Art Space Talk: Dominic Rouse (Part 3)

THE EMPTINESS OF THE LONE & DISTANCED LOVER by Dominic Rouse

This is Part 3 of my interview with Dominic Rouse. To return to Part 2 click, HERE

BS: What are your thoughts concerning the internet and utilizing the World Wide Web in order to gain exposure for your art? In your opinion, why is it important for artists to embrace the internet?

DR: The internet is a wonderful marketing opportunity which I attempt to exploit as much as I can. As I live in a remote part of the world I could not operate effectively without it. It is now an accepted mode of business contact and a wonderfully immediate way in which to get work under the noses of those you think might be interested. Most of my sales and other leads are initiated via internet contact.

BS: Will you be involved with any upcoming exhibits?

DR: Last year I shipped an exhibition to the States which was shown at a number of venues and has just finished its initial ‘tour’ with a four month showing at the 21c Museum in Louisville, KY curated by William Morrow, director of the International Contemporary Art Foundation.

‘Haunted by a Painter’s Ghost – Symbolism & Photography in the Digital Age’ is now available as a travelling exhibit aimed at University Museums where I hope it will form an interesting fit with their digital art departments as well as those of art history and mythology.

For those who may be interested www.hauntedbyapaintersghost.com has all the details of the exhibition including installation views, merchandising opportunities and shipping, insurance and rental information.

Beside this I will be exhibiting my work at Verve Gallery of Photography in Santa Fe NM in a joint show with Douglas Ethridge between March 19 and May 8 2010.

TEA DANCE by Dominic Rouse

BS: Do you have any concerns about the art world at this time?

DR: None that I did not already have before. The price of my work is far removed from the dizzy heights where an economic downturn affects me greatly and I am looking to the future with a degree of optimism.

BS: There have been several stories involving copyright infringement in the mainstream press as of late. What is your stance on copyright? Do you see strong copyright as a reflection of artist rights in general? Or do you feel that copyright restricts creativity? Do you have a stance on this issue?

DR: Well, I don’t take a newspaper and I don’t watch television so I am not the best person to be discussing current events. However, I do believe that an artist should have the right to benefit from the creation of his work and that laws should be in place that discourage others from using his work for their own financial gain without first seeking his permission.

I was pleased when the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act was passed in UK in 1988 and especially so as the Association of Photographers (of which I was a member) involved itself in the drafting stages, helping to safeguard the rights of photographers to control the use of their work.

All that having been said, my experience of the law is that it is the perverse plaything of the aggressive and that Lady Justice is a woman of easy virtue who is bought and paid for by rich and powerful men and then given, when least needed, to those least deserving of her. So I won’t be placing too much trust in any laws that do exist to protect my work from abuse.

SHULAMIT & MARY by Dominic Rouse

BS: As you know, the economy has been hard. Have you had to change-- or should I say adapt-- your practice due to the economy?

DR: My thinking is that now is the time for us artists to be working hard on our marketing efforts so that when the tide does turn and the economy starts to improve we will be in a strong position to take advantage of the opportunities that will inevitably become available to those who are ready and prepared to take them.

It is a frustrating reality of the art world that we need to spend at least as much time on our marketing plans as we do on making our work. I have found that as difficult as it can be to produce worthwhile imagery it is as nothing as compared to finding an audience for that work in the marketplace.

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art?

DR: To take a piece of paper, coat it with a gelatin in which are suspended a million silver halides and then to allow first light and then chemicals to caress it in such a way that they leave behind an imprint of one's soul is an exquisite joy that no amount of criticism can diminish. I do not have ambition as such, every completed piece is an ambition achieved.



This is the conclusion of my interview with Dominic Rouse. To return to Part 1 of the interview click, HERE

You can read more of my interviews by visiting the following page-- www.myartspace.com/interviews. Feel free to discuss the interview and the art of Dominic Rouse on the myartspace.com Forum-- www.myartspace.com/forum

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
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