a grieving period. How do you feel about closing the gallery? Roster: I'm happy for the business knowledge that I've acquired, and also sad for the knowledge I've acquired. However, we did what we set out to do. The lease is up, and we all have full-time jobs that we need to get back to. Despite how fun and great it is, it's a lot of work. In many ways, I'm relieved that we are closing the galleries so that I can focus on my own artwork more.
Higa: Overall, it was a good experience. I have no regrets whatsoever.
Q. Was there anything about being part of the working force of the gallery that affected your own artwork?
Roster: The thing that affected me the most negatively was starting to feel like the work I was making didn't have the soul in it that it originally had. I began making things to sell, and the art became more like merchandise. I felt like a hack doing it; it wasn't honest. I wasn't putting myself into the artwork I was making.
Higa: My artwork has changed. I'm more conscious of how the work is going to be received by an audience. Is it going to interact with someone, not only in terms of someone wanting to buy it? How is it going to do that? What are people going to pick up from it? What am I trying to say? As artists, we think about it all the time. But, I'm more aware of it now. I wonder if what I'm trying to communicate needs to be clearer. In many ways, I think that is a bad thing, very, very bad. There is an increased awareness and also self-consciousness. I think about what I'm doing — instead of just doing it.
Q. What are your plans for the future?
Roster: I'm hoping to spend more time being an artist. I am also teaching at the Academy Art Center. Waileia will continue with her job as an assistant special projects coordinator at the Honolulu Academy of Arts and hopefully, continue to make her cool purses.
Higa: I will go on to focus on my artwork, and my day job. I would like to explore working on a longer narrative for my figurative drawings in book form.
Q. Any last words in closing?
Roster: I can't stress enough how important it is to support your local art scene. I would like to thank everyone who did support us and came to see the shows. Their good humor was an important factor in our survival. I hope we inspired people in some way, shape or form.
Next month: Maui-born artist Shige Yamada. Writer and artist Victoria Gail-White contributes a monthly Q&A feature to The Advertiser's art page.
For the past two years, workspace has been kept alive by the efforts of three of the original six — Cade and Waileia Roster and Ryan Higa. From now until June 18, workspace will be open from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturdays, with its final "workspace: A-Z" show — a roundup of artists who have exhibited in the gallery. Following that, workspace will close its bright orange door for good.
Cade Roster at the entrance to the workspace gallery, which is closing, His years with workspace, he said, taught him that art is "a tricky business ... There was a harsh learning curve. We all had to become less naive." He and Ryan Higa created the work on the door.
