Saatchi on crack?

The Saatchi Gallery has launched the latest exciting online art gallery that is taking the world by storm ... except that it isn't.

Mega art collector and Advertising doyen, Charles Saatchi, has launched the newest social networking space for artists all over the world. I couldn't be more critical.

Obviously Saatchi's decision to go online is huge news for the art world, and I can see why the online gallery is attracting lots of traffic. In fact, as I write this, there were over 55 million hits to the website in the last 24 hours*.

But I think the Saatchi online gallery is a huge disappointment. It looks as though it was built in 1997, which is bizarre since it's 2007 as I write this.

Arists are doing quite well for themselves, using a host of web 2.0 sites like myspace, etsy, deviant art, and redbubble. Sites which all tap into the real power of the internet and web 2.0 - creating a community of artists online. The Saatchi Online Gallery doesn't come close.

There is little need for a website with such poor functionality, even if it is the lovechild of such an influential art entrepreneur. The only search functionality is by artist name. Compare this to Etsy, where you can search for art by category, colour, location and the recommendations of others. If you want to see how an online art gallery should be done, Etsy is the place to go. I wonder if Charles Saatchi has even heard of it? In fact, I wonder if he's spent much time online at all. It's the worst website I've seen in a long time.

I think the Saatchi Gallery online is a case of much too little, a bit too late. Sure, it will attract a tonne of traffic in the next month or so. There'll be plenty of PR and buzz in the fine art world, pointing more than a few artists and collectors to the site.

But Saatchi has clearly done little to understand the internet, and the new ways that artists and collecters promote and buy artwork. It doesn't stand a chance.

* By the way, 'Hits' is an archaic web statistic, which was the leading online traffic indicator in 1997. It essentially means nothing in 2007.

Who's online :: Online galleries for all.

Based on my last post, I thought I'd do a quick wrap up of the online art galleries that I know of. In this post I'm really just talking about those 'Online galleries for all' - the spaces where anyone can sell their art online.

Etsy - This is probably the leader. Etsy is an online community of artists and crafters. Anything hand-made can be bought and sold on Etsy. Born just 2 years ago, over 1,000,000 items have now been sold here. So yup, it's pretty big.

Etsy allows anyone to set up there own shop quickly and easily, wherever you are. It is probably one of the most beautiful websites I've ever seen. It offers users the ability to search for art and crafts by category, colour, location and a whole lot of other unique ways.

Their distribution model is similar to ebay or amazon - They don't need a warehouse to store all the artwork. Instead, the artist ships directly to the buyer once a sale is made. This means there's no limits to the amount of items they can have for sale.

Made It - Made it is the local version of Etsy, and specializes in Australian work. It is nowhere near as big as Etsy, but then again is a lot younger.

Made offers items for sale in a lot of categories, including art, clothing, homewheres, jewellery and lots more. From purely an art perspective, there isn't a lot of work on Made It just yet.

Redbubble - Another local mob, this time in Fitzroy, redbubble is another up and coming art community that seems to be doing well. Redbubble allows you to upload your images and designs, and redbubble takes care of the printing. As an artist you can upload images for cards, wall hangings and even T-Shirts.

Most of the artwork for sale here is Photography based. But there isn't anything to stop artists and illustrators selling their work here. As a buyer, the service is very good, and they even give you different framing options that you can choose from.

With a membership base of over 10,000, the redbubble community is off to a strong start.

Deviant Art - Deviant Art claims to be the biggest art community online. I don't really know a lot about it, and it seems to be a little overwhelming when you visit the site. But by the looks of it, artists can upload and sell there work through Deviant Art. There seems to be a huge amount of art here, including tonnes of manga stuff.

Artflock - Artflock is another online gallery that allows anyone to upload and sell their art, this one based out of the UK. It is a nice looking site, and seems to be a good way for any artist to sell their work. Mostly 'On the wall' type art here.

The only problem with artflock is that most of the art here is crap. Even the most popular art on artflock is generally mediocre.

But all in all, these sites have been done well. I think Etsy and redbubble are the two that stand out for me.

A few thoughts on these types of sites:

• All of them allow artists to be "Global Microbrands" and sell their stuff to the whole world. That's a good thing for independent artists everywhere.
• By allowing anyone to add their artwork, without restriction, you are bound to get a lot of bad artwork in there. Which is why the rating systems on these sites are so important, to bring the best artwork to the surface.
  
• These are big sites, with many people working on them. There's a lot of time and effort gone into all of these. Not the 'one man band' operations that I had in mind for my business.
  
• The sites that nurture their communities are the ones that will do well. That's one of the reason why I think Etsy and redbubble stand out from this crowd.
  

I'd love to hear your thoughts on these websites. And If there are any that I have missed out, let me know.