College unlikely to be open today

I understand from the college that it is highly unlikely that the sale will be on today as they have very nearly sold out. It was certainly incredibly busy all day and I have never seen so many people in the queue. I guess that was probably caused by the sale being on the Saturday.

First Impressions of RCA Secret

Here is the full text of a post by Jonathan to the Yahoo group. I think this is a very interesting insight into the sale from a newbie.

The various Daily Mail comments seem to reflect more than just the
narrow minded middle class views of a few newspaper readers. I
notice that with a lot of things in life, many people can't seem to
see the obvious, unless it is stuck under their noses, and pointed
out to them several times. Also, it always surprises me that people
want to impose their views on other people, when it would just be a
lot simpler for them to ignore the choices they find strange (unless
they are being inconvenienced in some way), or possibly far more
interesting for them to find out why people do what they do, and
then discuss it with them.

Being neither a narrow-minded Daily Mail reader or a pseudo-
intellectual Grauniad reader; and only a short while ago not being
able to tell my arts from my elbow, I hope that I can approach the
whole subject in a more open minded manner. So, I thought I'd tell a
few of my experiences here, for anyone that might possibly be
interested.

I started looking at this event a few weeks ago, and I realised that
I needed to research as many artists as possible, all whilst
limiting the choices to people that had easily recognisable styles,
so after compiling a really quite big list of contributors to
previous 'Secret' exhibitions, I conducted a number of combinations
of searches through Google for each artist, using certain key
phrases (to eliminate stray hits from similarly named people, and
reduce the skewing caused by the amount of irrelevant invective that
certain artists seem to attract.) combining the results of the
searches with a little maths in Excel, I produced my own
(approximate) artist purity index, which I used as a base to find
artists who would not present too great a difficulty in finding
examples of their work, in books or on the web. Conveniently, this
index brought most of the Fashion Designers, Musicians and people
who are only really known for one very specific thing to the top of
the list, where I was able to delete them. For anyone that's
interested, a very well known humorous illustrator gets the highest
artist ranking, and newspaper favourite artists that change styles a
lot rank near the bottom of the index.

This also leads me to belieive that people who were reported in
previous years news reports as claiming that they brought a
card "because they were in no doubt about who made it" probably
couldn't repeat this feat year after year.

So, after doing a little research about the artists, I went and
surprised myself by agreeing with many of their ideas and theories,
but oftentimes not being able to relate to their work. For example,
Damien Hirst seems like a very interesting character, but I still
can't see how a preserved animal carcass could be any more artistic
than a Laboratory specimen or some of the tacky stuffed animal heads
that you might see in a countryside pub. But at least I know what he
is trying to achieve and is no longer just "that guy that chops
animals up and sticks them in formaldehyde". Unfortunately, Tracey
Emin talks about making autobiographical art; and I can only
conclude that she must be really quite an uninteresting person that
spends a lot of her time whining and moaning about how life has
treated her badly.

But anyway, I spent several hours at the RCA last Weekend, took
plenty of notes, and was pleasantly surprised to see that they were
exhibiting art of all different types, even nice water colours that
I'm sure anybody would have a hard time trying to put down... I have
to admit though that I can't see anything artistic at all in #0187,
and unless some more knowledgeable person here can explain what I am
failing to see with this piece, I'll have to concede that Daily Mail
readers do have some small point. Similarly, the card that just
advertises some website seems like blatant abuse of the exhibition,
so I hope that their website is overrun by swarming hoards of Daily
Mail readers.

Getting back to the exhibition, I wasn't really prepared to look at
2,500 artistic postcards, and with so much art in such a small
space, after about an hour or so I found myself losing focus and it
all became a little overwhelming. All the looking up and then
crouching down made me a little bit light-headed, so I took a step
back and started watching the other people in the gallery, who in a
lot of cases were a lot more interesting than some of the postcards.
One gentleman seemed to be able to interpret some of artworks like
he was reading a book. I don't know who he was, maybe he was the
person that made the cards he was talking about, an artist of some
kind or just making it up as he went along. Either way, he seemed
confident doing what he was doing, and his friends seemed quite
impressed.

