“What if political conversation sounded more like the way we talk about art? Could that be better? Worse?” These questions were put to The Art Newspaper by Eric Gottesman, who has entered the political arena with fellow artist Hank Willis Thomas. The duo have set up the first artist-run super PAC, a political action committee that enables donors to group together and pool unlimited funds to campaign for candidates.
The artists’ super PAC, named For Freedoms in reference to the four freedoms enumerated by President Roosevelt in 1941 (freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear) aims to raise $50,000 with the help of other artists—Carrie Mae Weems, Alec Soth and Rashid Johnson have signed up.
The artists say they have not chosen a particular candidate. Instead they want to bend the rules by producing materials for more than one presidential hopeful; the law says super PACs must produce advertising that expressly advocates for or against an individual candidate, but does not state whether this must be the same individual across all the super PAC’s campaigns. The aim is to turn the political process itself into a work of art.
The artists’ campaign headquarters will be Jack Shainman’s West 24th Street gallery in New York, with a public opening on 7 June and events planned throughout the campaign season.