GRANVILLE, OH. April 2007 - Bedford
Hills, New York native, and current resident of Seravezza, Italy, sculptor
Andrew Wielawski - http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/e/elaniii
- Portfolio Artist at absolutearts.com, the most popular visual arts
site on the web. "I just recently had my first sale directly through
absolutearts.com. But beyond the direct marketing aspect of the site,
I've made invaluable contacts with artists and collectors from around
the world. When I was traveling in Turkey a couple months ago month,
I was able to get online to show folks my work. Earlier this year I
visited here in Italy with Alberto Sughi, an artist who lives in Rome
and Forli, who I've gotten to know via absolutearts.com." Andrew has
also been invited by the the owners of the Tharroe Hotel, who are
international art patrons, to live and work on Mykonos, Greece this
summer for four months. Andrew writes a blog that is featured
regularly on the site. The format of absolutearts.com and the content
of the site are extremely relevant to contemporary visual artists all
over the globe, so much so that other startup sites use
absolutearts.com as the industry standard.
In 1995, during the birthing of the World Wide Web, then Arts
Administration/Education
graduate student, Markus Kruse, originally from Berlin, Germany, began a
website for art related resources on the Web. World Wide Arts Resources was
born. "It now seems so primitive. We had about 50 resources. There were so
few. The Brooklyn Museum of Art even had us create their website," Markus
states. Over the years absolutearts.com grew to the largest search
engine for the
visual arts.
Markus began to sculpt this pioneering idea into absolutearts.com
-
a website where artists from around the world easily showcase
their artworks for free.
Mind you, this all started before everyone had digital cameras. Soon
international arts news was added as an attraction not only for artists,
but also for art collectors, galleries and museums. The goal is and was to
make a site for the visual arts, where collectors 'meet' artists and
where artists exchange ideas. You could call absolutearts.com the
precursor to any of the MY and U websites.
Obviously, having lived through the dotcom bubble bursts, this
business takes dedication. They aren't riding on the name of some big
collector, it's not about a flash-in-the-pan, trendy newbie. It's
about staying power - continually evolving to be the best tool for
artists, no matter what their age, interest or location. 
For example last month artists
asked to be able to create slideshows of work - in two weeks that
service was ready to use through the portfolios. absolutearts.com is
honestly the best all around visual arts site and has been for 12
years.
"It's about flexibility," says Markus. "We deal with a range of artists."
Different
levels of membership meet different artists' needs. This is a site for
established, professional artists on down to the weekend dabbler or
student. Kruse explains, "Some artists use their Portfolio at
absolutearts.com as their main website, while others prefer to have a
Portfolio to compliment their existing online marketing which boosts their
'traffic'." Each month thousands of artists upload work at
absolutearts.com, making the site the
largest selection of quality artworks online.
Collector Sam Israel of New York City, is a strong supporter of
absolutearts.com artists. Among the artists from whom he has purchased work
is painter, Eileen Doman of Carbondale, IL -
http://absolutearts.com/portfolios/d/doman.
She comments, "Working with absolutearts.com has boasted my already
successful artistic career to higher levels. They regularly feature
my work and the exhibitions that I'm in, on the homepage and in their
emailed newsletter. Earlier this year I even sold a work to Sheryl
Crow." Doman found that absolutearts.com linked her better in the big
search engines and did a universal job of promoting her work across
the site. Although she's shown several times in New York City over
the past 15 years and has a painting in the Whitney Museum of
American Art, having a Portfolio at absolutearts.com gives artists'
work global exposure to potential collectors.
The company's success has a lot to do with their ability to balance
knowledge
of the art world with knowledge of online commerce. The site is the best
linked
on Google. Just do a search and test it by typing in "contemporary art for
sale",
"art news" or "art blogs".
Every day, the absolutearts.com office, run out of a 1840's barn in rural
Ohio, fields emails and calls from around the world. After business
traveler, Jonathan Mildenhall from Atlanta, fell in love with a work of
art displayed at the Sagamore Hotel in Miami, he was able to locate the
artist through her absolutearts.com portfolio. Nancy Drew - http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/n/nancydrew
- of Brooklyn, NY - was then commissioned to complete two similar
works, one of which is now in a private collection in London.
Mildenhall commented, "absolutearts.com coordinated the commissions
with the artist in a professional manner that made me feel secure
with such a large transaction." Not only is the absolutearts.com team
tech savvy, they are art marketing specialists.
The whole idea was pre Mytype websites. absolutearts.com has
transformed with the
web
and with the artists that use the web. The company's motivation is to
provide
a valuable service and place where artists cannot only sell their work,
but
exchange ideas, get advice, keep current and keep in touch.
Ellen Fisch artist and Portfolio Member since 2004 -
http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/e/ellenfisch
- from Hewlett, New York, was given several surprising and
advantageous opportunities through her participation in the blog
forum at absolutearts.com. Ellen was contacted by a publication in
England that asked to reprint portions of her blog along with her
bio. After reading herblog at absolutearts.com, gallery owners in
both New York and Washington viewed Ellen's Portfolio and contacted
her for possibly representing her in their galleries. Many artists
and art lovers respond to Ellen's blog, which details her personal
feelings about being an artist in society. "The outpouring of
responses is a thrill! I never realized that so many individuals
share my feelings about creating art," said Ellen. "Self-expression
is the foundation of art and the services that absolutearts.com
offers allow me to communicate with others in a such a meaningful
way." As a Premium Portfolio Member Ellen has received extraordinary
exposure for her artwork. People from all over the world have
contacted her. "absolutearts.com is a wonderful resource for an
artist!" claims Ellen. The opportunities to give several workshops,
an Artist in Residency stint in New England and requests for gallery
representation, as well as sales have resulted from Ellen being on
absolutearts.com. "I am grateful that absolutearts.com works so hard
to give my work, and many other artists', global visibility!"
What it boils down to is absolutearts.com offers a successful
grassroots theory in a
professional
package. Markus Kruse concludes, "We've got so many new things planned for
the upcoming months. I am continually energized by the challenge to keep
growing, keep doing what's right to bring artists closer to collectors."
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Image credits from top:
- Andrew Wielawski, Harlequin La Fin du Siecle (detail), 1996, Stone
Sculpture 8'w
by 4'h by 4'd
- Dr. Markus Kruse, World Wide Arts Resources, Corp. photo by Janet
Thomas
- Eileen Doman, Sherman Takes a Trip, 2002, Acrylic Painting 11"w by 14"h
- Nancy Drew, Inside Bet on 32, 2006, Painting, 72"w by 60"h
- Ellen Fisch, Portsmouth Dock, 2006, Other Photograph, 16"w by 20"h
World Wide Arts Resources, Corp. is a small, privately held company based
in
Granville, Ohio, in the heart of the US. Since 1995, wwar.com and
absolutearts.com have provided information to millions of art enthusiasts.
wwar.com / absolutearts.com have become the largest arts sites on the
World Wide Web. Constant evolution plays a critical role in enhancing the
client's experience and meeting their ever-increasing needs. In 1999,
wwar.com expanded to include absolutearts.com, which began as a daily arts
news outlet and has adapted to include the Internet's most comprehensive
contemporary art online Portfolio programs.
More information about the people at absolutearts.com can be found at: http://wwar.com/about/
Issued by:
Jodi Melfi
VP Marketing
absolutearts.com
3678 Loudon Street
Granville OH USA 43023
740-587-3326
press@absolutearts.com
