October 19, 1984

General Ideas for the (far-fetched) future:

Concentrate not on finding support for my art but ways in which to support my art. When money is traded for art the artist loses control over the work. This is neither good nor bad. The money is a new fact introduced into the system and changes the system just as any new fact changes the system. Not getting money is also a fact introduced into the system and changes the system -- because the system, by nature, is dynamic and art will cease to exist (as an idea) when it becomes static.

I prefer the later to the former because I want my art work to progress without the fact of money. It would not be better or worse if I received money for the art work but the work would not be the same because I would have to do work that the person giving the money approves of (or lose the money after receiving it -- another fact). All I want is to see what the art work will be without that fact of receiving money introduced.

To that end I must: 1. forego money which would mean working totally with found objects, ideas, concepts etc. 2. earn the money myself to support my art work as if I were two people, supporter and supported. There are other ways of looking at the second. I could make art work that is exchanged for money AND make art work that is not but the way things work the former would overpower the later and I would not obtain my objective. I could also try to gain support in the form of money for being an "artist" unrelated to the art work but that's not very pragmatic.

To obtain my objective of seeing what my art work would look like without the fact of outside money introduced I have decided that I must divide myself into two people: The person who makes money and supports the art; and the person who makes the art.

To that end I must order my work time better.

FUTURE PROPOSALS:

Environment Look for a one-story building in the area and buy it, own it outright so that it is mine to do with what I wish. This would take a minimum of $100,000, which I will have to earn. It would mean putting aside $2,000 a week for a year. The building would serve as a working/living/exhibit area that would be adaptable in ways that a rental/gallery would not.

Once the above is accomplished start building up but remember to buy a building with the air rights.

Build one story at a time to be either an art work in itself, expanded work are, expanded or new living area...

Since a new story would basically be a new building minus the cost of the land I estimate it to cost around $60,000 a story plus inflation.

An example of what I mean would be to buy a building, own it outright to do what I like with (within city codes). Live and work in the building and build another story on top. When the second floor is finished move what I was doing downstairs upstairs and make the first floor into a temple, part, museum...in other words a space that could be open for public use. It must be flexible but once I build a third story onto the building It could be a permanent space, left unchanged at whatever stage I decide.

To carry out the above I would have to have a high-paying job, executive level at a corporation, learn how to make money on the stock market, start my own business (but don't sell shares for capital as that would be the same, or cause the same, fact as selling the work. Others would have the power to tell me what to produce.

I state again that the reason I am against selling work is NOT because I want my art to be pure, untainted by manna. That path would produce art just as the one I am on does. I am against selling work because I want to see what the work I do looks like without the FACT of money exchanged for it. I am not against selling work or making money, capitalism or the free-market system. Art is created any way you do it. But different kinds of art are created by different facts and I want to see what kind of art I will make without the fact of patronage.

How does the fact of selling work cause it to change? By the simple act of the buyer saying I like this and I don't like that and buying this and not buying that. You are then left with the choice of working in the same form as the sold and not in the unsold (or going on to a different form which would be essentially the same as the unsold). Of course to continue on the unsold (or starting a new form) you could convince the buyer that he likes it and will buy it, find a new buyer or be content with not selling the work (which you made with the intention of selling). This puts you in the same position as the position I now take. And you have been put in this position by others. And the work will be different (not better or worse).