Corporate Sponsorship

I've been thinking for while about extreme sports, and surfing and volleyball. In part, I've sat in awe of what a 21 year old kid can do with a skateboard or a BMX bike nowadays. Mostly, I've thought about the idea of corporate sponsorship, and if it can play a significant role in art.

Corporations don't bathe athletes in money just for their talent. They do it for the brand exposure. O'Neill doesn't sponsor Timmy Reyes and Corey Lopez just because they're nice guys. They do it because these guys make kids want to learn to surf, and they make adults choose O'Neill over Rip Curl. Nike doesn't give money to (insert random basketball player here) for grins and giggles. They do it because they want to associate their brand with that guy. It's all about the brand exposure. But of course, this is all something we all already know.

What does it take for the artist to become a worthwhile investment for a mega-corporation? Is it simply a matter of exposure? If one does enough guerrilla sculpture installations or enough high profile pieces, can his or her work entice the marketing department of a company to start throwing cash/cameras/welding gear their way? In truth, if could get one major surfer's annual stipend, I could afford to make work that would get on the news in seven states, probably without even breaking any laws.

I imagine part of it is about saleability. Does it just come down to the right amount of charisma? Is it a matter of news exposure? Does one have to generate a million adoring fans first? What does it take?

And what would happen? What could the photographer do that had the freedom to use her eye when, where and how she wanted? I imagine making sculpture that isn't ever meant to be bought and sold, but rather to be experienced. If art basically breaks down to creativity, communication and intelligent aesthetics, what happens when these traits become elevated in popular culture? There has always been power in art. So much so, that it is cannibalized into every aspect of our lives. But what happens if the artist can find the corporate sugar daddy? Can the contemporary artist do more than make trite garbage that only appeals to academics and collectors? Can art still change the world? Is there room for a second Renaissance?

What do you guys think? Really, I'd like to know.

Beyond My Ability

I was driving over to my sister's house to help her move. On my way to the apartment I felt some dire interaction as I was shifting gears. I managed to get the vehicle back home, but third gear seemed to be where first should be. I slid under the truck, mag lite and wrench in hand, prepared to adjust the linkage. I was baffled. The stick was floating free, wrenched from any interaction from the linkage. Both shift rods were thrown forward, suggesting that the transmission should be in both 1st and 3rd gears simultaneously. I was in over my head.

All I felt at that moment was a mild nausea and the need for a hug, yet afterwards I found myself laughing. You see, I like to think that God and I have little inside jokes. I figure, He knows my thoughts, my sense of humour, my history. He knows where my heart is right now better than I do. He knows how much that I want my life back. He knows how much I miss Santa Barbara. He knows how much I miss working with my hands, having friends, being near the water. He knows how much I want to get out of the bay area, and he knows how much money I have in the bank. Really, I know you don't get it, but it's a great joke.

The best part about our little jokes, is that He usually teaches me something. And no this isn't the formal "Please Lord, let me learn something from this situation, like how to make lemonade out of grapefruits...." God really teaches me about my relationship to Himself and my need for Him. There are times when one can fix things themselves, when one can make minor adjustments. There are times when through our own action, our inaction, or by wholly unknown means outside of ourselves, lives, transmissions and the world as we know it are thrown amiss.

There are times when I try to fix these things myself. I will freely muck about in my own automobile/life/relationships, shearing bolts/communication/whatever. There is a lot of stuff that I know how to fix. There is a lot more that I know how to make worse. What's awesome, is that I am getting better at knowing this before I make mess of things. That is to say, I'm being shown more and more, when and where I need ask Christ to work on me and on my life. There are things in my life and in this world that I cannot fix, definitely not by myself. There are certain things that I need to trust to more skilled hands than my own.

It may sound simple and trite, but whatever, if you'd been under my truck with me you'd understand. I think I'll call a mechanic in the morning.