Secret agent Dave gets artsy
Damien Hirst’s formaldehyde floating shark sold for $8 million dollars, a Giacometti statue went for $104 million. An abstract watercolor by the artist simply know as Hallie cost me $15, and with $4 shipping, a total of $19.
Hallie is 6 years old and her favorite color is rainbow….
I decided to surreptitiously surrender my hundred dollars by gobbling up works of art that I found promising on Etsy.com. With Hallie and another young artist, R.Kelly (age 12):
I invested in their future, both sent back notes with their art that they would continue to keep painting… I will hold on to these works and allow them to accrue in value. I expect big things from them.
Getting hustled for philanthropy
When Jere Martin, who regretfully could not be with us tonight, charged me with the task of giving away $100 to someone, I had one immediate thought. I hemmed and hawed and circled around it and tried to think of other things, but this one specter kept me returning to it: a few weeks ago I had left the Museum of Modern Art after having lunch with a friend, and saw a young guy asking passers-by, "do you like hip-hop?" I had zoomed past him in my dumb rush to return to my day job, but the pained look on his face— the result of being ignored by dozens of art patrons— stuck with me. This was a kid who had targeted people leaving the MoMA—a kid who made music and though people who liked art would be into it— and no one was buying it.
Kid gloves
Just one gem of so many that came out of the recent Boston chapter meeting of the Secret Society for Creative Philanthropy. More to come.
Thank you for the gloves. You save my life because when I'm at my bus stop my beautiful hands gets freeze up. You're a great friend to our teacher. She is a lucky person because she has a good friend that could look out for her and a class that loves her. Aurea
San Fran is getting warmed up
After so much time observing creative philanthropy, I am finally faced with the very real task of imagining giving myself. It's funny when something that you've admired from afar is suddenly part of your life. All kinds of expectations and anticipations set in, despite Courtney's reassurance, "don't feel pressure, don't stress out about doing the best thing in the world."
What to do with $100? What would you do?
First, to honor Courtney, I will do something that requires no money at all. For years, she has urged me to write more (and more publicly). So in a completely narcissistic exercise of giving, back up goes the Blog! Sometimes giving our friends a reason to have faith in us is more important than anything money can buy.
And as for the money...I'm still brainstorming.