If you are visiting InLiquid or reading this blog post, chances are you are part of the broad “arts community,” i.e. either an artist, art lover, or someone who works in an arts organization. As such, you already appreciate the value of art in society. What we sometimes forget is that a vast number of people really do not “get” art and the important role it plays in so many facets of our lives.
For artist Amy Scheidegger, this message came through loud and clear during a subway ride, where she overheard a group of young people discussing college majors. Economics? Sure. Political Science? Absolutely. Art? What they said here here made her blood boil: “Art is, like, the most worthless degree anyone can get. Like, haha, they have a degree in making shit with popsicle sticks.” As the group whooped it up over this comment and Amy departed the subway car, she determined that such attitudes — especially among young people, our alleged future — needed a “take this” rebuttal. In the form of art, of course.
Thus was born the Artistic Rebuttal book project, which is currently (until May 15) collecting “rebuttals” from artists (click here for the entry call), all of which will be compiled into a book, which Scheidegger is dedicated to distributing as widely as possible to those outside of the art world — those who need to see it most. She’s already collected over a hundred contributions, with commitments for several hundred more; and there is a Kickstarter campaign in place to raise money for the book production. To learn more, and to view a selection of the collected “rebuttals,” visit http://artisticrebuttal.tumblr.com/about.
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