Of the other people, many didn't obviously know much about art, or
were just pointing out the more unusual designs to their companions
and commenting about how strange or weird they looked. A lot of
people seemed to be very guarded about what they were choosing,
keeping complete printouts of the RCA website very close to their
chests; although I did overhear quite a few people calling out
numbers for their friends to note, or I saw where they were
pointing. In all those cases, the art didn't look like anything
special or even anything that I could recognise; which is a relief,
since I assumed that all the visitors would be quite knowledgeable,
spot a dozen or so works that would be like the low-hanging fruit,
and which would then be snapped up as soon as the doors opened on
the sale day.

The staff were happy to talk about the exhibition, were friendly and
polite, the Security guard even confirmed that last year the gallery
was packed out from opening till about 10am, and then almost empty
for the rest of the day. But most amazingly, the visitors in several
cases were a miserable bunch that didn't like talking to people. So,
I suppose at least some the stereotype ideas people have told me
about elitism and snobbery in art are true. But no matter, I'm sure
those people will be happier when they're sitting at home with their
masterpiece.

Anyway, after the exhibition and a very agreeable dinner at a local
Kensington restaurant, I was still left with a big pile of notes and
started wondering how to organise them. A very small number of cards
I was quietly confident about and some I had a vague inkling that
I'd seen something similar somewhere before, but couldn't quite put
my finger on it. So, what would be the best strategy to get
something I liked by a famous artist? Would I be disappointed if I
listed 100 cards and only got the 100th one? Obviously, it's best to
buy tickets for the raffle, and make use of all four purchasing
opportunities. I guess if I'm very wrong or change my mind about any
of the artworks, my family and friends will get slightly unusual
presents this Christmas ;)

I decided that I would have a pretty low chance of success if I
followed the media's advice and tried to buy a Hirst or an Emin, not
that I'd be happy with either, since I've come to realise that I'd
rather buy something more cheerful. But either way, I needed to make
some kind of list, and then optimise it so that I had the best
chance of getting a good card, relative to my position in the queue.
I might be fortunate enough to get first choice, but putting all the
cards in an order of preference seemed impossible for me. Some were
similar and quite obviously by the same artist, if I listed them all
together I might end up with a number of very similar cards, and I
liked a lot of cards for a lot of different reasons, so it wasn't
really possible to line them up on the same scale.

Therefore, I decided I could reduce the risk of choosing all unknown
artists or cards entirely by the same artist, by sorting the choices
into different categories and diversifying my choice across the
categories. Perhaps I'll be terrible at picking in one category, but
I might have more skill in another. I'll only pick two from the same
category if all the choices in the other categories become exhausted.

This seems like a pretty good plan to me, and so hopefully I'll end
up with a good selection. I've brought my raffle tickets now, so I
may be lucky enough to get VIP early entrance and a good choice, but
looking at the numbers of raffle tickets sold, that seems quite
unlikely. Although at least all the money goes to a good cause. I'll
report back on what happened at the sale, afterwards.

I hope that everyone here is talented enough to select the art they
want.

Is there a queue?

Has anyone been down to the RCA today or yesterday? Has a queue started to form yet. I would suggest that it is unlikely but nothing surprises me about this sale. Despite the presence of the first fifty raffle I suspect there will be at least 20 people in the queue by the midnight on Friday. We shall have to wait and see...

The wait is over

The RCA secret cards have been published. Go to the dedicated microsite to view. Have fun people.Click here to view

Couple of RCA Secret Articles

Here are links to a couple of other short RCA Secret articles.

This first is on the website Visit London

The second is a short piece that was in the London Paper last night.

Paula Rego's contribution

Below is the text reproduced from an article in the Independent on 8 November 2006. Also pictured is another bit of fun from John MacMahon.

The artist Paula Rego has just sent in two postcard-sized artworks to this year's RCA Secret , the bargain art sale. Each year famous artists donate work, which is sold anonymously alongside that of hundreds of other artists, including students or recent graduates of the RCA and other art colleges, who are all helping to raise money for the RCA Fine Art Student Award Fund. It is not until the card is bought for £35 that the artist's name is revealed.

Last year's postcard art-works included Damien Hirst's flying dove with a skull, Julian Opie's female nude, Rego's sketch of a mother and baby, Grayson Perry's colour drawing of a proposed monument for the Trafalgar Square plinth and Olafur Eliasson's mathematical drawing. Hirst and Eliasson return this year, and Tracey Emin and David Bailey are also taking part.

