Patron Thoughts

[red-trillium.livejournal.com]

While I do create, I don't currently use my photography for crowdfunding. I mostly drop coins into crowdfunding-hats (both the virtual and the literal kinds). ysabetwordsmith asked some of us who are more patronly-inclined to share our thoughts on crowdfunding.

In real-life I've supported musicians and a street performer (mime) who busk on the street I work on. I sometimes go on a walk at lunch to get away from the frustrations at work and to specifically drop coins in hats along the way.

Online I've supported a film, stories, art, photography, poetry, divination, a small publisher and a start-up business. Wow, when I list it I didn't realise how much I've done in the last year and a half to couple of years being introduced to the concept of Crowdfunding!

Most of my online support has been to people I've met on LiveJournal or Dreamwidth. I start by enjoying their work and after reading/viewing for awhile realise I really want to support their efforts and show my appreciation. It's kind of a "thank you, please do something again soon!". I've also supported a couple of things over on Kickstarter. There's a lot on there and I try to keep my budget under control so I don't tend to support a lot there.

Recently I discovered a musician I really like. She's working on building a music career. She busks on Queen Street (legal if you have a license and follow a few rules), has a cd, plays at farmer's markets. I've heard her a couple times on Queen Street but don't usually get the chance to listen for very long. When I found she'd be playing at a local farmer's market I jumped at the chance!

I had a good time, felt myself relaxing as I walked around and picked up some stuff and then later sat and listened to her play. It was nice to connect and just take time to enjoy her voice and her music. I realised I wasn't used to the smaller audience and more direct contact with a musician. I don't usually sit and watch the buskers at work for very long, and other than that I haven't watched much live music in decades other than large-audience concerts and I have missed it.

Crowdfunding is like that visit. As a society we seem to become more accustomed to mass-produced things, from the food we buy to the gifts, to our entertainment. Face-to-face interactions with artists becomes less common, and I wonder if people will become uncomfortable with it or not realise it's ok, that it's a great way to influence and further be influenced by art/artists.

Comments

[minor-architect.livejournal.com]

Face-to-face interactions with artists becomes less common, and I wonder if people will become uncomfortable with it or not realise it's ok

I also wonder if we become so used to "mass-produced" arts and entertainments, that later generations might not know face-to-face interactions are even an option. So there's another reason to work toward the spread of crowdfunding!

[red-trillium.livejournal.com]

Exactly! Another issue I see is that people would then undervalue small artists. There are always the people who appreciate well-made craft items, but to others it's not as good because it wasn't store bought. How much more so will this kind of an attitude spread to writers, painters, musicians, and so on. While there seems to be a resurgence of interest in physical crafts (partly driven by the recession I think), I don't know if we'd see the same in other art forms.

A rough analogy is how many people have gotten away from gardening so there are city kids who don't where food comes from, who wouldn't know what a tomato plant or apple tree looks like. I wonder if we'll see something similar, where non-artists will not realise that they can interact with those who inspire their music, writing, etc. We'll always have artists in society but will they become more marginalised in the search for technology and mass-produced stuff? Will young artists who are just being born now and over the next 100 years be able to express themselves without some sort of social stigma being attached for something they created with their hands, or will it go the opposite way and will artists become more admired for their ability to create something?

I hope for the second of those 2 situations!

[minor-architect.livejournal.com]

A rough analogy is how many people have gotten away from gardening so there are city kids who don't where food comes from, who wouldn't know what a tomato plant or apple tree looks like. . .We'll always have artists in society but will they become more marginalised in the search for technology and mass-produced stuff?

This is a great analogy and I hope its core message won't ever be widely associated with the arts, crafts, and entertainment. Songs, novels, poetry, and the like all come from people - unless they're produced by AIs sitting inside a lab somewhere. In my opinion, that link between content and its human creators should remain in the forefront of our minds or we'll have scores of young people who believe the Internet spontaneously generates all those things!

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>>I sometimes go on a walk at lunch to get away from the frustrations at work and to specifically drop coins in hats along the way.<<

Yeah, back when we could afford to do events like Taste of Chicago, we'd make sure to have some single dollars and quarters for the buskers. We love buskers. Air full of music makes me feel happy and at home in a way that few things in this world do.

>>As a society we seem to become more accustomed to mass-produced things, from the food we buy to the gifts, to our entertainment.<<

Too true. I don't like that. I prefer a closer relationship (and frankly, higher quality) than mass market provides. Frex, if you look on this page I created about cooking feasts (http://greenhaventradition.weebly.com/cooking-feasts.html), you can see links to several of the places where we buy our food. Well, and one mass-market thing because I've only ever seen one ice cream maker that's worth using.

Some people are performers and some aren't. There's a restaurant near us with a sushi chef who comes out periodically to restock the buffet. If you go watch him, he'll start showing off and will happily make you a whole roll to take back to your table. He's a performer: he likes attention. There's another restaurant we frequent where the sushi chef is shy. I feel bad about standing there because I can see that it makes him edgy, but darn it, I want sushi that's just-made because otherwise I find it inedible.

Creativity is like that. Some people are inspired by attention while others are daunted by it. So as a creator, you have to think about how to arrange things to suit your own needs -- some people use crowdfunding to bring in attention while others use it to filter and control attention so they don't get overwhelmed. Then as a patron, you have to look at the crowdfunding projects you like and figure out how their creators enjoy interacting with people.

Both as a creator and as a patron, I enjoy interaction. I can learn how to organize my time and energy. I like knowing what other people are doing, what their interests and worthy causes are, what makes them go squee. I love it when we get into an inspiration loop and one idea will spark another across two or three pieces or even different projects.

Re: Thoughts

[red-trillium.livejournal.com]

Here we have $1 and $2 coins (gold colour) as well as 10c, 20c and 50c (no 1 or 5 c coins anymore). I try to have at least $4 in coin in my jacket pocket for my emergency train ticket/coffee/bread/milk needs. Lately with work I've used it for some of the buskers. Because it's legal on Queen Street you can come across half a dozen in about 4 or 5 blocks on both sides of the street. It's a long street and I don't often go up one end.

We get most of our food from the supermarket but last weekend went to a craft fair (I still need to post about this, maybe shortly). It was one of the better craft faires I've been to, spacious with a lot of variety. We picked up some gingerbread treats, feijoa wine, fudge and venison pastrami and biersticks. There were several candy venders as well as a couple cookie ones and I think a cupcake/pastry one, all mixed in with made crafts and craft supplies. Even if we didn't buy something I made a point of complimenting the artists' work I thought was beautiful.

When I went to the market to listen to SamRB, I didn't know where to look! I know she's a performer but at the same time I didn't want to make her self-conscious. I realise that was how I'd feel if I was in front of people performing, not how she was feeling.

I also got a chance to meet her partner and watch how she supported Sam. It reminded me that while we are individual in our creation process, we do benefit from help when it comes to crowdfunding ventures.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>> It reminded me that while we are individual in our creation process, we do benefit from help when it comes to crowdfunding ventures.<<

True. my_partner_doug does all kinds of stuff for me, like putting the PayPal buttons in the Poetry Fishbowl posts or editing my Torn World stories (and other fiction). It really helps to have a support network.