As it is for many art professionals - money is tight and the future precarious for me, yet my subscription to Everything the.com is great value and money well spent.
You are appreciated, loved in fact, for your honesty and strength. Have a wonderful rest and best wishes for 2026.
I have heard strange criticisms of your articles, stated with the authority of privilege. A CEO at an art institution, who "cannot understand why an arts writer concerns themselves with so many 'other' issues than art"
Students of Art, who profess expertise about how and what they should be taught, formally complain that they "didn't pay to hear about Poetry and Philosophy"
The Dumb List is long and it comes from above and below. There are too many bums occupying art-seats - entitlement corrupts
But, it is important that you are writing as you do and I have participated in many conversations that are entirely positive and grateful for it. What you write about resonates for many who are aware of the corruption and often discuss how the 'us' can assemble and mobilise, without blowing it up completely.
One is my great bugbear - the role of the ALP in all of this.
Having benefitted from the largesse of previous Labor Governments who expanded opportunities for the working class via access to genuine education, the Humanities, I am particularly appalled that there are demands for Art Education to be focused directly to 'job outcomes'. As if being an Artist is not a job.
It's a juggling act for sure and it involves utilizing all the skills learned from art - cultural diversity, history, philosophy, literature, film, theatre, sociology etc.
However, it is very possible to live from the proceeds of being an artist, that has as one part of it, the selling of the direct 'product' - a visual artwork.
The NSW Government is cutting back on funding that enables artists to survive, while maintaining the primary role of Art Practitioner. They demand artists show how they get employment from art education, as funding is slashed from areas of ancilliary employment - Regional Arts, Reform Programs in Gaols, major Institutions/Galleries etc. while official art funding streams are corrupt and impenetrable.
Effectively, the Labor Government is chaining the working class to the factory floor. The wealthy and priviledged can 'sponsor' themselves into positions of influence in Art, the working class are finding it more difficult to support their own professional practice.
This may seem like a return to a bygone era when the upper classes controlled culture. The difference is that the new Culture is - wealth for its own sake, because they are resentful that they don't understand art... because they were educated in Commerce, Marketing and Business Studies, instead of the Humanities.
Sorry for the Rant but I hope I'm offending someone!
Great to know that your readership base increasingly includes the US and Great Britain. This fact locates Australia in the world. Significantly, your erudition encompasses the whole spectrum of the creative arts. I reckon you should be recognized as a National Treasure. I agree with John Walker that you should have a really good break!
Thanks Mabel, I'm just waiting until Creative Australia allows people to nominate themselves as National Treasures, although I might have to stand for a while in the queue. All the best for 2026.
Your pursuit of the Powerhouse has beena source of relief and pleasure. I think, otherwise, I would have burst a blood vessel. As for the "list story" - spare me. The solution for any dull editorial meeting and uninspired editor: a list story. Anything will do. And sadly, people do seem to love them - as in "did they include my favourite marmalade?" More power to your biro, John.
Ah, a voice from the coalface! At the SMH they consider the laundry list to be an "essay". As for the Powerhouse, I'm not the only one who can't believe the money that's been wasted on this dark fantasy. All the best for the new year, Di.
Well done John. Great work all year. We have enjoyed everything you’ve issued. We love the broad range of subjects, keep going. Best wishes for the new year. Jeff
I originally subscribed to your Substack posts to read your observations and criticism of the visual arts but I have appreciated all of your articles over the year even when they are reviews for films I never want to see.
Thanks for all your efforts and the insights into what they don’t want us to know.
. we funded our son , who’s in his thirties, an art work for his recent birthday. He went to the artists studio in country Victoria having seen his work online. The artist told him that because of a 30% commission on works sold in galleries, he only exhibits on line now, despite being invited to exhibit by galleries. Is 30% standard now?
. Richard Ackland writes long form in the “ Justinian” but also a subscriber-based satiric, highly entertaining “ 500 Words or thereabouts” in which he pillories our betters, politicians, the legal fraternity, arts czars and especially Murdoch whom he dubs “ Molock” “ the Catholic Boys Daily” “ Planet Janet”
Having always found you the most hilarious raconteur, wouldn’t it be lovely if you could do the same, if you have the time, coming that incisive mind of yours with your sense of the absurd to produce shorter, pithy observations on your world.
. Finally having a good editor cast an eye over your editorials could improve them by reducing repetition, refining the message to its most incisive impact thus
making them more effective: I find them just a bit too long.
Look forward to reading you in 2026 and best wishes. Beth .
BTW. 30% is far from standard. I'd say 50% is standard, and I've never known a reputable dealer to charge less than 33.3%. If your artist thought 30% was high, he's led a sheltered life. You have to be very hot property to argue the commission down.
