Arta Fundi

The Arta Fundi is a sculpture that  seeks to engage visitors and to elicit donations from them for a sponsoring cultural/charitable organization.  It accepts coins, and U.S. paper currency, (ones, twos, fives, tens, and twenties).  It issues receipts for tax purposes.  In return for donations, it offers works of art, stories and other entertainments contributed by over twenty artists, actors, writers and others.  The theme of these works is Art and Money and related issues such as fame, work, death. The Mona Lisa is a recurrent theme.
The Id
"Id", a hairy five foot high sound-responsive, kinetic creature, festooned with fibers and rubbery protuberances. It talks, plays music, sound effects and flaps its dollar bill ears.
It receives money and accepts coins. Its bill validator distinguishes one, five, ten and twenty dollar bills.
The Id offers a button and a microphone for visitors' responses.
The Cabinet
The seven feet tall "Cabinet" is more suggestive of architecture or furniture. An assemblage of cultural implements, it contains a monitor whose screen is presented as a framed work of art, a telephone over which messages, advice, stories, gossip or instructions can be delivered to a single recipient. This "cultural kiosk", also contains a concealed color printer which prints a receipt for the donor for tax purposes and dispenses other documents such as poems, certificates and graphic images.
The program can also control a 35 mm slide image viewer and the illumination of a tableau (or hidden painting) and the lock of a drawer. The "Cabinet" also dispenses small packages.  Currently, it is dispensing "angel coins."
The Arta Fundi controls associated animated sculptures and other physical events. If the temporary installation space is suitable , it can include a suspended inflating and deflating eight foot tall question mark , an eighteen foot diameter money bag, and/or a twelve foot high satirical Portrait of the Money Dreaming Artist. and/or Frank Pahl's amazing "Twittering Machine", an animated assembly of sound producing toys including the Moo Cow Barbecue Choir.
Everything is portable. The heavier components are wheeled.
For each appearance, the Arta Fundi can be configured to the needs of the sponsoring group including pricing of its various offerings.  Currently, there are two styles of programs available. One presents the Arta Fundi as a "theater" style event, suitable for interacting with a relatively large group in a short period of time.  The other is a more casual private interaction for smaller groups or single individuals  over a longer time in a gallery, lobby or similar space.
 


Tamar Charney - Michigan Radio story - June 2000

Feature Story on The Arta Fundi at The Detroit Artists Market. June 13, 2000

Reviews of the Arta Fundi at the Detroit Artists Market

Copyrights to all of the works linked above and linked off those pages belong to the artists who created them. All rights reserved.
January, 2000
 
 




 

made possible with support from the Detroit Art Works