In September, I sent out another 50-60 postcard press releases, this time to museums, in hopes that the role of some contempo museums as a place for public projects and a forum that is presumably beyond enriching itself would be good for MaAaM. After two months, haven’t had a single nibble. This is after the 100 or so cards I sent to newspapers, magazines, weeklies, etc., all addressed to specific staff members that, with some research, looked like they would be interested. Or at least need something to fill a half page!
I’m becoming more interested in art projects like this, because they at least create a conversation, rather than just throwing something up on a wall in front of people. So it’s disappointing when the gesture doesn’t prove engaging. Sure, press would help on a logistical level, but it would also provide the project with some substance. As of now, it’s mostly a concept (and a small stack of ones), but not an engine.
It might be said that I’m being pretty passive about this project, however there a couple of things that have proven to be sticking points. First, I’m fairly uncomfortable with the potential performative turn this project could take. The focus is not really on me, it’s on the gesture of the donor, and the larger pathetic picture of the arts as she is practiced.
Second, without an art context, the whole thing turns into panhandling. Two things that the involvement of an institution could remedy. Could it be that the very concept of making an artist filthy rich is uninteresting or even repugnant? (Does a million still render someone “filthy” rich?!) Though the disconnect between art and dough (which is after all disconnected only if you look at things in a very narrow way) is fruitful grounds for a discussion, it doesn’t help put money in the box.
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