March 21–28, 2002
Art Bid-ness
A local artist is using a window and an eBay mindset to bring art to the masses.
![\"image\"](\"pics/big/news.window.jpg.shtml\") |
![\"\"](\"/images/spacer.gif\"){kind=spacer} | ||||
|
ARCHIVES .
March 21–28, 2002 Art Bid-nessA local artist is using a window and an eBay mindset to bring art to the masses.
Groody, normally locked away in his studio preparing paintings, sculpture and mixed media pieces for shows in New York City (where his abstract illusionism and cubist work sells), hasn’t devoted much time to considering the art buzz in this town. In the past few months, however, he’s taken work archived for posterity, made high-quality reproductions of it and, along with his wife, artist Heidi Sterling, has placed it in the first-floor window of the building he’s occupied for years. Sterling’s work is in the window, too. Groody tends to traffic in the notion that most Americans not looking for art won’t find it. So he’s as surprised as anyone: The unadvertised bidding window, which holds eight to 10 pieces each week, has been a smashing success since it began a little more than two months ago. Groody, essentially a cubist with a cubist’s flair for portraits that challenge the viewer, is delighted. "I’m learning a lot. I’ve been around, to Europe and New York. That’s where I thought the aesthetics were. I never knew what was here in terms of interest. At first I didn’t think it would work. But right away, I found out the more sophisticated work gets the most play." Sterling, whose work ranges from conservative pastels to large abstracts, says, "We didn’t know if [passersby] would be interested in more abstract work. It turned out that when it became part of their price range, it did become something they would consider buying." Groody seems to find the bidders as interesting as the window’s success. "You get the people who walk on by — that’s most people. And then you get the people who will stop and look at what’s in there. And you can’t tell by the way they’re dressed." Sterling says she and her husband are in a great situation — and the only one that will work for people who want to create more than sell. "People have said, ‘You have a gallery, but you have the advantage of not having to sit it.’ That’s right." "This came about because a couple of things were in place," Groody, 61 and a native Philadelphian, explains. "One, there was a window available," he says, referring to his landlord’s first-floor television and transistor repair store. The landlord had scaled back repair hours and removed the old TVs from the window. "I said, ‘If I clean the window, can I put something in it?’ It had about 30 years worth of dirt on it. He said yes, so I cleaned it and cleaned it until we could see inside." The second thing is that Groody was beginning to create a computer database of works that were in danger of deteriorating. He says, "Most of my work is collage, which is a self-destructive medium." After scanning the work, archiving it and printing it out, Groody says, "We ended up with a situation where we had very high-quality pieces." He and Sterling decided to share the work. Groody has enough work to keep them in windows for years. The 35-year-old Sterling has been painting, making collages and taking photographs for the better part of 12 years, and showing for five years. Her contributions are often completed not long before display. Groody says eBay inspired the bidding system. "I’m always on it and I enjoy it." Opening bids are suggested, and they are often in the range of $10 to $20. Sometimes original works make it in — as opposed to prints of them — as well as the odd original by an artist acquaintance. They are, not surprisingly, more expensive, but prices are still well under what you’d see for the same works in a gallery. "I’m putting in high-quality prints. It’s possible to walk away with something for $20. They’re framed; you can’t get a frame for $20," says Groody. Lineups run from Tuesday at noon until the following Tuesday at noon. Groody and Sterling make final decisions on pieces within hours of the changeover. Groody says a young man recently bought a cubist black-and-white nude. "It’s not a nude nude. It’s a pattern. It’s very sophisticated. He told me, ‘My friends come over and we don’t sit around and watch TV; we talk about the piece. It beats hockey!’ "The mailman bid and got a piece. His girlfriend said, ‘That wonderful, where did you get that?’ He said, ‘There’s a window on my route.’" So now Groody, who has been one of Philly’s best-kept secrets for a few decades, is contributing to an art discussion in Philly, not to mention decorating the walls of people he’s lived around for years. How long can it go on? Groody’s not making any promises, but "for the foreseeable future" is a safe bet. "I can do this as long as it doesn’t take away from the main event. The main event is I’m a working artist who does a lot of paintings and shows." 
ADVERTISEMENT
|
