Free Art!

Now that's what I call Artocracy! Painter David McPherson is running a show in his native Spartanburg, SC to benefit local charities AND art lovers who can't afford to drop $4000 for one of his paintings. His comments:

I’ve always wanted to be able to share art with people who like me may not have a high paying job. I’ve also always wanted to use my art to give back to my community. Many of the works in this show will be available for free. I have always thought of art (when it is at its best) as being a record of a transformative experience. For that reason, I see it as having a spiritual quality. From this standpoint, it can be a valuable reminder during one’s daily life of what is possible. Once I admitted to myself that this spiritual quality is really what art is about for me, I became interested in sharing it with those who were interested in it regardless of their income. I know I would have liked to own some art when I was younger and making $6/hr. By opening access to art for those with less money, I want to send the message that the true spirit of creativity and inspiration is and should be open to everyone. This is the other meaning of “Free Art”. Art that has been freed of its status as an object to be gathered as a commodity is “Freed Art”.