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Is donating partial ArtPrize winnings to charity "buying votes?"


GRDadof3

Is donating partial ArtPrize winnings to charity "buying votes?"  

47 members have voted

  1. 1. ArtPrize: Vote for me = I'll give to charity.

    • This is buying votes and violates the spirit of ArtPrize
      20
    • It's for a good cause, so why not?
      13
    • Torn, undecided
      5
    • Other
      9


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Everyone has probably heard the T Mikey story:

http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grand-r...ist_t_mike.html

but what if the artist(s) promised to give part of the winnings to charity, in an effort to solicit votes? Obviously, any artist can do with the winnings whatever they choose, but what if it is advertised/marketed that way?

I know of one entry right now that is doing that, and there may be more to come as the top 10 are announced.

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I voted that it was OK. I mean, it's just another attention-grabbing way of marketing your entry. Like it or not, in a voting-based competition of more than a thousand entries, marketing is going to be an integral part of it... And like it or not, tugging at heart strings is an integral part of marketing.

T. Mikey uniquely crossed the line between "marketing" and "bribery" and that's why he's in trouble. Others are finding their own ways to market their pieces besides charities. Gilmore sent an email to everyone on its mailing list advertising Jacqueline Gilmore's entry. Now, I'm only assuming there's a familial relation, but is that sleazy? If Gilmore offered a discount on dinners at the B.O.B. for votes for Jacqueline's work, then that crosses the line too. But they didn't, so for the artist, it's just using whatever means necessary to promote one's work. It may leave a bad taste in another's mouth, but shameless self-promotion is vital to winning this.

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"Buying votes" -- This is a very interesting way to position it. I am part of a team that specifically viewed artprize as a means to communicate a community health and economic message (first and foremost) around local food.

At the outset, we also saw artprize as a potential opportunity for revenue that could be reinvested in community organizations and activities to advance the cause. That was built into our campaign's marketing pitch...

For us, it's part social philanthropist, part entrepreneur, part artist. But that's how we see it. All a matter of perspective, I guess.

Lisa Starner.

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Maybe I didn't make the poll specific enough. Vote for me = I will give x dollars to my favorite charity. Or "For each vote cast, I will give $1 to 'kids with bad kidneys.'"

I totally support using advertising and PR to get people out to vote for your work, especially if your "work" is related to a good cause (Lisa Starner :) ). However, your work better be good art or it ain't getting my vote just because it goes to charity. Anyone else share that view? Hope that clarifies.

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Maybe I didn't make the poll specific enough. Vote for me = I will give x dollars to my favorite charity. Or "For each vote cast, I will give $1 to 'kids with bad kidneys.'"

I totally support using advertising and PR to get people out to vote for your work, especially if your "work" is related to a good cause (Lisa Starner :) ). However, your work better be good art or it ain't getting my vote just because it goes to charity. Anyone else share that view? Hope that clarifies.

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Yes, this is just another tactic to buy votes and ArtPrize should clear this up now in regards to allowing/not allowing artists to inform the public this information. After the Top 10 are announced, I'm sure all of the 10 artists are going to partner with nonprofits/organizations to increase their appeal for votes. Then these chosen nonprofit/organizations will turn to their staff/supporters/clients/vendors/stakeholders to encourage them to support said artist and to help spread the word to their friends and families to also vote for said artist.

So instead of voting for an artist because you liked or disliked their work, your vote is now tied to the question, "do you support this organization? Yes, well you better vote for this artist to prove that you support us."

So let's say you are part of an organization that has been designated as the benefactor of T.Artist and if they win or after their expenses are covered, the winnings go to your organization. Let's say you think T.Artist's work is horrible and you don't really want to vote for T.Artist. But wait, what will you tell your friends and co-workers? Will you tell them the truth and vote for the artist that you like? Or will you vote for the artist you don't care for? And then there's always voting for the work you like but lying to eveyone you know, so you're not outcasted for not supporting your organization.

So if T.Artist wants to give the winnings to a charity, great, but have rules requiring that this news remain private between T.Artist and the organization until all voting is over.

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Yes, this is just another tactic to buy votes and ArtPrize should clear this up now in regards to allowing/not allowing artists to inform the public this information. After the Top 10 are announced, I'm sure all of the 10 artists are going to partner with nonprofits/organizations to increase their appeal for votes. Then these chosen nonprofit/organizations will turn to their staff/supporters/clients/vendors/stakeholders to encourage them to support said artist and to help spread the word to their friends and families to also vote for said artist.

So instead of voting for an artist because you liked or disliked their work, your vote is now tied to the question, "do you support this organization? Yes, well you better vote for this artist to prove that you support us."

So let's say you are part of an organization that has been designated as the benefactor of T.Artist and if they win or after their expenses are covered, the winnings go to your organization. Let's say you think T.Artist's work is horrible and you don't really want to vote for T.Artist. But wait, what will you tell your friends and co-workers? Will you tell them the truth and vote for the artist that you like? Or will you vote for the artist you don't care for? And then there's always voting for the work you like but lying to eveyone you know, so you're not outcasted for not supporting your organization.

So if T.Artist wants to give the winnings to a charity, great, but have rules requiring that this news remain private between T.Artist and the organization until all voting is over.

