Even though I have spent a great deal of time building a strong social media presence, I never thought I would buy art in Facebook. But now, I have and I enjoyed the experience. I still believe there is no replacement to physically seeing a work of art in person. However, there are another set of rules when looking at work in social media. First, the work is right there, digitally represented in my everyday mobile interconnected life. Second, commenting and instantly interacting with an artist is just a few buttons away. Third, for the first time, we have instant access to the artist creative space. It is like having a spying Predator drone flying around the artist studio. Except, that this intrusion is voluntary on behalf of the artist. More often, artists give us access to their creative spaces via social media. I do it too. Why not? It builds interest in the creative process.
Increasingly, I hear of sales being made because the artist posted a photo of a new work on Facebook. I know of a couple collectors who are very active in social media looking out for what is being done. Most of the times, these sales are from collectors who already know the artist. However, others find interest in new artists who share their work. If the price for a small drawing is affordable, almost everyone has the potential to be a collector! So here are a few instances of artists using Facebook as a marketplace platform.
A month or so ago, I purchased a couple drawings by Liz Mares (http://www.facebook.com/LizMares). Liz posts a drawing once every few days and it goes up for sale for about $25+shipping anywhere int he world. The first person to offer to buy it, gets it. The drawings are beautiful, delicate and interesting. The first time I saw them, I was too late and could not get them. One day, I logged in FB and there it was. Liz’s newest drawing. I just had to get it. So I did.
Chicago artist Pancho Panoptes (http://www.facebook.com/pancho.panoptes) does a similar thing. He posts an original work on paper he calls a Love Letter and then it goes on auction for 24 hours. I tried several times to get one of his small collages but I was always late until two days ago. I got lucky. I saw the post and made the first offer. Twenty four hours later, I made my second offer and I won by one dollar over the last person to bid. Hahaha!!! Pancho is now residing in Germany working on an interesting art project which I will write about in an upcoming In-Sync post.
My good friend Saul Aguirre (http://www.facebook.com/saul.aguirre) is conducting a Raffle for one of his beautiful paintings via Facebook. I purchased a ticket too but the raffle has not taken place. He needs to sell 100 tickets before the raffle takes place. Saul has a strong following on social media and is very creative in the way he runs his career. If you want to purchase a raffle ticket for only $25, contact him at saulaguirre@hotmail.com. I look forward to see what else he comes up with in social media.
I had my personal share of the social media adventure last December when I showed my series of 41 Winters at 33 Contemporary Gallery. I did not spent a cent in advertising, printing or marketing. It was strictly social media driven type of marketing. I posted many works via FB and was able to sell many of them directly from my posts. Not only that, the show was featured in Chicago Public Radio. Proven once again that social media cannot be ignored.
Anyway, there is much more to share on this later. For now, check out the artists listed above and support the work they do. It is a fresh and enjoyable buying experience! That is, if you are lucky enough to get one of their pieces before they are gone.
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artnxtleveljournal.com 
Dear Sergio:
The Piece is still up on Raffle It will only be raffled if once all 100 tickets are sold! so far 30 Tickets sold. 70 more to go!
If any one is interested. Here is the Information!
Xilonen
Acrylic and Oil on Canvas
68″ X 50″
2007
Saul Aguirre: Xilonen
In Saúl Aguirre’s work, the use of the Maize theme has become his latest representation of his indigenous background.
In Aguirre’s work, “Xilonen” (pronounced Shee-LOAN-un) represents the cosmo-vision of the rite of passage of an indigenous girl during her sacred ceremony of the same name.
Xilonen is the Aztec Goddess of Tender Maize, a Nahuatl word deriving from family of the Uto-Aztecan language spoken by the Aztecs and their Mexica
( Meh-shee-kah) and present-day indigenous speaking descendants of Mexico.
The young “tender maize maiden” in Aguirre’s work celebrates the spirit of the ripening into womanhood as the transition represented by the ripening of the Maize.
Yet, in the midst of this sacred transformation she is confronted with cultural identity crisis.
She is caught between two worlds: her native Indigenous culture and the supplanted Spanish/ Mestizo culture. In her approach to acculturate, we see the ambiguity in her attempt for cultural preservation of her sacred indigenous traditions.
“Xilonen,” represents the clear dichotomy struggle of her two opposing cultural identities.
She has on a European-style period dress that clearly does not fit her. In her attempt to acculturate to the invasive culture, her uncomfortable facial expression clearly suggest her awkward cultural identity crisis. The red bow on her waist represents the red colored sash worn by her indigenous peoples on their waist during sacred ceremonies, representing equilibrium, and for women, fertility.
For the young girl, the color red represents her upcoming menses, symbolizing the sacredness of her purification. Yet, we see the bow is upside down; a clear sign of distress for the religious dogma that sees this sacred feminine “cleansing” as “unclean.”
In the midst of her cultural identity chaos, what centers and grounds her are her little white shoes, a symbol of “purity.” They connect her to the Earth Mother, her ancestors and her community. Yet, most importantly, it connects her to sacred feminine self , her Indigenous culture and the beautiful ancient traditions of her people.
She pays tribute and homage to Xilonen for this forward movement of growth. Her sacred gift is her cultural and self awareness. She is beautiful in the skin she was born in!
The raffle tickets are still available, only at $25.00. They are only 100 ticket to be sold. Please inquire about the raffle. Be my guest to take a Chance to acquire an original piece by Saul Aguirre, $3000.00 USD
Please make sure you send the Email and Phone Number to saulaguirre@hotmail.com and write down Raffle for painting, to get a confirmation for the purchase of the ticket. unless you want to pay cash we can meet sometime to get you the ticket number. or just simply Call me to get an better confirmation! 312-282-3777
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