"Two blank cards arrived in the post," says Rego. "I forgot about them for a while. Then I realised I was running out of time." The Portuguese artist set to work on the postcards in her studio in Camden. "Inspiration never comes in flashes," she says. "I always make my work from my studio. I find it difficult to do it anywhere else because I am used to it. If I do it from home, I eat or watch telly. I am surrounded in my studio by props which I use in my pictures - rabbit heads and other creatures I make myself - rails of clothes and mannequins that I dress up." At the time, Rego was a little busy, finishing off the work for her current exhibition (running until 18 November) of pastels and lithographs at Marlborough Fine Art. Among her own work, she is very fond of The Fisherman (2005), a pastel triptych in the current exhibition, and the Dog Woman series of the 1990s, a set of pastel pictures of women in dog-like poses, including baying at the moon.

"Although my style varies quite a lot, I think people who know it will be able to recognise my work," she says.

New York Times Article

Below is the text from a New York Times article published on 10 November 2006. Of most relevance is that the names of a few more contributors are given including Ken Loach, Terry Gilliam and Manolo Blahnik all of whom have contributed to the show before.

Who’s the Artist?

Artworks by Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Christo and many others will be on sale for $67 apiece in London on Nov. 25 and 26. But prospective buyers should know two things. The art is postcard size, and the creators won’t be identified in advance. Not until the purchase is completed will the buyer be able to see the artist’s signature on the reverse side. The sale, which features the work of 900 contributors, including Manolo Blahnik, Terry Gilliam, Ken Loach, Graham Coxon of Blur and John Squire of Stone Roses, is a benefit for the Royal College of Art. From next Friday to Nov. 24, prospective buyers, limited to four purchases each, can view the 2,600 works.

RCA Secret Contributing Artists

Word from the college about some of the artists contributing to the sale this year which apparently include:

Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Paula Rego, David Bailey, Christo, fashion designer Sir Paul Smith, musicians Graham Coxon and John Squire.

Being a student at Manchester University in the height of the Stone Roses and the "Madchester" scene the inclusion of John Squire is intringuing. In addition to being a founder member of the band he designed the covers for many of the iconic Stone Roses singles and albums. As far as I am aware this is the first time he has contributed.

Finally, pictured is a little bit of fun John MacMahon had with one of Damien Hirst's cards from last year.

When we will know some of the Artists?

Come on our friends at the RCA - give us a sneak preview of the artists exhibiting at RCA Secret.  Even the times article on Monday didn't seem to know for sure who might be exhibiting.  Chris Ofili would seem to be the lead "name" that may be.  With only 3 weeks to go to the exhibition we would love to know.

RCA Secret 2006 Times article

Here is an article that is published in the times today. For an online version click here. The newspaper version features a picture of one more of the postcards.

Incidentally the article is wrong (or alternatively Anthony Waites isn't as good a spotter as he thinks he is). As far as I am aware there was no Chris Ofili postcard in last years exhibition. I think Ofili has only done the show once before in 2000 but stand to be corrected?

Can you tell a wannabe from an Ofili? Test your eye at the RCA's secret sale
By Dalya Alberge, Arts Correspondent

TRUST your eye and, for £35, you could become the owner of an original work, by a famous artist, worth thousands of pounds.
The Royal College of Art’s Secret Postcard Sale and Exhibition, returns for its 13th year next month with 2,500 miniature paintings and drawings on show.

Published in The Times today is a selection of the works. They may include a Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin or David Bailey, or an offering by a fashion designer such as Sir Paul Smith or Manolo Blahnik, the shoe designer.

Others are by RCA students who might be the stars of tomorrow. Peter Blake, Emin, Chris Ofili, as well as Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, are all graduates of the RCA.

Such is the draw of this selling exhibition, that visitors brave cold and rain, camping outside the building in South Kensington in tents, sleeping-bags and thermals. Last year one man endured a record two weeks on the pavement.

Although some of the featured artists command huge prices on the open market — a work by Hirst, his pickled shark, was reportedly sold two years ago for £6.5 million — RCA buyers are not buying for investment, it seems. The RCA has yet to hear of anyone selling a purchase.

The regulars come back year after year and say that they have no intention of parting with anything. The secret of the show’s success is that people can go home with original works by well-known artists with little financial risk.

Anthony Waites, 45, a postman from Mill Hill, in North London, said that, even when he spotted a card last year by Chris Ofili, the Turner prizewinner, he chose something instead that he actually liked.

