Business can lead the way. Let’s change things, do it differently – see if we get a different result this time. Instead of automatically giving money to the local arts fund, pushed from behind by the accountant, pulled by a sense of community obligation, let’s consider how much the same money might buy.
Suppose you were to hire an artist, put them on the payroll, keep half the art. Frankly, what you pay for is studio time, but demonstrations and office discussions are also a possibility. Art goes up in your offices, your conference room and reception areas, and, for variety, you might trade around with other companies doing the same.* Not all artists would be compatible, but you get to review, hold interviews, borrow and hang the art while decisions are being made. Employees could participate, building a sense of company identity, and inspiring pride in personal performance. The art you acquire could eventually become valuable simply because you allowed an artist to find their feet, to build a body of work, to become productive and self-sustaining on their own.
Picking your artist might be easier than you think. Many of the mature ones have had a broad work experience, and may have touched your area or something similar before. Younger artists have fervor, and talk more about art than about themselves. In any case, their real resume is in the art they produce. Do they already put in as much work on their own as you would pay an employee, with a couple of raises, to do for you? If you come up with a yes, think with your pocketbook, and learn to like the art as you get used to it.
*see prior posts, ‘art and self expression’, and ‘authenticity”
3 comments:
This is a novel idea, a sort of quasi patronage. I think the fly in the ointment is the American attitude towards the concept of the arts in general. The first thing to go from the schools during budget cuts is anything that smacks of "leisure."
I quite agree. This is why I was applauding the efforts of the Walkers over on National Avenue in that BizLex article. They seem to get that you don't have to waste your time waiting for the public art sector to get its incestuous act together when they could do something better on their own.
I like the idea of quasi patronage as well, except artists in America have to overcome the stereotypes of artists as dissipated layabouts. It makes my blood boil on I-75 when I see the sign "working artists of Berea" As opposed to the non working artists of Berea?
Patrick, it steams me to be introduced as a "local writer." Which writer isn't local somewhere?
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