Art Dealer Karl McLaurin Makes a Virtual Visit to History of Art Class at American International College

Last May, Professor Nordell met Karl McLaurin at a Black Ancestral Legacies professional development workshop at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.  Learning that McLaurin was an art dealer who represented artists of color, Nordell invited him to join his History of Art class to share art world insider knowledge.

The week before McLaurin joined ART1000 via Zoom, students were assigned to formulate a relevant question and then practiced their oral communications skills by asking questions of the guest speaker.

Jacqueline asked, "How do you handle creative blocks and find inspiration when you feel stuck?"
Listen to the question and answer.

Full video from the question and answer session:

Uptown Magazine featured McLaurin with an article: The Great Connector - After three decades as a marketing, political, and corporate strategist, Karl McLaurin sets his sights on the art world.

Spend 15 minutes with Karl McLaurin and you realize that he's an indefatigable people person. While friends refer to the Brooklyn-born, Boston-raised networker as the unofficial mayor of Martha’s Vineyard, clients describe him as a killer businessman with an authentic creative spirit. This made him a natural fit for former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s administration, where McLaurin served as director of marketing, and was known for his unique ability to create buzz-generating, community-based partnerships between the public and private sectors.

McLaurin responds to Jordan's query about how he determines which artists to invest in that will make a lot of money in the future versus those that will not be successful.
Listen to the question and answer.

After the Zoom session, students shared ideas gleaned from Karl McLaurin.

"One idea I learned from Karl is that even though he graduated as a marketing major, he has pursued art in many ways."

"People look at Karl in a very respected manner. If he likes a piece or an artist, other people are going to trust his opinion and like it as well. This can make the pieces more valuable."

"I learned that working in art is more than just drawing, painting, sketching, or looking at art. There is much more that goes into it whether from the artist side, curator side, critic side, or representation side. It is not an easy job and you kind of need an eye or touch for it."

Amelia asked, "How do you represent artwork and how is this achieved?"
Listen to question and answer.

"What I learned from Karl McLaurin is that art is really what you make it and if you have a passion, go for it, take the risk, and you'll be good in the end."

"I learned that artists need to get out their emotions and it’s not always about the money."

"One thing I learned is that Karl has a lot of control on where the art ends up."

Nick asked which piece of art McLaurin likes that has gained a great deal of value over time.
 Listen to the question and answer.

Big thanks to Karl McLaurin for joining our class!