on a related note / "art works" poster contest.
today, i saw a link to: http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/artworks-submission
so i designed a poster for it. It said:
To the organizers of the Art Works Poster Contest:
My name is Susie Ghahremani and I'm a self-employed artist and illustrator in San Diego, CA.
I was recently forwarded the call for entries for "Art Works: A poster contest to support American jobs". At first, I was reminded of the Works Progress Administration, the multi-billion dollar stimulus plan spearheaded by FDR -- I'm very familiar with the incredible art works and murals from that period and how they raised American morale and left lasting artifacts of the era, particularly around Chicago (my hometown as well as President Obama's!) In fact, I have a poster for the Brookfield Zoo made by WPA artist Mildred Waltrip next to me on the wall as I write this letter.
However, I find it insulting and hypocritical that for this Art Works contest, artists are being asked to submit work for this project unpaid (and with no financial compensation even if chose as the winner) for a contest whose sole purpose is to illustrate themes of "supporting small businesses"
Did you know that being a designer/artist is a job/business as well?
I'm struggling to keep my job as an artist every day. I can't afford to work for free, and neither can any other full-time working artist or designer.
I hope that this administration I have supported through the years will consider the American Job Acts and our successful history with the WPA, and will amend the hypocrisy by truly "putting more people back to work" by compensating the artists entering this contest.
Thank you,
Susie Ghahremani
so i designed a poster for it. It said:
To the organizers of the Art Works Poster Contest:
My name is Susie Ghahremani and I'm a self-employed artist and illustrator in San Diego, CA.
I was recently forwarded the call for entries for "Art Works: A poster contest to support American jobs". At first, I was reminded of the Works Progress Administration, the multi-billion dollar stimulus plan spearheaded by FDR -- I'm very familiar with the incredible art works and murals from that period and how they raised American morale and left lasting artifacts of the era, particularly around Chicago (my hometown as well as President Obama's!) In fact, I have a poster for the Brookfield Zoo made by WPA artist Mildred Waltrip next to me on the wall as I write this letter.
However, I find it insulting and hypocritical that for this Art Works contest, artists are being asked to submit work for this project unpaid (and with no financial compensation even if chose as the winner) for a contest whose sole purpose is to illustrate themes of "supporting small businesses"
Did you know that being a designer/artist is a job/business as well?
I'm struggling to keep my job as an artist every day. I can't afford to work for free, and neither can any other full-time working artist or designer.
I hope that this administration I have supported through the years will consider the American Job Acts and our successful history with the WPA, and will amend the hypocrisy by truly "putting more people back to work" by compensating the artists entering this contest.
Thank you,
Susie Ghahremani