Kickstartin' it!

Now, I am a great fan of kickstarter.com- that financier of films (it funds more films than the NEA), art, invention and social causes. And today, this hero site and public sculpture have collided in a particularly encouraging way.

(Photo frm Kickstarter.com campaign)

The New York Daily news tells the story of Pedro Villalta and Montserrat Daubon, two NYC sculptors who felt that the midtown crowd was gettng quite enough public sculpture, thank you, on their boulevards and avenues, and Harlem was getting left in the dust.
So they took their plans for a 10ft. high stainless steel "Giant Pod" to the Department of Transportation, got the nod to install it on Malcolm X Blvd. at 124th St. for 11 months, and hit kickstarter to get the majority of the dough to make it happen. As of today, it's a go.
 http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/uptown/artists-successfully-raise-money-sculpture-median-harlem-malcolm-x-blvd-giant-pod-sprout-june-article-1.1055912?localLinksEnabled=false
So this raises the question of funding the arts and how its changed in the past few years. Foundations and government programs have been tightening their grip- especially on independent, low-visibility artists. Corporations pretty much cast their nets with an eye to great publicity and investment schemes. Local groups (like the  Mount Morris Park Community Improvement Association, which doanted $1,000 to this cause) just don't ahve that much dough to spread around.
But vacuums don't hold forever, and alternative funding (begging) through the internet has jumped into the pool and is splashing the hell out of traditional sources.
But because of the labor-intensive nature of this funding (those seeking support must do all of their publicity, etc. on their own) it can hit or miss. But it doesn't take any longer than writing a grant and grant reports would have done before.
I myself have had one successful campaign to get archival footage for a doc, and am nearly at the end of a nail-biting campaign to fund my latest film at indiegogo.com/Free-Elephants... My hats off to these innovative sculptors and their concern for public art...