Philip Koplin at The Project
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Philip Koplin
falling flying
The Project Fine Art Zone
March 1 - April 1, 2012
Reception March 1, 5-8pm
image: Night Garden
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Philip Koplin
falling flying
The Project Fine Art Zone
March 1 - April 1, 2012
Reception March 1, 5-8pm
image: Night Garden
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Rafael Perea de la Cabada, Alien Heartland
Westmont College
February 23 - March 31, 2012
The Can(n)on Art Studios
Atkinson Gallery at SBCC
February 24 – March 23, 2012
Gardens & Villa w/ Crystal Antlers + House of Wolves
Casa de la Raza
Friday, February 24, 8pm
Flights from Wonder
Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum
February 26 - April 22, 2012
Opening Reception Saturday, February 25 at 6:30pm
Pasadena to Santa Barbara at SBMA
Community Celebration
Sunday, February 26, 1-4pm
image: Steven Soria at Atkinson Gallery, SBCC
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At Paseo Nuevo
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A friend and I were talking the other day and noting how little support there is for artists in our community. Lots of good intentions, but no real understanding of the day-to-day needs of working artists. This post below from the createquity blog addresses just this issue. It seems to me what was true in 2003 remains so today. What do you think?
Investing in Creativity: The “Investing Less Time in Reading” Version
This is a shortened version of my Arts Policy Library article on Investing in Creativity.
Investing in Creativity: A Study of the Support Structures for U.S. Artists (2003), an Urban Institute publication authored by Maria-Rosario Jackson, Florence Kabwasa-Green, Daniel Swenson, Joaquin Herranz, Jr., Kadija Ferryman, Caron Atlas, Eric Wallner, and Carole Rosenstein, sheds light on the economic and employment situation of individual artists in the United States following the cessation of NEA funding to individual artists in 1995. The report reflected several years of research, which included interviews with artists with arts leaders in nine cities, a national poll on attitudes towards artists, and expansion and analysis of a new NYFA Source database, in partnership with the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA).
Investing distinguishes itself by “providing a new and comprehensive framework for analysis and action, which views the support structure for artists in the United States as a system made up of six key dimensions of the environment in which an artist works:”
Validation: The ascription of value to what artists do.
Demand/markets: Society’s appetite for artists and what they do, and the markets that translate this appetite into financial compensation.
Material supports: Access to the financial and physical resources artists need for their work: employment, insurance and similar benefits, awards, space, equipment, and materials.
Training and professional development: Conventional and lifelong learning opportunities.
Communities and networks: Inward connections to other artists and people in the cultural sector; outward connections to people not primarily in the cultural sector.
Information: Data sources about artists and for artists.
This is a helpful framework for further research on artists’ conditions in any given region, and also marked a new understanding that it is not be enough to simply restore cuts to funding for artists.
Some especially salient findings and recommendations in the report are as follows:
Individual artists are undervalued by society, in comparison to art itself. Artists’ societal contributions are not well understood, documented, or publicized—but if they were, it might be easier to make the case for allocating resources to individual artists.
Individual artists feel overshadowed and neglected by large urban institutions, and are frequently left out of arts-based urban planning initiatives.
There is a perceived inequality of opportunities for artists (such as exhibitions or awards programs) based on factors such as race/ethnicity, and art form.
An artist’s career spans multiple markets and disciplines: this is especially important when assessing artists’ needs.
Many artists face the economic uncertainties of irregular employment, lack of health insurance, and lack of affordable work or living space.
Training in the practical side of working in the arts, and in specialized or hybrid fields like arts education/community work, is limited. Training should be expanded and diversified.
Grants and awards need to be more accessible, equitable, and relevant for artists. An “information clearinghouse” with data on resources, and the capacity to support further research, would be helpful.
Various arts organizations, arts councils, and artist networks are meeting some of these artists’ needs described above, but these organizations need strengthening.
It is also important to cultivate stronger networks of people from both arts and non-arts fields advocating for artists’ needs.
Investing was commissioned by the Ford Foundation and supported by consortium of 37 other funders, some of whom were committed to acting upon the findings of the research. Therefore, the study is notable for having led directly to the development of several concrete initiatives to increase support for artists:
A new NYFA Source online database allowing artists and other users to access customized, up-to-the-minute information on awards in all arts disciplines 24 hours a day
The Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC) initiative, a ten-year national initiative to improve the conditions for artists working in all disciplines. LINC funds, researches, and aggregates information about three core areas identified as key artist needs in the report: Creative Communities, Artist Space, and Health Insurance for Artists.
Investing is also cited in the development of the United States Artists (USA)grant making program, which gives unrestricted $50,000 grants to artists in all disciplines.
Investing in Creativity did raise several critical questions for me: first of all, whether it is problematic to build a case for increased support for individual artists so heavily on the idea that artists benefit society, when there was little research to back up this claim. I also believe that Investing pinpoints many challenges in the employment system for artists, yet never suggests that an entirely new system is needed. Instead, the implication is that conditions for artists can be improved through better information-gathering, networking, and training.
Whether or not the fundamental situation for artists has changed significantly since this report’s publication, Investing at least paves the way for more dramatic changes by suggesting ways in which the existing nonprofit sector can be better equipped to meet artists’ needs.
