To Title or Not to Title, That Is the Question

I gained the pursuing e-mail from an artist asking about titling her do the job. This is one particular of the more popular topics I focus on with artists. I understand that titling your artwork can grow to be tiresome, and a lot of artists experience that a title can get in the way of the artwork.

Whilst I am an advocate of titling artwork, and I sense titling deserves expense of time and imagined, what do you think: do titles actually make any difference? Can the erroneous title avoid you from promoting your artwork? Can the correct title guarantee a sale? Even though the challenge may well seem to be like a minimal 1, it is an problem you will be working with continuously about the study course of your profession.

Browse my dialogue thread with the artist below, and then share your feelings about titles in the remarks beneath. How do you sense about titles? How do you come up with your titles?

Authentic E mail from Artist

Pricey Jason,

I have a concern: does a title really make any difference?

Nowadays I was selecting up two of my artworks at the location for a current two month international exhibition, “Arts in Harmony” in Minnesota. Just one of my pieces, Contaminated H2o #2: Pond Scum won several awards and was incredibly perfectly received. The other piece juried into the exhibit was Contaminated Drinking water and is the beginning piece in this series.

The Curator of the exhibition created a point of coming about and conversing to me as I was likely as a result of the checkout process. His opinions to me ended up that he experienced under no circumstances witnessed a piece of perform intrigue so several collectors more than the program of the show. There have been numerous inquiries into acquiring but no final sale coming as a result of by the close of the show on March 29, 2012.

He was questioning the titling of my operate and the sequence, of which there are four now finished and currently being exhibited with 4 more in the completion system. He was suggesting that my Contaminated H2o collection is much more reminiscent of Monet’s drinking water items and that the titles ought to be changed to Monet’s Drinking water or Monet’s Pond with the subtitle (Pond Scum, and many others) but to lose the Contaminated Drinking water element simply because it was maybe influencing the salability of the get the job done.

In your experience as a gallery proprietor, have you witnessed the genuine title of a piece be the “killing factor” in a probable sale? If I was to modify the titles of these parts (on my world wide web web page, galleries, upcoming exhibitions, etcetera) which have been exhibited over the previous two decades, would that be harmful to the influenced artworks or to my standing as an artist?

Lots of of the exhibitions my do the job is in also create catalogs for the exhibitions so it is by now recorded with the present titles.

I’m not confident about including in the reference to Monet in operate titles for a whole collection would be superior both – would that convey into enjoy ideas of copying of Monet’s good get the job done alternatively of it becoming my very own? I have constantly titled my work due to the fact “Untitled” tends to make it tricky for persons to describe what the work is if they are inquiring about it via the cellular phone, especially in my do the job as so significantly of it is summary. It just seems like a all-natural component of the system but possibly what I see as the creator is not what viewers see and is the title a hindrance as an alternative of a support.

Sincerely,

Jean

My Response

Jean,

I have always felt it’s essential to have a title – just as you would not ship a baby out into the environment with no a identify, you want to give a do the job of artwork a token of identification by means of the title.

Can a title hamper income if it’s the erroneous title? This is an intriguing dilemma and I am likely to admit that I have by no means truly looked at the question that way. My intestine reaction is that it is in all probability finest in most instances to keep away from text that would have overtly unfavorable connotations except the meaning of the piece (social or political commentary, for case in point) is specifically tied to the title. Terms like “Contamination” or “Scum” are likely to land on the incorrect side of this line.

Persons might be intrigued by the titles, but I imagine they are likely to check with them selves, “do I want to bring ‘Contaminated Water’ or ‘Pond Scum’ into my dwelling?”

There are likely to be exceptions – some prospective buyers like to have one thing sudden, anything perceived as negative, into their collection for the minor shock price it could convey, but this is heading to be the a pretty modest minority. On regular it’s likely to have a small adverse influence on your product sales.

The additional essential difficulty for me is that I guess I just don’t see the contamination or scum in the parts you point out – I think the get the job done is gorgeous and so the title looks not to in good shape.

I’m not positive the “Monet” title is the appropriate a single, but I wouldn’t see it as damaging in any way.

This is not a make or break challenge, but I am usually hunting to enhance income.

Jason

Jean’s Response to the Comments

This put up has undoubtedly developed some appealing tales and responses regarding my Contaminated Water collection, naming art in common, etcetera. I feel the common consensus is that naming art is essential, which I have normally followed. Most of my artwork commences with a vague title and alterations 3, 4, or additional periods during the lengthy system of creation.

I think I shell out way too significantly rigorous time with my get the job done more than an extended period of time (quite usually a year or two). Mainly because I perform inside inches of my do the job, I see items that lots of many others never see on to start with approaching or looking at the function. Component of that could be motivated since my get the job done is really normally far more summary than representational get the job done which might be less complicated to name due to the fact you have a distinct spot, man or woman, issue, and many others.

Part of it may also be simply because I see the environment in a diverse mild. Almost everything is not calm, tranquil scenes of forest, lakes, oceans, ponds, wildlife, and so forth. Looking extra carefully can carry about astonishing discoveries. I am intensely influenced (consciously and unconsciously) by all of the negativity in the environment the final decade or so which is what is revealed night following evening on Tv, information feeds on the web, newspapers, etcetera. It appears to be to be on calamity immediately after a further – wild fires, oil spills, earthquakes, tsunamis, industrial incidents, war, famine, and human, social and environmental degradation, etc.

I have occur to the conclusion that it is seriously far too late (and inappropriate) to rename these items which was I consider the issue that I was broaching. The initially items in the referenced sequence have been juried into exhibitions by prominent people in the artwork entire world, won quite a few juror awards at exhibitions, and been highlighted in many textbooks and publications as they are named appropriate now. Changing would turn into perplexing I believe for people today who have viewed the operate in individual, tracking the history of the parts, etc.

If viewers get earlier the title and see a thing else this kind of as a trace of natural beauty, a emotion of hope, or something else fully that sparks a relationship for them, then my artwork has performed its job: established a response, began a discussion, or got the viewer pondering in yet another route regardless of whether it is positive or damaging.

What would you say to Jean? What has your working experience been titling your perform? Have you viewed title’s make the change in earning the sale? Go away your thoughts and suggestions belowl