Beth Decent representative galleries employ several staff, pay a lot of rent for a decent exhibition gallery, maintain stockrooms and of coarse, like all of us also have to pay tax manage GST etc.
Personally the Gallery ive been with since 1987 Utopia Art Sydney is worth every penny.
“We live in a distracted world in which the age-old pastime of reading for pleasure is rapidly disappearing.” Consolation for you John, me and other readers for pleasure, my 9 year old granddaughter was aghast when 30% of her Y3 public school class put up their hands in response to their teacher’s question, “Who doesn’t read for pleasure?”
Thanks so much John, I enjoy your columns, it was not a difficult decision to renew the subscription. I'm looking forward to your insights into everything as the year unfolds
Hi John, good article and thanks for what you’ve provided through the year. The Substack articles I look forward to the most are yours and Cricket Et Al and it made my day to see you are also a follower! Have a well deserved and restful break. James Lister
John, as always, your thoughtful and enlightened substack pieces are crucial to understanding what is happening in the art world and elsewhere. Delighted to hear that you have an international audience.
I wish you had a top editor to help you with all of your ideas. That brain runs overtime.
I hope your audience gets even bigger this year. Where else can you find a genuine, super intelligent critic? Not in a newspaper.
Hi Barbara, a good editor is like gold, and certainly wasn't to be found in the SMH's Spectrum section. Even super dumb critics are scarce on then ground nowadays. XJ
Thank you. I always read your posts/emails and find them very interesting. Thanks for delving deeper and following the funding with analysis. This is more than is done most places elsewhere! Have a great break
Thanks Kath, I'm hoping that one day these pieces will jolt the mainstream into action. We need concerted action to fight the drift to secrecy & nepotism.
Thank you John.
As it is for many art professionals - money is tight and the future precarious for me, yet my subscription to Everything the.com is great value and money well spent.
You are appreciated, loved in fact, for your honesty and strength. Have a wonderful rest and best wishes for 2026.
Kim Spooner
I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who would disagree, Kim, but I'm grateful for the positive approach. All the best for 2026.
If there's a 'them' there's an 'us'.
I have heard strange criticisms of your articles, stated with the authority of privilege. A CEO at an art institution, who "cannot understand why an arts writer concerns themselves with so many 'other' issues than art"
Students of Art, who profess expertise about how and what they should be taught, formally complain that they "didn't pay to hear about Poetry and Philosophy"
The Dumb List is long and it comes from above and below. There are too many bums occupying art-seats - entitlement corrupts
But, it is important that you are writing as you do and I have participated in many conversations that are entirely positive and grateful for it. What you write about resonates for many who are aware of the corruption and often discuss how the 'us' can assemble and mobilise, without blowing it up completely.
Thank you for being central for us.
You're right. One can't write for those who want to narrow everything down to some bare minimum, as if art isn't essentially an expansive activity.
There are so many issues.
One is my great bugbear - the role of the ALP in all of this.
Having benefitted from the largesse of previous Labor Governments who expanded opportunities for the working class via access to genuine education, the Humanities, I am particularly appalled that there are demands for Art Education to be focused directly to 'job outcomes'. As if being an Artist is not a job.
It's a juggling act for sure and it involves utilizing all the skills learned from art - cultural diversity, history, philosophy, literature, film, theatre, sociology etc.
However, it is very possible to live from the proceeds of being an artist, that has as one part of it, the selling of the direct 'product' - a visual artwork.
The NSW Government is cutting back on funding that enables artists to survive, while maintaining the primary role of Art Practitioner. They demand artists show how they get employment from art education, as funding is slashed from areas of ancilliary employment - Regional Arts, Reform Programs in Gaols, major Institutions/Galleries etc. while official art funding streams are corrupt and impenetrable.
Effectively, the Labor Government is chaining the working class to the factory floor. The wealthy and priviledged can 'sponsor' themselves into positions of influence in Art, the working class are finding it more difficult to support their own professional practice.
This may seem like a return to a bygone era when the upper classes controlled culture. The difference is that the new Culture is - wealth for its own sake, because they are resentful that they don't understand art... because they were educated in Commerce, Marketing and Business Studies, instead of the Humanities.
Sorry for the Rant but I hope I'm offending someone!
I'm glad to find another ranter out there - and another person bitterly disenchanted with the Labor Party.
Great to know that your readership base increasingly includes the US and Great Britain. This fact locates Australia in the world. Significantly, your erudition encompasses the whole spectrum of the creative arts. I reckon you should be recognized as a National Treasure. I agree with John Walker that you should have a really good break!
Thanks Mabel, I'm just waiting until Creative Australia allows people to nominate themselves as National Treasures, although I might have to stand for a while in the queue. All the best for 2026.
Yes the queue in front would be long because of advance notice.
