Suffering for your art

The contract for the public art in and around The Sprint Center went to a New York artist rather than an artist from KC and that has created an uproar among may pissed off denizens of the local art scene. Local artist advocate Paul Dorrell shared his thoughts yesterday at KC Infozine in a scathing piece he titled: "Insulting Kansas City and Regional Artists."

What message does this send to our young artists? That they must leave here to be taken seriously? That if they stay, they're automatically no good? And how does this benefit our art economy, when large portions of those monies could instead go toward the developing of our artists in more significant, and innovative, ways.

I've officially changed my mind about this issue. While I don't care much about art or artists I'm all for keeping the locals employed. Still, whether the grant goes to a New York artist or one from KC I'm sure that somehow the cash will find it's way into the hands of a drug dealer. Call it an inspired guess.