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Lesson Plans


nea

[ Thread ][ Subject ][ Author ][ Date ]
kprs (KPRS)
Fri, 23 Oct 1998 22:20:46 -0400

OK, I am checking in with my opinion on the National Endowment and all
patronage in general. While this may sound pollyanish, this is the
statement I tell my advanced art high school students, and it is a
philosophy I have held all my life, and that is:

If as an artist you accept money for your art, it is no longer yours.
Therefore, if your patron pays you to make a painting, and then decides
to burn that painting, he has the right to do so. To take it one step
further, if the patron decides to set standards, well then, they ARE
paying after all.

If you choose to have that relationship, then beware of the pitfalls and
controversy connected to it, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE TALK ABOUT TAXPAYERS
MONEY! (On good days I might add "If you sleep with the devil.......)

Now, you may ask, how can one survive as an artist, then? And therein
lies the problem. If your art is to be your vehicle for survival, then
choose your patrons carefully, or be prepared to accept the unwritten
contract of money for your art=patron's control.

San D