Your pursuit of the Powerhouse has beena source of relief and pleasure. I think, otherwise, I would have burst a blood vessel. As for the "list story" - spare me. The solution for any dull editorial meeting and uninspired editor: a list story. Anything will do. And sadly, people do seem to love them - as in "did they include my favourite marmalade?" More power to your biro, John.
Ah, a voice from the coalface! At the SMH they consider the laundry list to be an "essay". As for the Powerhouse, I'm not the only one who can't believe the money that's been wasted on this dark fantasy. All the best for the new year, Di.
Well done John. Great work all year. We have enjoyed everything you’ve issued. We love the broad range of subjects, keep going. Best wishes for the new year. Jeff
Thanks Jeff, nice to have readers on the other side of the Blue Mountains!
Great piece of writing John. I especially appreciate your veracity and refusal to be silenced. Have a good break.
I wasn't going to have a break, but it made an irresistible case...
Thank for replies John and John.
Dear John,
I originally subscribed to your Substack posts to read your observations and criticism of the visual arts but I have appreciated all of your articles over the year even when they are reviews for films I never want to see.
Thanks for all your efforts and the insights into what they don’t want us to know.
Thanks Peter, I suspect there'll be no shortage of things they don't want us to know in the new year.
Thank you John.
A few points:
. we funded our son , who’s in his thirties, an art work for his recent birthday. He went to the artists studio in country Victoria having seen his work online. The artist told him that because of a 30% commission on works sold in galleries, he only exhibits on line now, despite being invited to exhibit by galleries. Is 30% standard now?
. Richard Ackland writes long form in the “ Justinian” but also a subscriber-based satiric, highly entertaining “ 500 Words or thereabouts” in which he pillories our betters, politicians, the legal fraternity, arts czars and especially Murdoch whom he dubs “ Molock” “ the Catholic Boys Daily” “ Planet Janet”
Having always found you the most hilarious raconteur, wouldn’t it be lovely if you could do the same, if you have the time, coming that incisive mind of yours with your sense of the absurd to produce shorter, pithy observations on your world.
. Finally having a good editor cast an eye over your editorials could improve them by reducing repetition, refining the message to its most incisive impact thus
making them more effective: I find them just a bit too long.
Look forward to reading you in 2026 and best wishes. Beth .
Dear Beth, it would be less time-consuming to do shorter pieces, but there's always plenty to write about! All the best for 2026, John
BTW. 30% is far from standard. I'd say 50% is standard, and I've never known a reputable dealer to charge less than 33.3%. If your artist thought 30% was high, he's led a sheltered life. You have to be very hot property to argue the commission down.
Beth Decent representative galleries employ several staff, pay a lot of rent for a decent exhibition gallery, maintain stockrooms and of coarse, like all of us also have to pay tax manage GST etc.
Personally the Gallery ive been with since 1987 Utopia Art Sydney is worth every penny.
Blessings thank you
hope you have a really good break
And to you & Anne, John.
“We live in a distracted world in which the age-old pastime of reading for pleasure is rapidly disappearing.” Consolation for you John, me and other readers for pleasure, my 9 year old granddaughter was aghast when 30% of her Y3 public school class put up their hands in response to their teacher’s question, “Who doesn’t read for pleasure?”
Thanks so much John, I enjoy your columns, it was not a difficult decision to renew the subscription. I'm looking forward to your insights into everything as the year unfolds
Best wishes for 2026
Bronwyn Berman
Hi John, good article and thanks for what you’ve provided through the year. The Substack articles I look forward to the most are yours and Cricket Et Al and it made my day to see you are also a follower! Have a well deserved and restful break. James Lister
The Ashes was so quick this year, I hardly managed to feel guilty about watching the odd session.
Thanks John
Your work is greatly appreciated. Looking forward to more in 2026.
All the best
Noel
Support of true blue artists greatly appreciated, Noel.
John, as always, your thoughtful and enlightened substack pieces are crucial to understanding what is happening in the art world and elsewhere. Delighted to hear that you have an international audience.
I wish you had a top editor to help you with all of your ideas. That brain runs overtime.
I hope your audience gets even bigger this year. Where else can you find a genuine, super intelligent critic? Not in a newspaper.
Barbara Campbell
Hi Barbara, a good editor is like gold, and certainly wasn't to be found in the SMH's Spectrum section. Even super dumb critics are scarce on then ground nowadays. XJ
Happy New Year - or as happy as possible - and thankyou for all your writing this past year! Meg Stewart
Happy new year to you too, Meg. We have to make our own fun these days.
Thank you. I always read your posts/emails and find them very interesting. Thanks for delving deeper and following the funding with analysis. This is more than is done most places elsewhere! Have a great break
Thanks Kath, I'm hoping that one day these pieces will jolt the mainstream into action. We need concerted action to fight the drift to secrecy & nepotism.
Let's hope so