MAINSTREAM AND MARGINS by Robin Locke Monda

Mainstream artists, curators, people--to me--are those who buy into the (commercial gallery, ArtForum, Art in America) system and play it, whether they are widely recognized or not. Artists on the margins are those that follow the beat of their own drum. They make people uncomfortable because they can't be easily pegged artistically and they may be difficult personalities to commercialize. Or they are just downright original. Or they are based within a community that they value and identify with. They aren't trying to "get over." They don't follow the rules and may not even know what the rules are. They may make up their own rules: "No gallery will accept my work? Then I'll start an artist collective and we'll create our own spaces." They are living their life originally, living creatively and are in dialog with their peers (other non-mainstream artists/thinkers/writers).