Gee willikers Robin - amazing! Three shows and you are now part of our industry's hierarchy, empowered with the civil responsibility of policing events and preserving show standards. You have even “notified the shows he has applied to so they will investigate him”. Wow!
To everyone: Robin Chipman”s original post stated: “This vendor [Peter Rujuwa] receives stone statues in bulk from African workshops then re-sells them as his own. He even got into the Fort Myers" show, how does that happen?”. Then Robin went on to accuse the artist [Peter Rujuwa] based on an international shipment report garnered from the internet.
Peter Rujuwa owns a gallery in Indiana where he sells African imports: masks, jewelry and other handmade items. He also imports the raw stone that he carves into his sculptures, sold both in his gallery and at art shows.
It is a good thing that artists are sensitive to and aware of the issues of buy-sell and reps in our industry. However, it is imperative – nay mandatory - that anyone making accusation against a fellow artisan is absolutely certain of their ‘facts’. Those ‘facts’ must be supported by substantiated data. The consequences for the accused artist can be life changing for their career and family.
It is imperative that we all police our industry. However, this needs to be done conscientiously and privately – not on a public forum. Such public accusations toe the line of racism and McCarthyism that consider a person guilty by association with their country of origin or simply by the act of accusation. This has to cease.
If you have information that suggests a rules violation, contact the show director so their standards and rules personnel can investigate. What has been done here to Peter Rujuwa is an injustice. Peter, below is a link to the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, to their “Take Action” form https://www.aclu.org/secure/fl-legal-intake.
For all readers, if you wish to contribute to this particular blog, stay on point please.
Connie, I strongly urge you to remove that link to Peter Rujuwa’s bill of lading as it is tortful in nature and may have legal ramifications for the Art Fair Insiders.
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B/S has been a scourge ever since I started doing shows. It's nothing new. But I have stated many times our job is to notify the promoter of our suspicions and that's where our job ends. And I have stated before that falsely accusing someone could result in legal action.
Here we have such a case. A false accusation forwarded to other promoters could financially injure an honest exhibitor. We could have a defamation suit brewing. If the exhibitor decides not to pursue, the accuser should be very thankful.
At the very least, he is owed a public apology.
The bill of lading i saw on the website showed over 15000 kg of sculpture (over 33000 pounds), no mention of raw stone as it would be classified under a different code....because, at least in the past, we taxed raw materials differently than finished goods. Using google and some simple search terms, I found another shipment in 2007..
I would be interested, as others have asked, when the sculptor has time to create inventory given an extensive show schedule and extensive travel. If work is created by an atelier, it is usually under the direct supervision of the artist, who directs the production group and creates the originals from which copies are made. At least that is one variation of an atelier...
With a full exhibition schedule, there's travel, setup and show day/days; followed by tear down and moving to the next location to do it all again.. When does one have time to work, and how long does it take to make a piece of sculpture? It's not necessarily something one does in a hotel room or behind a travel trailer..
I work on detailed paintings during art shows, as something to occupy time; but I am not popping out a painting during a show that has any sophisticated level of detail. If I work in the studio between shows, I can make maybe 6 or 7 small simple pieces in a week, working all week, every day, multiple hours per day. So, I can only try to imagine creating sculpture of any sophisticated design from a block of stone-given the organic process the artist states that he uses on his web site. And after roughing out a piece, one must finish it through sanding, polishing and sealing.
I am willing to entertain that an artist possibly creates all their own work, but how many pieces might one be able to create per week. Yes, the raw materials are soft, but to produce works in volume to support a vigorous successful event schedule would require superhuman productivity... Given the price ranges cited, one would have to sell many pieces per week to cover exhibition and travel costs and make any sort of profit? How many possibly created while on the road? I am trying to do the math... Perhaps others who sculpt could give some production times for an experienced practitioner making simple pieces from soft raw materials, using hand tools.
If a reasonable person has these questions, the import documentation suggests a reasonable way that such inventory requirements might be satisfied.. I have seen other situations where these same questions begged an answer with reference to atelier-produced versus sole single artist production. Again, I apologize for having my doubts, but I cannot understand how sufficient production levels might be maintained to keep inventory at levels which should be required given a successful full- time exhibition schedule..