About Me and My Blog

To Whom It May Concern,

I have been writing about art and artists for the HuffingtonPost for almost three years now, and am increasingly finding myself in a pretty great situation: I am regularly hearing from artists, galleries and museums who would like to blog about their work or an exhibition. Honestly, I am flattered by the requests, and wish I had been this popular in high school.

So that anyone interested in my writing can understand how I operate, and how I decide what to blog about, here is an "FAQ" style set of questions and answers that I hope you will find helpful. - John Seed



John Seed Arts Blogger: Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Will you write about my work?

A: The best answer I can give is "maybe." I try to read the press releases that come to my email box, and also do follow links to visit websites and look over the images you send.

My rule of thumb is that I have to feel very, very positive about any work I choose to write about. I write best about representational painting, although every now and then I do write about other forms of art.

Please don't be offended if I don't respond directly to your request, or if I don't end up blogging about your work. My choices are personal, and quite often I choose not to write about an exhibition simply because I am busy or feel that I am not the right person to interpret or discuss the work with authority.

Q: Do you write reviews?

A: I am not an art critic, although more and more people want to call me one, which they can do if they like. I prefer  "art writer" or "arts blogger" because I rarely write criticism. My preference is to write profiles of artists, essays that illuminate or explain an exhibition or work of art, and also to write
interviews.

I live in Southern California -- about 2 hours from Los Angeles and 90 minutes from San Diego -- so I see some shows in person when possible, but really live too far from major art centers to visit most exhibitions in person and do proper reviews.

Q: Can you and/or the HuffingtonPost help get the word out about my art world event?

A: The HuffingtonPost has an Arts and Culture desk in New York, and I can send your item forward to them. They do not post press releases and only post a very limited number of news items at their discretion. 

Q: How do you  find art and topics to write about?

JS: I listen to the opinions of a few trusted friends, visit exhibitions and watch the art that shows up on  Facebook.

Q: Do you accept paid work?

JS: Yes, I do, but with one exception: please do not offer to pay me for posting a blog on HuffingtonPost. I try to keep what I post there "pure" and am not paid for it by the HuffPost and don't want to be paid by you either.

I am happy to write catalog essays, web content, and magazine articles for you: e-mail me and we can talk about it, and I will also send you my full vitae.

Q: Can your HuffingtonPost blogs be re-published? 

A: Yes: I own the rights to them, but in most cases will need permission from artists to repost images of their art. If you would like to license one of my blogs for us on your blog, or in any other form of publication, please email me.

Q: Can I put you on my mailing list and/or e-mail list so that you receive notices about my work?

A: Of course!

Contact Information: johnseed@gmail.com