We would sell a few thousand copies and talk about the same artists over and over again and make them famous
“We would sell a few thousand copies and talk about the same artists over and over again and make them famous. The litany of artists in those days was artists like Maggie Hambling and John Bellany. Our business plan was very na?.”Even now, she admits it is a tough business to juggle. Maintaining the quality, particularly the reproduction of works of art, is terribly expensive. But since those early days when it was very English, it has moved towards more of an international perspective, epitomised by the new edition which has taken an American theme designed for the assault on the US market. Future editions will focus on other parts of the world, starting with Germany.
A re-design has finally made it easy to spot the most important features.None the less, the British market for art magazines is quite crowded at the moment. Wright pithily describes the long-established Art Review as the “Hello! of the art world” with its people-focused coverage. Frieze is “so hip it’s about being hip and not about the visuals”. And she was surprised at the revamped Tate magazine, which is now being produced by the upmarket publisher Cond?ast. “It’s hidden its intelligence under a bushel and is trying to be a style mag,” she claims “But it’s new and it will find itself. I think there’s room for all of us.”AND THE COMPETITION…The new bi-monthly Tate magazine (£4) was a logical result of the massive public interest generated by the new Tate Modern. It is a revamped version of the journal that has been sent to Tate members for years, but is now produced by the glossy publishers Cond?ast.
About 60,000 of the 90,000 copies printed are for members, and the rest will be sold at news-stands. Sir Nicholas Serota, the Tate’s director, believes that it can have broad appeal as well as authority under its new editor, Robert Violette, formerly a publisher of art books.. All professions have their own gods. Everyone from lawyers to Kleinian psychoanalysts will possess legendary leaders, well known to insiders – but almost entirely obscure to the rest of us.
