It's about the conceptual effects of masturbation and I need $4000 to fund it

December 15, 2010 11:30 AM

United States Artists is a new Kickstarter-style funding network specifically for artists. USArtists is partially funded by Mark Bradford. Bradford's involving site is here, but be aware that it autoplays chill-out music and is FLASH INTENSIVE.
posted by klangklangston (9 comments total)

The first link is (may be?) NSFW.

What niche does this fill that Kickstarter doesn't? I thought Kickstarter was intended for artistic and creative projects.
posted by mkb at 11:58 AM on December 15, 2010

I donated! (previously)
posted by ecurtz at 12:02 PM on December 15, 2010

On the topic of such sites, there's also Pledge Music, a UK-based site, focused only on music. Some artists do really well, others not so much, but I guess those are the chances when you ask the public at large to support your efforts.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:51 PM on December 15, 2010

If people who are using these sites are asking the public at large then they are doing a very bad job. Kickstarter and these other sites are best for people who know exactly who they are trying to reach and can build a network to put the information out to more potential supporters. It kills me all of the copycats because it's not like there needs to be more outlets. Kickstarter was not even the first, but they have gotten the most credibility. The designer selling watch straps for the ipod nano is a good entrepreneur able to figure out a way to build a customer base for a luxury product but kickstarter will probably not see many of those sales pitches again.
posted by parmanparman at 4:42 PM on December 15, 2010

unitedstatesartists seems a little vague about their processes ... but the T&C's hold this little gem

You understand that ... United States Artists has exclusive legal control over all donations and that United States Artists is under no obligation to use your donation to fund any Projects recommended by you for funding. ... While United States Artists intends to take into account donor recommendations with regard to funding recommended Projects, United States Artists shall have exclusive control of your donation and is not obligated to use your donation to fund any particular Project.

So ... erm ... my money, which I want to go to a specific project ... you are saying you can just give it to whom ever you want?

So Not Cool!
posted by jannw at 1:39 AM on December 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

So this is not like Kickstarter, it's a kind of crowdsourced donation site for a grantmaking trust fund.
posted by parmanparman at 3:45 AM on December 16, 2010

OK, I try to look at the site again after work, and noooooo, I can't get the pic of a woman squeezing her nipples no matter how many times I reload the page!
posted by mkb at 9:08 AM on December 16, 2010

Uh, there's no nipples in that picture. She is squeezing her breasts together, which are shot from the side, and the project is about sexuality. Your workplace is not my workplace, but if you're seeing nipples you're hallucinating.
posted by klangklangston at 10:13 AM on December 16, 2010

And ugh, Janw, I didn't see that — I found this site because a couple artists on a website I follow had gotten funding through it.

What I hope they mean is that due to some sort of accounting float and the fungibility of money, that your exact dollars may not go to the place that you'd thought, but that other dollars would be given in their place. Otherwise, that pretty well sucks.

I will say that a big way this is different from Kickstarter is that you already have to have gotten some grant from one of about thirty pretty reputable arts funding organizations, which means that the projects here tend to be a lot less amorphous and a lot more coherent than they are when it's just kind of open to the general public.
posted by klangklangston at 10:17 AM on December 16, 2010