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ArtPrize is about art and not philanthropy.

If an artist makes an arrangement to donate a portion of their winnings to a charity, they should do so privately or disclose the gift AFTER the competition.

Giving in this manner is a very noble gesture...but if you pander your potential gift to charity in hopes of gaining my vote, you definitely won't get it.

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...And yet, people still vote for presidents and congressmen based on personality or looks alone.

A person who casts votes based on a charity is the same kind of person who would vote for a piece simply because it endorses a political viewpoint, glitters a lot, features puppies, or shouts out "Nib High football rules" at the end. They are plenty of discreditable reasons for voting in this contest, yet every vote still counts, regardless of why.

If DeVos wanted to avoid all this and make it a strictly art competition, he would have appointed a curator, and the art critics that were flown in would have more influence. But instead, he intentionally crafted this as an uncurated free-for-all. So you have to expect personality and emotions to go hand-in-hand with the art. Not to mention the fact that with over 1200 artists, everyone's vying to get your attention.

GridGirl has a good point about organizations using this competition to push their causes, but above all that I think artists have every right to express in the finest detail why they're in this competition, including what they plan to do with the money. And you're right, if you truly believe your art speaks for itself, than you shouldn't announce your donation until after you get the prize money. But this competition allows you to sell your piece pretty much however you want - you just can't bribe people, like T. Mikey did. Honestly, I think the personality aspect is what makes Art Prize interesting.

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I'm highly skeptical such a "democratic" event would choose the "best" piece of art anyway. Usually the best art is also the most personal, which means it won't appeal to everyone, but those who do get it love it that much more. It's rare that art is both a popular and critical success. I mean, as cool as Nessie on the Grand is, does anybody here really believe it's the best? Doubtful. Will it win? I'd put money on it.

So, since this whole experiment isn't entirely about quality, then I'd say this form of marketing is fair game. Maybe it's a little distasteful, sure. I won't vote for anyone advertising their charitable intentions for the prize money. Others can vote how they want.

Anyway, my criticism aside, I must say I've been impressed with the success of ArtPrize so far. I was skeptical, but it seems they've really pulled it off.

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On a related note:

http://www.therapidian.org/artprize-popula...arketing-bazaar

We've got highlights:

...In reality, barely anyone knew the song and gigantic clumps of folded paper were dumped onto the crowd below. Few planes actually glided. It was a fantastic idea on paper, but in practice, it looked like people shoveling a bunch of garbage off the rooftops. I know I do not stand alone in saying this; I heard similar remarks echoing through the crowd during and after the event. ...press and popularity among one's peers should not warrant thousands of votes based on that alone.



...Jacqueline Gilmore's ... venue for ArtPrize just so happens to be the B.O.B., and all the employees are required to wear t-shirts that don her "vote up" number for the duration of ArtPrize. How is this fair play to the other hundred or so artists who are showcasing their work at this venue? I very highly doubt that the Gilmores would allow artists Kelly Allen or Mark Rumsey to hang a gigantic banner with their name on it and wave it around the venue....

I think Rob Bliss' paper airplanes serve as an appropriate metaphor for the entire art prize event. Both focused on quantity instead of quality. As you point out here, both [were] hyped an incredible amount based on nothing more than the name recognition of the person in charge. ...

And now we can have a round-robin set of comments about this ^ article here, and on FB and elsewhere.

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On a related note:

http://www.therapidian.org/artprize-popula...arketing-bazaar

We've got highlights:

I think Rob Bliss' paper airplanes serve as an appropriate metaphor for the entire art prize event. Both focused on quantity instead of quality. As you point out here, both [were] hyped an incredible amount based on nothing more than the name recognition of the person in charge. ...

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On a related note:

http://www.therapidian.org/artprize-popula...arketing-bazaar

We've got highlights:

...In reality, barely anyone knew the song and gigantic clumps of folded paper were dumped onto the crowd below. Few planes actually glided. It was a fantastic idea on paper, but in practice, it looked like people shoveling a bunch of garbage off the rooftops. I know I do not stand alone in saying this; I heard similar remarks echoing through the crowd during and after the event. ...press and popularity among one's peers should not warrant thousands of votes based on that alone.



...Jacqueline Gilmore's ... venue for ArtPrize just so happens to be the B.O.B., and all the employees are required to wear t-shirts that don her "vote up" number for the duration of ArtPrize. How is this fair play to the other hundred or so artists who are showcasing their work at this venue? I very highly doubt that the Gilmores would allow artists Kelly Allen or Mark Rumsey to hang a gigantic banner with their name on it and wave it around the venue....

I think Rob Bliss' paper airplanes serve as an appropriate metaphor for the entire art prize event. Both focused on quantity instead of quality. As you point out here, both [were] hyped an incredible amount based on nothing more than the name recognition of the person in charge. ...

And now we can have a round-robin set of comments about this ^ article here, and on FB and elsewhere.

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Troy Reimink gives a shout out to this poll in an article today:

http://www.mlive.com/artprize/index.ssf/20...y_artprize.html

And people didn't think talking about it here would make a difference. ;) In fact, I know of two artists who planned to do a "charity" push for votes that must have dropped their plans.

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