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December 18, 2006

Stuart (Student Art)

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Peers connect in art showplace

A site that offers a free webpage to student artists is getting 3+ million hits a day. Called Stuart (stands for Student Art) the new sort of artist exchange is described in a New York Times story here. There are two parts to the story:

1. A strong response to the chance to display art work: The brainchild of the London-based advertising magnate and collector Charles Saatchi, this social networking outlet — a kind of MySpace knockoff for artists — is causing something of a sensation, boosting traffic at the gallery’s Web site overall to more than three million hits a day.

In May Mr. Saatchi, famed for spotting young unknowns and turning them into art-world superstars, created a section on his Web site for artists of all ages to post their work at no charge. It is called Your Gallery, and now boasts contributions by about 20,700 artists, including 2,000 pieces of video art. . . .

2. The smart mob effect among the student artists: But for students visiting Stuart, the main attraction for now is linking up with their peers.

In addition to lists of her favorite artists, books, films and television shows, Ms. Travis has posted the name of a new friend on her page at Stuart: Erhan Ozturk, a photography student at T. C. Maltepe University in Istanbul whose work she viewed at the site.

“I don’t know him,” Ms. Travis said, although they have conversed electronically. And while she doesn’t love his art, she said, “I think it’s pretty interesting.” (New friends tend to reciprocate: Mr. Ozturk lists Ms. Travis on his Web page, and with a simple click, visitors viewing his work can connect to hers.) [blogged by Judy Breck on Smart Mobs]

Posted by jo at December 18, 2006 09:25 AM

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