I'll be the first to admit that I've made some downright stupid decisions with money in my time.
When I was 15, I saved up to buy a stereo. Now, this was circa 1996 so I shelled out for a fancy 3-disc changer that I bought from Costco, of all places.
It had the slowest tray on the planet that tried my patience daily. I couldn't take it. I ended up pushing, pulling and twirling the tray to make it work faster. So it broke...death by finger-diddle.
Back then, the stupid purchase was a forgivable offense. After all, I couldn't exactly research the product at my public library.
Er, maybe I could have, but, I was WAY too lazy to look into it.
These days, there's just no excuse for spending money on shoddy products. Because we have this magical realm called the internet.
On that note, I received an email last week from artoteque.com calling for artist entries for their ibiennial 2009 on-line exhibition.
I had never heard of artoteque.com and their website wasn't telling me
much. Since the entry fees were a little steep ($80 - you could probably buy a 3-disc changer with that kind of money), I started
snooping around the internet.
And I found this.
For all you artists using the internet to pimp your stuff, BogusArtFair.Info is a great place to start. The website provides a forum to rat out scam art fairs and exhibitions, phony buyers, agents and galleries...and even has a classification for "real websites with unfavourable terms".
Which is the category that artoteque.com falls into. According to BogusArtFair.Info, the ibiennial won't give you much exposure for your $80.
I suggest you do a little more research before you make a decision either way...but keep BogusArtFair.Info in your back pocket for future reference.
And don't ever buy a stereo from Costco.