Having visited the show five times, he has a built up a collection of 24 cards that includes a Mornington Crescent streetscene by Frank Auerbach, one of Britain’s foremost artists.

He told The Times: “They’re all on the wall, up the hallway, like a little gallery. I only buy something I really like. I wouldn’t sell any of them.”

Mr Waites started going to the RCA show because it was the only way he could afford to buy an original work of his own. One year, he camped out for two nights with a friend, their spirits buoyed up by the camaraderie of fellow art lovers.

Postcards can only be bought on a first-come, first-served basis. This year the RCA is introducing a system for the sale queue — a raffle for the first 50 places in the queue.

A spokeswoman said the RCA felt it was “a bit dangerous” to have art lovers camping out for days and nights on end.

The proceeds of the sale go to the Royal College of Art Fine Art Student Award Fund, which helps to support emerging artists during their time at the college.

Since 1994, Secret Sales have raised more than £650,000.

All the cards will be displayed at the RCA, Kensington Gore, London SW7, from November 17-24, followed by sale days on November 25 and 26. Potential buyers may also, from the first day of the show, view the postcards online at www.rca.ac.uk

Doodle for Hunger

Here is a bit of fun for those readers who may be the other side of the pond. On thursday of this week there is an auction of celebrity and artists doodles in aid of charity.


The doodles include this pictured one by Al Pacino. Click here to visit the website.

Deadline Day

According to the website of Nigel Grimmer, one of the contributing artists to RCA Secret, today is the deadline for submission of postcards for this year's show. Now as we know the RCA don't turn away "late entrants" particularly not those submitted by the great and the good of the art world. Nevertheless expect an announcement shortly from the RCA about some of the artists who might be exhibiting.

A clue might be in this link which appears to have a list of contributing artists but doesn't make clear whether those are artists who have contributed to past shows or whether those are just some of the contributions to this years show.

RCA Interview

With just a few weeks to go before RCA Secret 2006 I caught up with the friendly people at the RCA for an exclusive interview. My thanks to Anna Larkin in the RCA Media relations team for all her help:

PH: With less than 2 months to go before RCA Secret starts is there a lot more to organise?

Yes there is still lots to do at this stage. The most important thing is receiving the artists’ work and so many things can’t be done until the postcards arrive – cataloguing, photographing and planning for the display of the exhibition.

PH: When do you start planning the show?

Planning for RCA Secret happens all year-round but the office where everything happens opens at the beginning of the summer.


PH: How do the artists get involved? Do you have a list of artists that you send out blank cards to or is there a call for artists to contribute?

All the artists are invited, this includes our own RCA fine art students and graduates which represents an extraordinary amount of talent and then an extra number of established artists and designers, many of whom already have a connection with the College or have contributed to RCA Secret previously. We also research new artists who have never done it before and whom we would like to take part.

PH: The number of cards in the show seems to change each year. Do you exhibit all of the cards received? If not what happens to the cards that you don't exhibit?

We try and exhibit all the cards from invited artists, and try to accommodate latecomers as best we can. The artists have donated their work to support our students, so we really want to include them.


PH: Can you give us a sneak preview of the artists who have contributed to this year's show so far?

No, sorry! We’re keeping it secret for a little while longer yet. Keep checking the RCA website for updates.

PH: Last year the cards were not published on the internet until two days before the sale, and then not all of the cards were published. It must be a logistical nightmare photographing and cataloging all the cards. When do you think the internet site will be up and running this year?

It’s a big undertaking, and we’re never quite sure how many and when cards will arrive, so when we received over 2,000 cards last year it took longer than we anticipated. We also had some technical hitches last year. We’ve addressed the problem for this year and we’ll be doing our best to launch it on 17 November.

PH: So how do you keep the secret? What stops details of who did what leaking out before the sale commences?

Only a small group of people who work on RCA Secret know who has done the cards and we are all committed to it being a success and raising money for the students. Therefore we wouldn’t want to jeopardise this in any way. I also have to sign a contract in blood to keep the secret – on the back of course (only joking).

PH: You have stuck with the decision to keep the number of cards each individual can buy down to 4. This certainly seemed to work last year in that it gave people more choice. Any plans to reduce this number any further?

For the time being we are keeping it at 4 per person.

