Art Blogs

I recently read this Forbes article about Art Blogs via ArtNewsBlog. This is what Forbes had to say about Art Blogs:

"Ever start to read a newspaper or magazine review of a contemporary art show and give up because the writer seems to be speaking in a foreign tongue? The art world sometimes feels like another country with its own language and customs. Blogs can offer a passport. While some mirror the insular and gossipy nature of the art world, there are many that are thoughtful, accessible and dedicated to taking (at least some of) the mystery and intimidation out of the looking experience. You'll find everything from museum news and reviews of up-and-coming artists to art travelogues and gossip on who's who at openings. Perhaps most importantly, blogs revive the fine art of discussing ideas--an antidote to one-sided, jargon-filled critics' pronouncements.-- Liz Tunick"

The sentences I put in bold really caught my attention. As of now, I am formulating a strategic plan to eventually develop the blog into a comprehensive resource site. Ofcourse, with any strategic plan I need to make a mission statement ..and lo and behold, as soon as I read the statement by Liz Tunick, it was right in front of me. In terms of the "art of Brownsville", I would like the site to be thoughful, accessible and dedicated to taking the mystery and intimdation out of the art experience and most importantly to revive the fine art of discussing ideas.

Yet, an endeavor such as creating a comprehensive website is no easy feat. It takes loads of research, planning and personal investment to get it ready for launch. Then there is the management of the site, which is a whole other story! Really, the management of a comprehensive site is very much like the management of a small business but most of the time without any monetary profit, other than the webmaster's own personal value. As of now, I measure this blog by three values: by quality of content, by visitor feedback and by unique visitor statistics. The blog will be turning two years old come November and at its first inception, I never thought it would grow to offer so much potential. I have much more thinking to do about this, but I am glad that I have Step One (mission statement) more or less put down.

Here are some my personal picks from the Forbes list that are good models:

Gallery Hopper
Absolute Arts Blog
Art Addict

Then there are other sites and not just blogs that I am looking at as well:

Art by Latina Artists (my top model right now)
The Harry Potter Lexicon (this comprehensive website with everything Harry is pure eye candy to me!)
The Glass Tire (awesome, just awesome)

I don't know yet, how large the site's scope will be. I don't even know if I will be able to manage such an initiative alone. Various factors will come into play and the largest one will be on what sort of personal investment I would be willing to make. Perhaps, I should just keep the scope of the site to the blog and just work on improving the quality of my content. It may be the only thing I can realistically manage. But for sure, I have moved a step forward towards the development of The Art of Brownsville.