Review

A review of The Artist's Guide to Public Art: How to Find and Win Commissions

Cover of Lynn Basa's "The Artist’s Guide to Public Art: How to Find and Win Commissions," Allworth Press, 2008; paperback, 256 pages, 9” x 6”, showing Anish Kapoor's "Cloud Gate," 2004, in Millennium Park, Chicago. Image: courtesy of the publisher

The starving artist is, to Lynn Basa, a plague that she’d like to see eradicated. Basa is like the practical mother who tells you, “Yes, everyone loves you, and you should be treated as such.” As mushily dreamy as that sounds in the business world, Basa makes a strong point without losing touch with reality and good old-fashioned pragmatics. Basa expresses from the very onset of her book, The Artist’s Guide to Public Art: How to Find and Win Commissions, that the starving artist idea has become a cultural image that has become difficult for artists to break free from. That is, artists, potential artists, and the world around them deem the business of art as a not-for-profit entity. But as Basa points out, people appreciate art. It takes time to create art. Therefore, artists should be compensated with a livable wage for the time and effort they put into their services. Though many artists feel their work is priceless, the bottom line is: In order to live and create anything, artists need a wage.

Basa does acknowledge that inexperienced artists will often take low wages to gain prestige and experience. Speaking from her experience as an artist and public art administrator, she notes that buyers unfortunately do take advantage of young artists, knowing that they will sacrifice wages for additional experience. In these cases, Basa recommends the artist consider his or her options very seriously. Whether the risk will really pay off is a decision that’s left to the artist to make. But Basa stresses that accepting unlivable wages will only keep the starving artist image alive. In her introduction, Basa calls the book “part how-to and part manifesto.” The manifesto is realizing it is appropriate to ask for a livable wage when selling your art; the how-to is the copious information she provides from her own experience, the experience of other artists, and other expert advice.

The how-to portion of The Artist’s Guide details the process of finding and applying for bids, what’s expected when applying, what artists should ask and discuss with potential buyers, and additional insights from other artists and buyers. These resources are invaluable. Basa’s mother-hen approach is only furthered by the frank information she provides — no question is too dumb, and she endeavors to lay out all the details that go into the selling of public art. What’s more, Basa pairs her own experience with expert advice in the chapter, “Voices of Experience,” which has a question-and-answer session with 11 artists.

With the emphasis on public art, this book is an obvious choice for sculptors and other artists who want to work on a semi-monumental scale and as part of general contracting teams — however, it can easily be applied to other freelance endeavors. This book overlaps to other areas of freelance with financial and budgeting advice (including a chapter written primarily by an accountant), as well as items to discuss with contractors, buyers, etc. Although art is deeply tied with opinion, attitudes, and emotions, Basa takes on a more pragmatic view of how to realistically create the art that you love and still eat. So dig in.

-re-

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