Share Your Art | Share Your Experience

For Art is Viral to succeed, we need artist.  I am not one, so please contact me at artisviral@gmail.com if you are an artist and would like to participate in this cool project.  Otherwise, I may have to submit the business card art made by yours truly.  Ewww!

I hope they write about it.  In the interest of openness, here’s what I said:

Howdy.  I’ve started up a new website/art community (currently in the form of a blog).  The site is called Art is Viral.  And the idea is to expose art to the masses by brining it to their homes.  The idea is to have artist “donate” a piece of art to the community.  Registered users request specific art and borrow it for a short time.  They then write about their thoughts and experiences about the art.  When their time is done, they then ship, at their cost, the artwork to the next borrower.

Over time, the artist gets to see where their art travels and how it affects the  recipients.  And hopefully, they’ll build a following so as to be able to financially support their work.

Forgive the over the top tone of the post as it was written at 3 am.  But I am excited about this and think that it has some real potential.

Take care,

Alvin Borromeo

Well, check out the About page and see what it’s all about. Currently we say the following, but since we’re in alpha things may change.

Art is Viral™ is an online venue for the democratization of art. Huh? English please.

Okay, here’s the deal.

Artist go to Art is Viral and post a piece of art that they wish to license to the Art is Viral community at no monetary cost. A person (the “Connoisseur”) who wishes to receive artwork registers with Art is Viral. The Artist will send the artwork to the Connoisseur who keeps artwork for a limited time (say less than a month). In exchange for having physical access to the artwork, the Connoisseur then shares their thoughts about and their experience with the artwork. Perhaps, they could post pictures of how they displayed the artwork. They could post pictures of themselves and others with the artwork. They could share how the artwork affected them emotionally. Etc. And when their time is done, the Connoisseur will ship the artwork off to the next Connoisseur in line.

Yada yada. So what’s the big deal?

Well, we are not one. Yet. But we hope to be.

So democratization of art, huh? It sounds like art socialization to me.

Well, maybe. But that’s not the point. Democratization of art sounds cool. And by all means, we are not socialist here at Art is Viral. We’re capitalists. If we were socialist, you wouldn’t see the Google ads on our site, now would you.

Basically, we want artists to be capitalist also. The “donated” artwork serves as a loss leader for the Artist. As the artwork circulates through the Art is Viral community, more people are exposed to the artwork and most importantly, the Artist. The community will give the artwork and the Artist a value. Subjective probably at first, through postings of the Connoisseur experiences. And as Art is Viral is built and improved, the value assigned will be able to be quantified. This increasing value will serve to build the Artist’s brand. And thus creating a market for his non-Art is Viral artwork. And viola, the starving artist is no longer starving and is now a working artist.

Phooey! You capitalist make me sick.

That’s fine. If you want to do art for art’s sake, then by all means do so. If you’re not in it for a profit, why not still “donate” a work to the Art is Viral community. You’ll still get constructive feedback on your art and will get the satisfaction that your art touches people.

Okay, okay. So why do you call the non-Artist Connoisseur’s?

Because it’s our site. What a stupid question.

Harrumph. You sound like an art snob.

No. We are not. We just thought the name Connoisseur sounded appropriate for an art site. If you don’t like art or are not interested in art, then you are not a connoisseur of art, and you likely won’t want to be a member of the Art is Viral community. But, please do. Because you might grow to love art.

Wait, time out. Who is we?

We is me. For now. But we sounds more democratic, right? So the voice is we, not me.

My name is Alvin Borromeo, and this is my new project. Thought of it the other day while mowing the lawn. I’ve been playing around with WordPress and wanted to think of a way to leverage its power. And this is my initial vision. Of course I hope it’s successful.

Okay, thanks. You may now resume referring to yourself in the plural.

I noticed your terms of use and privacy statement are still under development.

They’re coming. We, and by that I mean me, are still thinking through the process. Of course, I want to insulate myself from liability. That’s why Art is Viral is a venue. Like eBay is a venue. The Artist will retain the copyright to the artwork. The license will be between the Artist and the Connoisseur. Any breach will be worked out between the Artist and the Connoisseur. We’re just providing the venue whereby Artist can declare to Connoisseur’s the availablity of their “donated” artwork and Connoisseur’s to provide their thoughts and experiences of the artwork.

We’ll also designate a copyright agent pursuant to (what some call in the online world that evil) DMCA. You know, we respect other’s copyright here. If you think about it, the Artist’s livelihood depends upon the copyright laws. Yea, strength, expanding duration, and overreaching copyright holders have given copyright a bad name. But generally, without some sort of copyright system, progress in the arts may not have progressed to the point we are now. Okay, copyright spiel done, for now.

Okay, so what’s in it for me, the Connoisseur?

Well, you get to have original artwork in your house. For free. All for the cost of sharing your thoughts and experience with the artwork. And, oh yea, for the cost of shipping the artwork to the next Connoisseur.

What? What if that’s expensive?

Well, we’ll ask the Artist to provide an estimate of shipping costs. If you can’t handle the cost, then don’t request the artwork. Ask for something with a shipping cost that you can afford. Simple enough, eh?

Yea, you’re right. I really don’t see a downside to it then.

Whoa. You said that, not me.  As in life, there’s always a risk. If you take in artwork, you’re responsible for the care of that piece. So be careful with it.

This is one of the things I’m thinking through. What if a Connoisseur damages or loses a piece of artwork? What recourse does the Artist have? Oh, and by the way, I’m open to suggestions in the comment section. Hey, that’s open source lawyering. : )

Yea, and here’s another downside. Don’t try and profit from the artwork. That’s not cool. Plus, it’s probably copyright infringement.

Probably Copyright Infringement?

Well yea. Everything depends on the facts. Plus, I don’t like to talk in absolutes, least someone misconstrue something. But we’re way off topic here. The purpose of this post is to encourage people to become part of the Art is Viral community. Not scare them off.

But most of you will be cool right? You’ll take care of the artwork. You’ll respect it. You’ll share your experience with the artwork. And you won’t steal the artwork or claim it as your own to profit of of it.

Yea, I know you will. We know you will.

Yes, you are right. We’ll all basically good. Thanks for your time. And thanks for sharing your thoughts.

No, thank you. Thank you for reading our my late night rants. Hopefully this site and idea will become viral. So that art can be viral.

Peace out,

Wyliemac

Wyliemac?

Yea. That’s my online identity. Named after my two dogs: Wylie and Mac.

Welcome to Art is Viral™.  We are currently in alpha mode, but hope to go to beta soon.