I posted this over on mediangler.com and thought it was important enough to more or less replicate here. I set up a petition over at thepetitionsite.com. I’ve never launched a petition before so it’s new territory. Still I am tired of big businesses trying to rook artist and writers’ work.
Please sign it and pass it on.
Forgot to add - join us on the Facebook group http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12620818481&ref=nf
Into the chaos that is the launch of oneworldwallet, I should also throw the launch of our new cinema in Second Life. You can find the cinema by following this link.
For those who have not been to the Ten Cubed Gallery yet, it is showing New York Exiles.
We’re showing films from the BBC network in the cinema but looking around to build up a wider range of product, know what I mean. So any indies out there who want a small but growing audience, lerrusknow.
I think and I hope. I guess it’s normal but frustrating that the majority of your time goes into winkling out little bugs here and there, pop-ups that don’t, videos that don’t appear, images that stay the same size when you hit the enlarge button. I think it’s all fixed and now all we need are members.
Well officially One World Wallet is up and running, thank ee thank ee. We have two problems left to iron out - one being the domain name but Verio are not very helpful on mapping that the Ning site. The second is getting wallet wall images to display at a size that won’t tempt people to print them but which are good enough to show their quality. Should be resolved soonish. Now that it is launched we have to do some work on establishing the idea of an art label so it’s off to a few folks we know to talk about maybe getting some coverage.
When we set up Thisisnotabrand we set our designers the task of coming up with a corporate identity so distinguished by its lack of brand sophistication, a logo so bland that not even your mother would rush out and buy it. That’s why we say Brand or Bland. For those who haven’t yet seen it:
By the way we launch One World Wallet tomorrow. Although we own the domain oneworldwallet.com we had the misfortune of registering it with verio who won’t support CNAME creation - that means we can’t use it with our social network. Hopefully that won’t prove too disastrous for the project.
Projects coming up? Fragments (no URL yet while we check all our options), and bootleg (more later).
A tricky couple of days as artists join, leave and join fragments. The idea is for artists to take fragment of a previous but much loved work and re-work it for a larger audience.
Artists are generally wary of galleries. Hell for both of us. But fragments takes them a little nearer a market, sort of. I mean a market has millions of people in it and we’re restricting fragments to editions of 100. So it’s excitement and disappointment. My artist contacts are in-out, in-out, unsure if it suits this stage of their career, enthusiastic because they they can reach more people and maybe introduce the larger works, unsure of the finance, keen because why not. Up and down.
If I complain about exhaustion it’s only because anyone has the right to change their mind and several have, both ways, so the plan has to change, by the day, as we get nearer to launch. At the same time I’m liaising with the software team, the bank, the designer (me) and so on.
I hope this is going to create some buzz so I can make the point that I am not a brand, we are not brands but we can take art into the middle of people’s concerns about identity.
And of course do catch the Ten Cubed video in the sidebar. It feataures Jon’s Wallet Wall.
Meantime this pm I was at Clver Zebra’s conference in Second Life listening to people talk about human centred this and that and trying to pose the question - how human centred is any environment that effectively creates a zero wage policy for artists as Sl does?
But that in the end is not my worry. I raise the point in passing. Three days till oneworldwallet.ning.com goes live, two weeks to fragments.
The sign.
Because brands have pushed us to desire what we cannot afford, because banks as brands have lent us the money, because there are tough times ahead ….
One World Wallet is part statement against the brand, part social media art work, part social network, part product, part virtual art production house. Wholly novel. It is a project of art label start-up This is Not A Brand, aka us.
“Bring a little culture into your wallet and be known for how you spend rather than what you buy.”
Ideal for downturns in the global economy and as an antidote to what we’ve experienced over the past decade.
On Oneworldwallet, you buy an art-inspired wallet for all your spending needs and in return get a selection of free art downloads made from a virtual wall of wallets constructed in Second Life. As more people buy so the project issues more art products based on the wall and on members own contributions - photo uploads, blog posts, videos, whatever…. You too are a part of the art.
As an art work it will grow out of member contributions, examples of which are previewed on site (scroll to the wallet wall pictures at the bottom of the home page).
Once a member has bought a wallet the network will offer regular free art downloads (no shipping out of paper after the first wallet is posted), some created from network members’ uploads, some from the virtual space, Ten Cubed, that we have created in Second Life as part of the one world wallet project.
It’s an exploration of how social media will affect art and art economics as well as a social media art work in its own right and a collaboration with and between an artist and social network participants. It’s so multifaceted it comes with five pockets.
And it’s an occasion to say I’d rather buy from inspired people that I know or meet rather than from a corporation. Time to say not to brands and hello to a little more culture.
Wallets cost Euro 40 (approx US $63) with up to five free art downloads on day 1, for the greedy. Euro 1 per sale goes to Amnesty and their Universal Declaration of Human Rights initiative.
Links:
http://oneworldwallet.ning.com
Talked to a couple of artists yesterday who told me their income has taken a big hit over the past 12 months, and then caught up with Ed Winkelman’s blog. Ed is letting artists go as he reorders his priorities. He doesn’t say it is for financial reasons but my guess is galleries will be feeling the pinch.
Spent yesterday morning myself with the bank, asking for their support while we launch This Is Not A Brand. What is This is not a brand - is it capitals or lower case? Clearly I had trouble explaining to them what it is all about. So here is my summary.
“I recently launched a new label - I see it as a cross between what record labels do and a company. Confusing? I mean why can’t we have art labels like record companies have …. record labels? This Is Not A Brand is my art label.”
Our project with Jon Coffelt (see next post up) is the first product/project of This Is Not a Brand, a label for projects and products that move the line separating brand and art, art and design.
 | JonCoffelt on Orphan Works Bill |
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