After losing this court case on its attempt to redefine the standards by which artists are included in its rosters, the Washington State Arts Commission emailed me a list of its current standards:
High artistic standard
· Conceptually enduring
· High technical standard
· Cohesive body of work
· Ability to work at scale appropriate to public art
· Demonstrates experience
· Site and/or context responsive
· Potential or ability to work in media appropriate for public art
· Good image quality
· Current work, 1995 to present
· Potential to successfully create a commissioned artwork with a minimum budget of $25,000
· Not commercial
As long as they apply to new candidates instead of being retroactively applied to artists accepted under different rules, these criteria sound reasonable until the last item. Not commercial. Not commercial? If the commission is going to avoid losing future lawsuits, it’s going to have to define its terms more precisely. I think the phrase intends to exclude whoever designed the Nike swoop or MacDonald’s golden arches, but the result is to bar anybody who sells work in galleries or out of a studio.
Even if the commission better articulates its reasoning, however, that reasoning is hopelessly out of date. Take Geoff McFetridge. He is one of many artists who’ve helped close the gap between business and art. He’s not only a designer for Nike, Pepsi, Stüssy, Burton Snowboards, Girl Skateboards and Patagonia, he created film title sequences for The Virgin Suicides and
Adaptation. The Washington State Arts Commission would be lucky to have him, but according to its rules, he’d be barred from applying.
Geoff McFetridge, detail of mural at Olympic Sculpture Park, image via Damion Hayes
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