http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-live-0210-art-hunt-20100209,0,1725808,full.story
Trying to make a name for yourself in the arts world isn't easy. Just getting someone to stop and look at your work can be a struggle for artists. Sometimes thinking outside the box and using technology along with a sense of fun can help as artist Patrick Skoff discovered. He wanted his paintings to be noticed so he started dropping them off in plain sight, free for anyone to grab and take home.
"A year and a half ago, Skoff, 32, began to leave his artwork around Chicago for others to take home because he realized how easy it was to ignore his artwork. He was not getting noticed.
And now he is. At last count, Skoff figures 700 people — via Twitter, Facebook and texts, where he and Brown call themselves "Skoff and Sam" — were following his exploits, receiving digital hints about where and when he would leave new artwork. He created a market for himself and built a network of followers, many of whom wanted to know when he would leave some new art. So he made a game of it.
A game that raises questions: Is it about art? Or self-promotion? The thrill of the hunt? Or a sly comment on art appreciation? Is it generous or, considering he's unknown, desperate? Does it prove, as he believes, you don't need "a gallery light shining on a work to show art; the city can be your gallery"? Or the opposite — that context matters, and, considering how many people walk past his art without pausing, real art is gallery art?
Maud Lavin, chair of visual and critical studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, said Skoff's hunt is a "kissing cousin" of relational art, which deals in human contact and not framed pieces. Donald Young of the Donald Young Gallery said: "what he's doing is about the human story and the art is irrelevant."
What is fascinating here is that apparently the marketing strategy has become part of the art. Skoff's paintings have not only moved into the performance art realm, but are delving into the realm of mythos and urban legend development. By creating a mystique around his art and making the participants play active roles in locating them, he has made himself into a sort of Robin Hood of the Arts - giving free art to the masses. It may not be great art... but it is good enough that Skoff can make a living (sort of) at it full time and has people actively pursuing him to acquire his work. Good art and good ideas don't always have a high price tag slapped on them. And all the people who walk past his paintings, leaving them untouched, are themselves still touched by art - even in passing or subconsciously. And that is a wonderful thing.
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