The concept of "vanity galleries" in which an artist pays to have their work exhibited and sold in a gallery has been around forever. Some galleries rent wall space to artists for the sale of work. It is a win-win as the artist can reach a market, and the gallery gets paid a little bit, or a lot, regardless of what sells. The Sketchbook Project is intriguing as the artist pays for a sketchbook, completes the artwork, and sends the book back to the company for them to keep. The artist gains a resume line and knowledge that their sketchbook is secure for posterity...along with almost 34,000 other books at the time of this writing. But they lose their sketchbook! A sketchbook is such a personal item. Knowing other people are going through it (or not, that it is sitting on a shelf in Brooklyn) is kind of sad and violating. Knowing the book's fate in advance would help make sure the content is not too personal, I suppose, but it would be sad to see it go into the library nonetheless.
For me the most valuable part of seeing this site and project is to gain new insights into how a sketchbook can be used. I am always on the lookout for new ideas to use personally and with my students, and this site has some really original challenges. Recent challenges include documenting a morning commute, creating art dedicated to a lost love, and creating prints of faraway places. Pen pal art groups are formed and art swaps happen via the site. It will be interesting to keep up with future challenges and get new ideas. I did purchase the book of sketchbook ideas on the site, to jazz up student assignments and possibly my own sketchbook work. Just being on the site for ten minutes makes me want to draw...that is always a good thing!
What will you make today?