Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Jay Rolfe: Notoriety ... my journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso

Don't you just love the future Jay Rolfe is projecting for himself? I do!



Seeing all those rap and hip-hop musicians on the Sucker Free Edition of MTV Cribs the other day reminded me of the advice I got from artist Peter Max.


I was driving and listening to the classic rock station on the radio when I heard an ad for an artist's reception that evening for Peter Max at a gallery in King of Prussia PA. That's nearby, so I decided to go. Peter Max has a distinctive style which was the rage on vinyl record album covers in the 1960's. He calls it "Cosmic '60's" style. The exhibition was great. Lots of great paintings. And they were selling like hotcakes. Peter Max was very kind to everyone. For those who bought paintings, he would write a personal message on the back and sign it. You can see some of his works and learn more about Peter Max on his website. http://www.petermax.com/


I took the opportunity to ask Peter Max for advice on marketing for a beginning artist. I'll never forget what he said. "Get some notoriety early on." Notoriety! I hadn't and wouldn't have thought of that.


Most of the rap and hip-hop musicians on Cribs had notoriety down. They had built their careers on it! Then I realized I have a good example of notoriety just 3 miles down the road in Bam Margera. From pro skateboarder to skateboards and clothes, to Jackass, to his own TV show Viva La Bam, to indoor skate park, record label, Bam's Unholy Union, animated cartoon, radio show and more. He's a 27 year old conglomerate built on skateboarding skill and notoriety. Learn more on his website. http://www.bamargera.com/ And as a car buff, I love his dark blue Lamborghini Murcielago roadster. It's beautiful! His winter ride, the black S55 AMG Mercedes is cool too.


Notoriety everywhere and I still haven't gotten any. Being notorious would be a whole new thing for me, a new skill so to speak. The closest to notoriety I've gotten lately is that my wife Randy Rolfe (www.randyrolfe.com/) and I went out for a drink to celebrate Mardi Gras last night and we were in the same bar, Doc Magrogan's (http://www.docmagrogans.com/), as Bam. I didn't see him do anything funny, in fact I didn't see him at all. We saw his new wife Missy (Congratulations, Missy!) walk by our table. No notoriety for me there.


Thank you Peter Max for the great advice! If I can get some notoriety it will be one more step on Jay Rolfe's journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You can see some expressions of my unique artistic idea on my website at www.3dssc.com.

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