Artocracy Ties Arts to Ecotrust

Artocracy as a concept, after a moment of reflection, speaks pretty much for itself. Just as do the digital works of the artists that come face to face on this posting site with the reality that Internet browsing can really be affordable, fine quality shopping. After all what good does it do to have talented artists if few can achieve the profits needed to allow them to ply their crafts?

Accepted artists feature their works in a way that facilitates PDF downloads or professional transmissions to a print and framing house. The PDFs are seen as the quickest way for the artists, who are selected through a competitive review process, to get their works into the hands of their fans. The art files or prints generally range from about $20 to $50, though artists can set their own prices. Once a purchase is made, the artist receives 75 percent of the proceeds, and Artocracy keeps the remainder to maintain the Web site and cover print production costs.

Megan Murphy, founder and curator, uses her artistic merit and theological passion for fairness to determine which artists can post conceptual, representational or photographic pieces. Free samples of the kinds of pieces that make for good showcasing can be downloaded on request.

"Some people say I should have made this project a not-for-profit company," says Murphy, hesitating momentarily to rethink the business venture she has generated, "because I give too much back to the artists. But my goal is to make it possible for artists to make the money they need to keep themselves working. Were it not for the help of others, I wouldn't be able to be the working artist I am, and I give that back to make Artocracy possible."

But then again, why stop there. Artocracy puts its proverbial profits where its ideals lie. In addition to the support and encourage the artists receive to make their work commercially presentable, the site also links its own success directly with other efforts to connect business progress with planetary justice. Just recently Artocracy signed on to the mission of One Percent for the Planet where conscientious companies share a portion of their proceeds with ecological campaigns that promote a healthier world for all.

Murphy decided that Ecotrust would receive 1 percent of its early profits, even though at this point Artocracy is mostly operating on momentum. "It will take time to be successful, but I believe the potential is there. Even gallery owners are beginning to understand the gap we fill."

Spencer Beebe, president of Ecotrust, says he is delighted with the fact that small and large business ventures gathering together to donate. All of this support, he says, allows Ecotrust to "put 90 percent of all gifts, large and small, to work on projects supporting citizens of Salmon Nation: the farmers who are growing healthy seasonal food, the foresters who are restoring forest ecosystems, the fishers who are protecting wild salmon."

Artists wishing to be considered to showcase and sell their work on Artocracy must follow the straightforward review process spelled out on the Web. They submit a few pieces for consideration and, if selected, are notified usually within a few weeks that they can now provide three to 10 TIFF versions (exchangeable on a regular basis) on highlighted gallery pages. (Viewers are cautioned that Artocracy.com is not the same site.)

Artocracy's visitors also have access to other visual resources, such as viewable and e-receivable news briefs. It is in these short educational publications that viewers learn, for example, that when the National Endowment for the Arts stopped giving grants to individual artists in 1995, the visual artist was forced to find other ways beyond the traditional commercial galleries to survive.

The NEA grants up to that time had created a check and balance system that complemented the often elite gallery system. Since the disappearance of this equalizer, artistic patronage overall has been dissipating, other grants have been evaporating, and artists have had to find other ways to survive. Independent assessments by reputable organizations like the Urban Institute are noted in these pages to document for all to see the struggles American artistry faces when it is short on the promise of democratic appeal.

"I have friends who are working artists, selling pieces for 20 or more years. And they seldom make more than a few thousand dollars per year and have no basic employment stability or benefits, like health care."

And besides it's not like digital access and its creative potential are going to wane if there is no Artocracy.org. Greater and greater numbers of young artists were literally nurtured on the electronic canvasses of opportunity, and they are looking for ways to cash in on these platforms to bring life, recognition and, perhaps, riches their way.

Megan Murphy received her BFA from Marylhurst University in 1993 and an MA in Theology in 1995. She then worked at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, ultimately directing their visual arts program. She lives with her daughter Murphy Kendal. PDX Contemporary Art in Portland, OR represents her work.