Sir, - "How could objectivity be obvious?" asks Emer McNamara (Front Row, May 6th, writing about my report Visual Invisible - A Strategic Review of the Visual Art Market in Ireland.) Simple, really. Each reader should be able to make that judgement for themselves. The relevant information - methodology, primary and secondary data details and data sources - is included in the publication for that purpose.
It is disingenuous to suggest that the report does not examine particular details of the market. Virtually no research is capable of being absolutely comprehensive, but the fact is that very little research of any type had been done on the visual art market until this report's publication. I am not claiming the report is definitive; rather, it is one perspective. What I am claiming is that it is a valid objective perspective.
Emer McNamara's reference to the "anonymous" article published in Art Bulletin (April/May 1998) implies something less than wholesome. The magazine's usual practice is not to put names to staff members' writings. Some such pieces result from teamwork, some are compilations from other sources or merely listings of information. All contributions from non-staff writers are identified by author. The article she refers to was based on in-depth interviews about artists' experiences and perceptions of commercial galleries. On the other hand, the information in Visual Invisible was drawn from a number of sources - all identified, therefore verifiable - some primary, others secondary (i.e. other researchers' and writers' findings).
What saddens me is The Irish Times's apparent failure to present information regarding the arts in a way which could inform its readers and so contribute to an informed debate. Your newspaper appears to have developed a tendency to print articles on aspects of issues rather than to address "the big picture". It also tends to seek to be divisive and to "stir it" rather than to platform contributions which could build on one another to give in-depth understanding. Is this an infiltration of the tabloid tendency to use controversy to sell newspapers, rather than to inform the public and foster constructive discussion and debate? - Yours, etc.,
Stella Coffey, Executive director, Artists Association of Ireland, Temple Bar, Dublin 2.