PH: I know lots of people who would love to have a second bite of cherry and buy another set of cards. Have you ever thought of allowing buyers to buy another 4 cards on the second day of the sale? Do you think this would work?

We prefer to allow people to just buy 4 cards so that more visitors get the chance to buy them.
It’s always good to get extra ideas, but we’re keeping to the four cards per buyer for this year anyway.

PH: You have introduced a raffle ticket system for first 50 places in queue for this years sale. What was the rationale behind that?

The “jump-the-queue raffle” is an added feature for this year – it’s fun, it raises more for the student fund, and it helps with accessibility for those who can’t queue for days on end.

PH: How are the logistics of that going to work? Presumably only registered buyers will be entitled to buy raffle tickets? How are they going to be informed of their success in the raffle? How will you stop people purchasing more than one set of raffle tickets, taking someone else's identity in the raffle or auctioning their raffle position on ebay?

It’s based on a normal raffle ticket system. Registered buyers can only buy up to 5 tickets at the show, we pick the numbers out of the hat the day before the sale and then telephone the 50 lucky winners. If someone doesn’t want to attend then we pick another ticket.

PH: You indicated after last year's sale that camping would be banned in future years. What would be your message to people intending to queue overnight (or for longer) at this years sale?

It’s great having such an enthusiastic following for RCA Secret and we are very grateful to the many regular buyers who come year after year. However, we want more people to have a fair chance of being first in the queue. We also don’t want people camping in freezing cold weather and getting ill.

PH: Perhaps unlike any other art event in London RCA Secret has a large group of extremely dedicated and knowledgable fans. You must be delighted with the way in which the sale has captured the public's imagination and broadened the interest in contemporary art?

It’s fantastic. The artists’ work is amazing both individually and as a mass exhibition. It really represents what’s going on in art now, and is a pleasure to visit, whether you buy or not.

PH: A few years ago you used to sell frames at the sale so that people could instantly frame up their purchases. Are there any plans to do this again?

No plans this year but it’s something we might consider for the future.


PH: The list of contributors to RCA Secret reads like a who's who of UK contemporary art. Have you ever thought of publishing a catalogue of some (or all) of the contributions to RCA Secret over the years?

A catalogue would be extremely expensive to produce and as the event is to raise funds for the students we don’t think we should use the money in this way. I believe it would also go against the immediacy and spirit of the show. The website does act as an archive to an extent though.

PH: At the end of the sale what happens to the small number of cards that are not sold?

We do our best to sell all the cards and keep to our commitment to the artist to use their work the way it was intended. Some artists request cards to be returned if they are not sold, which we do.

10 artists who make RCA Secret

Since we are in a lists mood I thought I would set out my list of the 10 artists who, in my opinion, make RCA Secret the great event that it is. This is my own personal list. Not all of the artists are “names” some are just artists who over the years have caught my eye, both through their talent or for some other reason.

1) Damien Hirst – the ultimate symbol of the YBA Britart scene, Hirst has been a regular contributor and supporter of RCA Secret. Whilst many have said that he disguises his cards for the sale in fact his drawings are frequently follow his tried and tested themes of death, pharmacology and butterflies. He has also contributed cards featuring a drawing of a dog and of hieroglyphics. Contrary to the apparent popular view I find a lot of card extremely interesting.

2) Mary Fedden – the grand old lady of British Art. In her 90’s and still producing work of simplistic genius. Last year she produced one of her cats which was amongst the finest RCA Secret postcards I have ever seen. It stood out like a beacon amongst the sea of cards around it. These cards are always sold to the first 1 or 2 in the queue and I can understand why.

3) Sol LeWitt – Is Sol LeWitt a minimalist? Is he an abstract artist? We could argue about this until the cows come home but my opinion is that his secret postcards are rubbish and have no artistic merit whatsoever. This is a shame because so much of his other work is distinctive and interesting. The cards do not hold the slightest interest for me and the fact that they are always sold to people at the top of the queue tells you an awful lot about some of the people that queue.

4) Vicky Finding – not a particularly well known artist but I think her cards, typically abstract landscape done in oils look absolutely outstanding. I have one framed up in my living room from the 2004 sale and my eye is frequently drawn to it.

5) John Bellany – instantly recognisable and distinctive Bellany often contributes up to 5 cards for the show. One person I queue with picks up at least one of his cards every year. I’ve not added one to my collection yet but that is not through lack of admiration for them.