Original Post: http://createquity.com/2012/02/investing-in-creativity-the-investing-less-time-in-reading-version.html
image by Cara StHillaire via Creative Commons license
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Back in 1998 I started working at the Contemporary Arts Forum. The first show I worked on was called “Skate Lore Expo: California Skate(board)ing Index to Concepts, Forms, Life.” It was ahead of its time, including now well-known artists Barry McGee, Margaret Kilgallen, and Shepard Fairey. The show included decks from Real, Dogtown, and, of course, Powell-Peralta. As you might imagine it was a hit with the local skaters of all ages – I still remember one guy saying “You put my whole life on the wall.” and the kids who came by long after the show closed telling their friends about the cool stuff they saw.
One of the artists in the show, C.R. (Craig) Stecyk III, was also at last night’s screening of Bones Brigade: An Autobiography. It was so cool to see him there on the red carpet. I was surprised that his name wasn’t included on the list of ‘talent’ handed out by the press office – because if you’re an art geek like me, Craig Steyck is just as big a name as the Bones Brigade members. (and as the production designer etc of Dogtown and Z-boys not unknown in film) He's an amazing artist who just happened to have a huge impact not only on surfing and skateboarding but on the art world too.
A founder of Zephyr Surf Shop, the creator of the Dogtown moniker, and the co-curator of "Kustom Kulture: Von Dutch, Ed (Big Daddy) Roth, Robert Williams and Others” at the Laguna Art Museum in 1993 Stecyk, was a major force behind recognizing low-brow culture in galleries and museums. Taking off at the same time that Aaron Rose’s Alleged Gallery was happening in New York, small shows of street, skate, and surf artists started popping up in West Coast venues from Laguna to San Francisco. I can’t even begin to chronicle all of the shows, films, images…. But next time you go to a major museum show like MOCA’s “Art in the Streets” take a closer look at the original dudes who made it possible for the rest. Below is a tiny look at Craig’s work:
Film montage of photography from MOCA’s Art in the Streets exhibition
Trailer for FIN showing next week in Costa Mesa
More:
and more:
C.R. Steyck on IMDb
Photo by Glen Friedman
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Life we go easier if you accept the following:
1. You will always be conflicted about the interaction of art and commerce.
2. You will never find a perfect balance between giving your audience "what they want" and leading them into different directions.
3. There will never be enough money.
4. Organizational politics will always be a part of your life. That's true even if you create the art alone. You'll probably need to partner with others to get that work seen, which means working with organizations, which means dealing with politics.
5. No matter how you do things someone, probably someone close to you, will think you are doing it wrong.
6. Somone will tell you, "it's ok to fail" and then go nuts when you actually do fail. That is their problem, not yours.
7. You will always need to manage your own artistic career. You can have helpers, managers, etc. but you always need to be the CEO of You, Inc.
via Mission Paradox
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One of the things I like best about the film festival is the pure serendipity that happens in the chaos that is the festival. At this year’s press breakfast I was introduced to Louise Palanker, a local Santa Barbara filmmaker, who had made a film about The Cowsills. Who? What? Oh, the inspiration for The Partridge Family, I had seen that in reruns. Then Louise told me the story she found when she went looking for The Cowsills. It’s a compelling story about a family with great talent and tragedy. The film screens Friday followed by a live show at Soho with local band The Tearaways.
Family Band: The Cowsills Story
Friday, February 3, 7:20pm, Metro 4
at Soho with The Tearaways, 9:00pm $10 cover
http://cowsill.com/home/
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Cowsills
photo: Rosminah Brown
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Films I saw and liked:
The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best
Funny and reminiscent of Cameron Crowe/John Hughes films. Great cameos by Jason Ritter, Melissa Leo, Andrew McCarthy, Christopher McDonald and Wilmer Valderrama.
Thursday, Feb 2, 1:00p, Metro 4
Shorts Program 2
Michael, the SBIFF programmer, called this the Food and Death series. Throw in some sex and love and it’s a perfectly funny trifecta for the program.
Unfortunately there aren’t any more screenings… but check the TBAs it might be added.
Wine, the Green Revolution (Les Clef Des Terriors)
A must-see for anyone interested in grape farming and wine production. Smart and a complete education.
Thurs, Feb 2, 4:00p, Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Sunday, Feb 5, 4:00p, Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Cafeteria Man
If you care about food issues and school nutrition, this is a great film about one man’s quest to change the system. There are lessons for Jaime Oliver here.
Saturday, Feb 4, 1:00p Metro 4
Sunday, Feb 4, 8:05a, Metro 4
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Jiro Ono is the best sushi chef in the world. This film delves into what it takes to be the best sushi chef and at what cost.
Thursday, Feb 2, 4:30p Lobero
Nothing like Chocolate
Kum Kum Bhavnani, UCSB Professor, has made another important film about a terrible crisis in our world. Yet, as with her first film, Shape of Water, you feel hopeful about the future – in this case about the future of cacao production and how we can eradicate the child slavery that is currently prevalent in cacao farming in the Ivory Coast.
Friday, Feb 3, 2:00p, Lobero
Sunday, Feb 5, 11:00a, Metro 4
BoardRoom
Great history of early Southern California surfers and board makers. Gorgeous historical photos mined from personal collections.
And best so far:
Starbuck
I laughed, I cried. Go see it.
Friday, Feb 3, 7:40p, Metro 4
Films I still want to catch:
Pretty Old
Bones Brigade
Gardens and Villa present Faust
Rhino Resurrected
and more…. There’s just not enough time to do it all!
image by Robert Redfield
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A quick note to say that I have been to many screenings the past few days and there are lots of empty seats. I know that sometimes it's been difficult to get into a screening - long lines for Q cards, sold out theaters - but take a chance and come out to the festival. There are lots of great films to see and, very often, plenty of space.
See ya there!
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living the art-full life in the sleepy seaside village of Santa Barbara
