Own a piece of genius

Here’s your chance to own a piece of genius. The Tate has set up an appeal to stop a major Turner painting from going to an overseas buyer who has paid £5.8million to buy the painting. However, there is a temporary export ban until 20 March 2007. The Tate are trying to raise enough funds to keep the painting, The Blue Rigi, in the UK with an innovative new media campaign, offering the likes of you and me the chance to “buy a brushstroke”.

You can “Buy a Brushstroke” by clicking on a small square on the painting - or as many squares as you like and it will calculate the amount of your purchase for every click you make. Or if you prefer not to give in to your consumeristic, acquisitive urge, you can make a regular donation online as well! Find out more at The Art Fund.

As a global, fusion sort of person, I am ambivalent about the nationalistic tone of such campaigns to save great art “for Britain”. On the other hand, as someone who enjoys and appreciates art, I can understand why anyone, any group, any country and any nation might not want art that was made in their country by one of their own to go outside the “tribe”. Who does art belong to? Should it belong to anyone?

I’ve been reading “The Gift” by Lewis Hyde about the commoditisation of art and its impact on creativity, culture and society. A very simplistic summary goes something like this: Creativity is a gift. Creativity makes art. Art is a gift. Once you capitalise a gift (as in “being a capitalist”) by buying and selling it, what happens to the creativity? Does it become the servant of capitalism? Can you be still truly creative? (I haven’t got to the end yet but what I want to know is: if you don’t engage with capitalism as an artist, how are you going to pay the bills?)

Let me know what you think.