6) Peter Jones – this hugely talented London artist contributes only card to the show each year but what a card it is. Jones is a hugely talented painter whose current theme – exquisitely detailed stuffed monkeys – allows him to showcase his eye for detail, talent and wit.

7) Bob and Roberta Smith – real name Patrick Brill - the cards contributed by Bob and Roberts Smith are conceptual thought-provoking and funny, often providing a tongue in cheek dig at the art world.

8) Holly Johnson – the former frontman of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Holly always contributes a couple of cards which, frankly, aren’t very good. Rumours abound that one year Holly’s work had not been bought and that he had to come in on the second day of the sale and buy his own card. Bless him. My sister has one of his cards in her collection and she swears to me that she actually quite likes it.

9) Candra Cassini – who is Candra Cassini? No really who is she? There is very little detail about her on the internet and even the RCA, when I asked them a couple of years ago, were only able to tell me that she was an Italian artist who was trained in the style of the old masters. And boy can you tell. Not everyone’s cup of tea but her works are miniature masterpieces. I have a still life by her of a bottle of wine and a bowl of fruit that is exquisitely painted.

10) Rut Blees Luxemburg - I had to put one Photographer in the list and for me this is definitely the one. Her photographs bring city scenes and architectural features to life.

So there is my list. I would love to hear from others with their list.

7 reasons why I love the RCA secret sale

Here is a piece originally posted on the yahoo group by John MacMahon. Sums up I think how we all feel about RCA Secret.

My 7 reasons why I love the RCA Secret Sale.

1. Accessibility

The RCA Secret Sale is open to everybody, no exclusive opening, no pretentious setting, no worries about not having a clue about art, no need to pretend you know what you are looking at. No problems in looking at something and saying "yeah right, that'll be the last one to go". No Entry fee, No overzealous sales staff.

2. Making your list

I like the one with the dogs, but my wife likes the metal one with the ladder. Do I really like the blue one more than the red one? I think that would look really good in the living room next, no maybe the corridor is better. That one is terrible, but it might be Damien Hirst trying to disguise his work. But what if it isn't?.....

After a few times there, making your list is a lot of fun. If you want to have an idea who the work is by before you buy, or are looking for a particular artist famous or otherwise, then this can open up all sort of other possibilities (see last point).

3. Queuing

I can safely say that I have never met such a fun, friendly, yet diverse collection of people as I have while queuing for the postcards. The excitement builds as you'd expect, it's like a social game of poker, with everyone wanting to talk about the postcards, the artists, their desires, but all holding their book of numbers close to their chest. Its a great place to celebrate and discuss what you like about art. When I have brought a printout of all the cards, it has been the source for many last minute changes and re-re-prioritisatio n of lists. Lots of advice abounds, but people are often conscious of those in the queue ahead of you. Having said that advice trickles mostly down, but sometimes up the queue.

4. Sale Day

Here you are, cold, with nothing but Snickers, a Starbucks,and adrenaline holding you together. As the queue surges downstairs you cannot help but be nervous, clumsily checking you still have your credit card, and your 'Red marker of disappointment' as your go through the 'Argos meets Bingo' scenario of seeing your numbers being sold in front of you on the LCD Screens. As the queue progresses the numbers seem to go quicker to a stage where its no longer possible to keep up. Just when your list gets totally unmanageable you get to the front, give them your ID number and then GO!!!
"Do you have 1123?" …….."No."

"724?" ………......…………….."Yes!"

"Oh my God" you think, "I can't believe it. I'mgetting something that I want!!!!" Your excitement is overtaken by the desire to keep it moving, as you blurt out a list of numbers. But with Three down and one to go, you pause, reflect upon the numbers already called, and hesitate on the next number on your list. Why? Because the next card is a landscape and you already chose one of them becuase you didnt think you would get it? But you really wanted it up to 45 seconds ago, more than the next postcard of a pair of red shoes. Time is ticking; you feel the tension like you are the one that has to cut either the red or the blue wire to defuse a bomb. You make the decision, breathe a sigh of relief that's it all over, collect your receipt and try to find the energy to make it upstairs.

