that is a bit strange because a gallery artist is not going 2 guarantee profits as there is no link between art and numbers
Which is why they probably need funding instead of subsisting in a free market.
To be perfectly honest, my position in this is “Why bother?” Again (and I say this as if speaking rapidly as if everyone already knows it): digital cameras cheap accessible open room for creativity artist’s sensibilities bigger distribution blah and so on. Look: If Miranda July can make POS “video art” and even manage a feature length, other, ahem, real artists can too.
—PolarisDiB
@Polaris
I suspect this is more about the UK film industry than the perceived need to fund artists. British artists have done pretty well for themselves over the past 15 years – Chris Ofili, Tracey Emin, Damien Hearst; Emin has even made a movie (which was pretty crap by all acounts), however, the UK film industry, as ever, is looking for ways to boost its international status, and sees the funding of these individuals as first time directors as a solid investment – people are interested in the films because of who the directors are and pay money to see them, the UK Film Council are seen to be making a wise investment and their grants are not slashed – quid pro quo.
I also believe that the UK Film Council is not just trying to maintain an old system of production and distribution as it has been at the forefront of installing digital projectors in many UK cinemas and is actively seeking new ways of distributing film and live performance across the country.
But maybe the idea of funding visual artists as directors IS a winning one, after all Sam Taylor Wood was mentored by Anthony Minghella, and although Nowhere Boy isn’t exactly ground-breaking stuff, it is a fairly respectable movie about a subject matter that will sell internationally.
:O(
Waerdnotte
I have just read in a British newspaper that the UK film council is to set aside funding specifically for first-time directors who are already established names in London art galleries. This comes after the success of Steve McQuuen’s “Hunger” and Sam Taylor-Wood’s “Nowhere Boy”. The UK film council believes this is an important area where we are going to see a lot of the most interesting films coming from.
I suppose this brings up a number of issues, including should the UK Film Council be funding UK films at all and should the UK film industry be left to the vagaries of the free market? However, if it is to fund UK film making should it be concentrating on funding the long queue of directors and writers whose first port of call is, and always has been, movie making. Or are movies and art now closer than ever as media and as such this is a good call by the UK Film Council, and will help bolster the ailing UK film industry, increasing interest in UK films and therefore generating more support and finance.
I would be interested not only in a UK view but those from a more international perspective.