GYRO TAKES OVER ART IN THE AGE THOUGH IT ALWAYS HAD IT
Yesterday morning we read something Philebrity linked to in New York Magazine about Gawker and became caught up with the idea of transparency, which for a business means not keeping any secrets from the people reading or buying you. It is in the interest of transparency that I regret to inform you of some new developments for Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction:
Yesterday afternoon Tim Gough and Nick Paparone the inventors of the idea of Art in the Age, and the people in charge of the look of the line, basically its art directors, were taken off the project by their financial backers; Gyro Worldwide. Reasons for their removal were not any wrong-doing on the part of Nick and Tim, rather Gyro considered the amount of money they asked for in their contract to be beyond what it could spend on the line. As we all can believe it sometimes takes years to turn a profit on any business venture and Steve Grasse, owner of Gyro, reported that "It took seven years to turn a profit on Sailor Jerry"--Gyro's other clothing company.
Concerns abound about the integrity of the clothing line and whether it will live up to the high standards set by Tim Gough and Nick Paparone, as to that, only time can tell.
I personally regret what has happened with Art in the Age, Nick and Tim are good friends and I wish them every possible success and happiness--and I know, talented as they are, they'll have no problems moving on. However, I am going to stay on as Art in the Age's media component. Dave Dunn and I will continue making video interviews and I will continue to cover the arts from Philadelphia and vicinity using this site. I also cannot help but hope, that even under different hands Art in the Age will continue to produce high-quality artist made multiples.
Please make use of the comment section to give voice to your opinions on this matter. I am especially interested in what people have to say about my own choice of staying with Art in the Age and what they think will happen with the company in the future.
As always thanks for reading!
-Annette Monnier
This whole situation was the balls and no one ended up looking good, here are some of the comments people made. (There were some really nasty ones towards the end but I couldn't "publish" them because I had already quit.) I have removed all the names of the commentors, not for anyone's protection but mostly because I don't know all of their real names and feel like a jerk writing LordVoldemort7:
Well, it sort of seems unfair that the inventors and the dreamers got the shaft. It's the old business model of chewing up the creative side and then, having dined, moving on. As for you, don't let anyone else tell you what to do. See what happens and then make a decision--your decision. Gotta love you for feeling loyalty to your friends and feeling some squeamishness, here.
"Don't Give Up" possibly the best t-shirt ever, and appropriate for all situations.
I agree with L---- that the creative capital (Nick, Tim) has been steamrolled and that it's not the first time and won't be the last time that "stuff happens" and the artists take the hit. The economy sucks right now and Gyro made a business decision. It hurts but they're bottom line is important to them. I'm sad about this and I am sad for Nick and Tim. I do think talent will out and Nick and Tim will rise up with another venture. Annette, you are great as the voice of Art in the Age and it would be sad to lose you as well. It's got to be very hard for you.
The line will NOT be the same. The dream is dead. Time to move on to the next thing.
I'll miss shopping here.
Seems like the biggest thing she forgot to mention is that from what I know, not only are Tim and Nick the creative backbone of the company, they also concepted the entire project, building it from scratch; too bad that aspect of ownership doesn't seems to be as important to the blogger as the financial ownership.
What is gyro? It is a meat wrap sandwich, right? I don't eat meat. I eat falafal, why doesn't falafal take over art in the age?
Didn't the same thing happen to John Kricfalusi with Ren and Stimpy?
This is what happens when you put yourself and your talents at the mercy of faceless monetary interests at the core, that was the whole point of DIY, everything, collectives, etc. Out generation of thinkers put into the modern condition of the wealthless with a wealth of ideas being bought and gaining very little in the end has to find ways to push this like a self sufficient vehicle so as not to hit potholes and have boundaries. . . hard to say with bills to pay, I know, I know. I just hope this has positive results, in sparkling something new and beyond. PUSH IT.
It's sad that we reach a point in our lives where we'd rather stick around after our friends get trampled by greedy businessmen than show some compassion and integrity for an obviously foul situation. Between Urban Outfitter's and Gyro, Philadelphia has become a breeding ground for unethical behavior. I think I'm going to vomit.
WTF
BOOOOOOOOO
No comments:
Post a Comment