5. Turning Your Cards over

After swearing that you'd never ever queue again for anything, you are immediately thrust into another queue for one of the runners to collect your cards. At this stage indecision, regret, and confusion about what exactly you chose dominate your mind. But not for long, as I inevitably guide the runner to where the cards are in the gallery, (having had severalvisits to confirm their location). And then, after a signature the moment arrives. Any one of the following can happen up to four times…


Turnover (the one you thought wouldn't be there) …Yes! I am the King!!!

Turnover (the one your knew all along) …As expected, phew.

Turnover (the famous artist gamble) …Oh well, Another Fridge Magnet,

Turnover (the one of the red shoes) …Never heard of her, still lovely though!

6+7. Enjoyment + Much More

I'll put the last two reasons into one as they go hand in hand. I first went to RCA Secret thinking I would get lovely cards worth a fortune and some stuff like that. But what actually happened I didn't expect. I got interested! I wanted to get a card by Sol Lewitt, as his retrospective was on show in San Francisco when I visited in 2000 while on my honeymoon, and I thought it would be a nice memento for our home. So, I looked up Sol Lewitt up in Books and the web. I got to understand what his art was all about, and why his art was deemed worthy to make them an artist of note (something that the MoMA inSanFran failed to do).


At the RCA Secret, there is a lot of Conceptual/Abstract art on display, which I can't fully enjoy the without the knowledge of what it is about. So when I realised the postcard wasn't Sol LeWitt's, I instead looked up the artist I chose, and read about how she interprets Life experiences using Lines of Different Colours and layers. Not to say I am now a diehard fan of Colette Morey du Morand as a result, but I can enjoy my postcard for what it truly represents. And the whole experience inadvertedly opened my mind just a little more, to the world of art.....

.....Which would NEVER have happened thanks to RCA Secret. Hell, I didn't even know what the RCA was before I went to my first postcards sale!

So, Thanks RCA, thanks for making Art more accessible, affordable, for showing it for what is really is without names or prices, for organising a show that is fun to attend, has something for everyone, and a personal thanks for providing me with the only opening to the world of Art that has worked for me. See you soon!

So how much are they worth?

When I tell people about the RCA Secret show after they have picked their jaw up from the floor when I tell them the maximum period of time I have queued for (24 hours) and the maximum period of time I am aware that others have queued for (2 weeks) the next question I am always asked is how much the postcards are worth.

The simple answer for me personally is that I don't really care. I wouldn't sell my collection and for me RCA Secret is a way of enabling me to have contemporary art on my walls that I would not be able to afford otherwise. I did attempt to sell one postcard once in a period when I was really skint. It was a postcard created by Lawrence Weiner (pictured) for the 2004 sale and I put it in a Bonhams sale with a reserve of £250. It didn't sell. I later sold it on ebay for £150. I felt really bad selling it but I still have 2 cards by this artist in my collection and at the time I really needed the money.

One of the people I regularly queue with says that he would only sell his secret postcards to buy other art. This chap never queues for more than 18 hours but has, in his secret postcard collection, cards by Damien Hirst, Grayson Perry, Nick Park. Sir Paul McCartney and Sol LeWitt amongst many others. So I guess if he were ever to sell he would make a lot of money. But I am pretty sure he never will.

One concern with the queueing system for the first 50 places in this years sale is that people will be more inclined to see the sale as a money making opportunity. I have already spoken to a number of people who have no real interest in contemporary art but have decided to buy raffle tickets in the hope that they can pick up a card by a leading artist and sell it the next day. Once you take out the "investment time" of queueing for hours it is inevitable you will get more cash hungry punters.

Anyway since it is such a repeatedly asked question I thought I would try and answer it as best I can.

Not many of the postcards by the leading lights of the RCA Secret sale have ever, to my knowledge, been sold. If anyone has any concrete information about sales that have taken place (or are going to take place) then I would love to hear it.

A comparable event was the art of care auction in 2005. This was an auction of postcard sized cards for in aid of tsunami relief. The auction took place in Scotland.

Because it was a charity event the prices realised may be slightly higher than in a normal event. Nevertheless we are given a good clue about potential values. Some of the prices realised for Secret artists are as follows:

Norman Ackroyd - £700 and £400
Elizabeth Blackadder - £800
Tracey Emin - £1,000
Anthony Frost - £350
Damien Hirst - £4,500
Paul McCartney - £1,500
Chris Orr - £380
Barbara Rae - £600
Mario Testino - £800
David Hockney - £7,200

A full list of prices realised can be found by clicking here.

