French born-American artist and sculptor Louise Bourgeois (born 1911) has been a well-respected name in the art world for over seven decades. She is often counted among the greatest female artists of all times. One of Louise’s most powerful creations is the massive sculpture “Maman,” which since the last dozen years is amongst the world’s largest and most impressive sculpture. Bourgeois created “Maman” as a part of her inaugural commission of The Unilever Series in 1999 for Tate Modern Museum’s vast Turbine Hall. Acquiring this magnificent sculpture is considered as one of the Tate Museum’s historical moments. “Maman” was first displayed outside the Tate Museum of London in 2000. It was received with the mixed reactions of amazement and amusement.

The sculpture “Maman” is a 9 meter (30 feet) tall female spider made of stainless steel. It is black in color and has a sac under its belly in which she carries 26 pure white marble eggs. Long thin legs support the small body of the spider. The sculpture radiates elegance in entirety. While building the sculpture, Bourgeois paid careful attention to details, such as the placement and the finishing of the legs of the spider, in order to achieve a well-balanced structure.

A work of ‘Symbolism’ centered on the complications of relationships, the giant arachnid though looks threatening; the eggs she holds in her belly however, give her a sense of vulnerability. The way she seems to cling to her eggs demonstrates her protective maternal instincts. The overbearing size of the spider is intimidating, yet intriguing. Bourgeois gave “Maman” a playful and mystical character. It exudes an emotional power over the sub-conscious. To some it may appear like a magical creature, who accidently stepped out of some fairy tale, while others find its presence haunting like an old abandoned memory of pain or fear.

Louise created “Maman” in the memory of her mother. Bourgeois’ mother was a weaver and ran a business of tapestry restoration. Bourgeois felt the egg-carrying spider was an apt metaphorical symbol for her mother as it displayed a character of strength and nurture. She believed like her mother that the spiders are friendly creatures and are protective, as they eat disease-causing insects. Several bronze casts of the fantastical “Maman” grace various museums, such as Guggenheim Museum (Bilbao, Spain), Samsung Museum of art (Seoul, Korea), Mori art Center (Tokyo, Japan), Jardin des Tuileries (Paris, France), and the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, Canada). The next bronze cast of the “Maman” will be placed in Des Moines, Iowa in August 2009.

In case you inquire further, lots of painters can tell you that one of the most important issues they struggle with is learning to promote themselves and reaching new markets. The traditional gallery option is certainly not an easy one – an artist has to establish and retain connections with gallery managers who can exert a lot of influence. Nonetheless, quite a few galleries are confirming a decline in sales owing to the competition from web sales, and this is not a development which is very likely to disappear anytime soon.

The art buying public is increasingly ‘time-poor’, and so online sales are a natural progression. As a necessary evil, traditional brick and mortar galleries have a limited amount of space on their walls for displaying works of art. In contrast even the smallest and simplest website can easily host thousands of images and pieces of art, making it easier than ever for potential buyers to browse to their heart’s content. This also means that buyers no longer need to deal with persistent gallery owners and sales people out to make a commission off of every sale. Instead they can look at as many pieces as they like over a relaxing cup of coffee!

Many artists have their own websites where they sell art online. Most of them start off on this venture with an attitude of “If I build it, they will come” and unfortunately this is not quite the way this business works. Helping potential customers find your website can be quite the challenge, but fortunately marketing yourself online is something that you can learn how to do. Making your personal website stand out amongst the crowd of millions of other websites on the internet is a tall order and not something that many people want to try to do because it can be difficult and time-consuming. Since many art buyers don’t have the time or the inclination to try to look through dozens of personal portfolios and websites, you might be wondering how exactly you can sell art online and find an interested buyer?

Over the last few years a lot of online galleries and artist portals have appeared, and they have been enormously successful in helping people to sell art online that they have created.. While some are set up to charge a commission like many traditional on the ground galleries, others are funded by membership fees or a flat rate per sale. There is a huge variety of sales models, but with each comes a different degree of quality control, another major concern for artists and buyers alike.

A primary consideration for an artist who wants to sell art online is the quality of other work for sale on the site you want to join. Some sites have no selection or screening process at all which means anyone in the world can call themselves an artist, and this is not necessarily the kind of visibility to you want if you are going to be a serious artist and make a career in the industry. Without a solid submission or selection process, many sites quickly get overwhelmed with pieces of work and it can become difficult for buyers to browse the site to find quality pieces.

So what are the other options? There are a number of options available to those artists and buyers seeking a refreshing new experience with an online art gallery. Few galleries, like ours, are unique because they allow buyers to interact directly with artists and charges 0% commission on sales made through their websites. The prospect of saving as much as 50% – 60% on the purchase of a piece of art is a very attractive one to buyers looking for that perfect price for their home or office. many buyers dislike having to pay steep commissions to traditional on the ground galleries, and online galleries are leading the pack in creating a new trend in the art market.

A cautionary reminder for artists who want to sell art online; be careful of where and how you market your work. The old saying that ‘the message is the medium’ is very true in this situation. Of course you want to generate visibility for your work and attract potential buyers, just take care to ensure that it is the right kind of visibility. Pay attention to the details as you research ways to market yourself effectively, and look at sites where you might consider hosting your work. We hope you found this article useful.