Buy the MOA for the MUSEUM!

on 7 Nov 2016

si asks

great work and good luck with the fundraising, and re- the comment above ,i think sonny sorry im mean Lilly is pretty naive to the fact artists have to earn a living, its difficult enough as it is earning a honest living out of an oridinary job, as a full time artist myself it certainly is a challenge to balance the books 365 day of the year, yes it is nice to support the community in which i think jack has done by loaning it out for the past year or so and giving them a fair price to purchase the artwork

Rachael

Thanks :-) yes I think there is a perception that artists lounge around all day rolling in money? It is no different than any other job...tax gets paid and overheads are involved, not to mention the cost of an artists labour. Agree with all you have said, cheers :-)

on 6 Nov 2016

Lilly asks

hi... as we all know the price of art is subjective.. and for a piece like this, if it is that relative to the community as suggested, why does the artist Mr Marsden-mayer not donate his 'time' and love to the community?... ie... this sculpture, , tis as all artists will say, a labor of love creating indeed..

if he is dedicated to furthering the community arts collective and preserving the visual presence of this piece,and, in turn bringing more people to adore and explore even more artistic endeavors created by some of Wanganui's fine folk, i genuinely see this as a case for donation..., possibly at best, reimbursement for the frame fabrication and some gas money to go and collect some driftwood...oh and some screws. ,

the $1199 pledged thus far well covers that... come on Jack, hook the community up.show some love, donate your time and good will.. , what has been pledged covers your actual costs my man.

so to summarize..

artistic intellectual creative merit... value= subjective

pretty awesome but.. for this example... donate it bro.

time spent creating the piece and research involved.. value= subjective. .. for the community, of which you are a part of... donate it?...

hardware and 'actual' spent cash money.?.. covered by existing pledges.

just my take on it...

do it for the community, all artists, and future artistic endeavors to come !..,.

regards

Lilly

Rachael

Hi Lilly, thanks for your question.

Yes we suppose the price of art is subjective…but no more subjective than the cost of skills and services in other professions though? Have seen people rack up larger bills than the price of this Moa for a few hours in a Lawyers or Dentists office…is that subjective too? Do we get to question that and ask for their time and skills and knowledge to be donated?

Artists are asked to donate in disproportionate amounts to other professions, professions that often receive higher compensation for their work than they do. Artists are actually among some of the lowest paid in the country compared to other professionals with similar level qualifications and skills, but they are asked with greater frequency to donate their artworks to causes. The reality is that many artists are working hard just to stay in business let alone support all the community’s endeavours and charities.

Self employed artists are in business just like any other profession. They work hard to earn income which is then used for basic living…. mortgages, rent, rates, insurance, food, and thus contributing to the local economy.

While a nice thought…..effectively you are asking Jack to donate several months worth of his only income source. The price of the moa has already been significantly reduced from it’s market price and value so I think we can safely say Jack has ‘donated’ a fair whack already.

But anyway…since you are such an advocate of people handing over large chunks of their income for ‘love’ we whole heartedly encourage you to do just that! Feel free to pledge any time :-) Hey lets not stop there…lets ask every person in the arena of enhancing Whanganui to donate several months of their time, skills and income too…self employed builders, painters, cleaners, gardeners, tradies, road-workers, business owners…am sure they’d be thrilled to be asked !!

Alternatively, seeing you are a keen promoter of people being dedicated to furthering the community arts collective…. then we cant wait for you to trot down to the beach, gather up some driftwood and whip up a moa… am sure the Museum would love two. We’re also confident with a little effort you could raise some funds to cover the costs of the screws – go on bro, show some love! Donate your time and good will for the community and all artists!!

Have a lovely day :-)