As for sales of secret postcards there is a database on the rca secret yahoo group of cards sold on ebay. A John Bellany card sold for £245 and a Billy Childish card for £255. Of the less well known artists the smallest amount I have seen paid for a potscard was one by Rose Peeters that did not even make £3, and it was framed.

So the answer to the question "How much are they worth" is difficult to give. To me they are priceless.

New Queuing system in operation for RCA Secret 2006

A new innovative queueing system will be in place for this year's sale. This is what the RCA Say:

"And secondly, we’re going to give everyone the chance of being in the first 50 places in the queue on the morning of the sale by entering a raffle. During the viewing period visitors can buy a maximum of 5 raffle tickets, at £1 each, and be entered into a raffle for the places. On the day before the sale, tickets will be drawn for the first 50 places and the winning participants will be notified. A normal queueing system will be resumed after the first 50 people have bought their cards."

This scheme is not dissimilar to a proposal I made to them last year. I sent them an email suggesting that they adopt this system:

"Instead of handing out raffle tickets to people at the front of the
queue to show which order they are in the queue why not have a bucket
full of 48 numbered raffle tickets. The first 48 people in the queue
would then be invited to remove a raffle ticket from the bucket. The
numbers on the ticket would be the order they could purchase cards
in. The security staff would then allow the first 48 people in the
queue downstairs. The holders of tickets 1-6 would then be invited
(all at the same time) to go up to the purchase point and purchase
their cards. Once they were done you would then invite holders 7-12
to purchase etc etc until you had got rid of all the diehard
queuers. The rest of the queue could be dealt with in the same way
you have always dealt with it.

I think that this would stop completely people camping for days and
days and the competition at the front of the queue to see who could
get there first. It wouldn't matter who was first or who was
thirtieth, everyone would be in with the same chance of being in the
first six to buy cards"

Personally I think that my way is better, but then I would say that wouldn't I. It is clear, however, that the RCA have had to do something about the die hard queuers and I can see that this definitely makes sense from their perspective. Administratively it is going to be hard for the RCA - how do they notify all 50 of the lucky people who are first in the queue on the day before the sale?

Also I still think it will not necessarily stop people queueing. I would still be inclined to queue for a few hours for a chance to be 51st in the queue.

What does everyone else think?

RCA Secret Sponsorship

I understand from the Royal College of Art that David Roberts is not sponsoring RCA Secret 2006, contrary to previously advised. Apologies for the incorrect information.

RCA secret Yahoo group

Don't forget to join the RCA Secret Yahoo group for more chat about RCA Secret. We are now only 2 months away from the sale and the period of research really starts now. The contemporary art world goes into a fair and auction frenzy in October and this gives everyone a real opportunity to carry out more research. Whilst you don't have to share your research with everyone it is good to talk.

Click here to sign up - it only takes a few minutes.

Fiona MacDonald's view on RCA secret

You don't have to be a devoted and obsessional fan of RCA secret to enjoy it. Fiona MacDonald has attended the sale on a number of occasions. She has a website where she has put up pictures of some of the cards she has bought in the past (including this Richard Smith card pictured opposite). This is what she says about the sale:

Reading about the research and stoicism involved in being a Secret Art devotee makes me feel rather naive and amateurish.

I collect printed postcards anyway, so it's good to have a subset of originals, and perhaps I will accidentally find a gem by a current or future celebrity artist.
I tend to turn up and see what catches my eye. I have had some quirky themes over the years, most recently gardens, after an abstract phase. Ended up buying two by same artist because I liked the lime green colour. Postcard size is ideal for miniature exquisitely detailed drawings, although it's amazing what creative people can do with a postcard. Some don't look as though they would last though.
Arriving sometimes on the second sales day has meant pretty empty walls, but at least there's less choice! And no queue. I find that about 30 minutes of looking is enough before my eyes & brain are overcome with the sea of haphazard images. And I haven't found the tearoom yet. It's great fun though, especially when not too crowded.

As for contemporary art, my interest is as abstract as some of the art. I liked the neon light installations at Yorshire Sculpture Park, but would have to look up the artist (James Turrell).
I like both the building and art of Tate Modern (big spider & huge horn thing were amazing, sugar cubes were interesting), and am an RA Friend, but don't get there enough. Saw the Summer Exhibition - I like art that makes me laugh, even when it's not meant to.