Record Keeping
Circling HomeWork #24
Philosopher and cognitive scientist Andy Clark makes the case that our mind isn’t just our brain or soul but rather extends into all the tools that help us store and understand information, expanding into the digital or physical worlds. Since learning of this concept (the “extended mind”) some years ago, I have returned to it frequently. It makes intuitive sense to me, a dedicated calendar-user who typically (though I am not perfect) doesn’t miss appointments or birthdays — not because I have the best natural memory, but because the mental augmentation of a well-tended calendar relieves me of the need to file all those specifics in my brain alone.
For today’s HomeWork, I’m considering the administrative work of being an artist, and how we get that part done. Processes, practices, and to-do’s — this is definitely not a how-to guide or about organization for its own sake, but rather a contribution to the broader “here’s what I do” way of sharing ideas. Much of it is a list of the various spreadsheets I have made and revised over the past ten years, as the need presents itself. I’m grouping these means of organization and record keeping into three categories: art admin directly related to my studio practice, home admin related to keeping my personal life more or less moving forward (which in turn, ideally, creates space and energy to make art), and work (which for the time being is mostly what funds all of the above).
Overall, I would say my approach is a pretty archive-forward one, in keeping with Clark’s extended mind framework and a romantic idea of one’s “papers” (digital or physical) as a record of their life1. Even when I don’t remember the specific detail I’m attempting to recall, if I can trust that it will be in the right folder or document then I can be confident of not too many things slipping through the cracks. I can dump brainstorms or to-do-lists or random late night notes into the relevant place which does do a little something to ease my mind when too many things are competing for attention. Part of it, too, is knowing what can be released — revisiting the files every so often with the added context of time allowing for a clearer-eyed organization or editing pass. To administer something is, ideally, not just about management but also about helping.
✨ For artists in the New York area: I’m working with CreativeMornings to host a forthcoming club especially for artists and focused on these administrative aspects of being one. The goal is to create time and space for mutual support and accountability by getting together to co-work on our respective grant applications, website updates, overdue email responses, photo editing, etc. Stay tuned — dates and more details coming soon!
ART ADMIN
I use a simple archive spreadsheet to keep track of artworks, with columns for title, price, where it is physically stored (this is pretty loosely managed at the moment), who took the documentation photos, exhibition history of the piece, etc. I’ve revised it over time to make it most useful for issues or questions which arise, and am able to link to the artwork in question. There is a cloud-based platform also called Artwork Archive, which is appealing, but for now my DIY version more or less gets the job done. I store my documentation photos (and am slowly trying to re-name and organize them all with consistent conventions) in Google Drive, and pay for additional storage beyond what comes with a free account.
The art sales spreadsheet is pretty self-explanatory. I keep track of what pieces sold, to whom, via what method (e.g. a commission, a personal connection, or through a gallery) as well as what the price was, the commission split if applicable, and any hard costs like framing or shipping.
Similarly, for Circling, we have a shared finances spreadsheet in our Google Drive. Each of us tracks expenses (primarily: featured artist honorariums; event expenses for in-person programming like space rental, snacks, art supplies; admin costs like travel to visit each other or host events, our Canva subscription, etc.) and revenue (newsletter subscriptions, event ticket sales), balancing up on a monthly-ish basis. At some point we will hopefully be in a place to make this more official, but the system works for now. On the first tab, pivot tables summarize numbers by category, by year, and by person. So far we have made negative dollars, but less negative than the year before.