COPING WITH YOUR PUBLIC ART COMMISSION by David Patten

[a one-sided email conversation] ------ Dear A 9th January 2004 Subject: Public Art Congratulations – delighted you got the commission, let me know if you need any advice along the way. In terms of general information, you might want to check out the websites of Public Art Forum [now ixia] and/or Public Art South West. Hope it goes well. ------ Dear A 10th February 2004 Subject: Public Art – confirming the contract Okay, I understand the problem and yes, these things always seem to take a long time to sort out. Maybe you should look at the contractual issues in terms of cost, time and quality. All commissions, and particularly those related to construction programmes, operate to cost, time and quality, and your task is to keep these three monsters within known and agreed tolerances. It works quite simply. If you want to take longer (time) to deliver the commission because you are excited by the possibilities for the art (quality), it is going to blow the budget (cost). Conversely, if you want to do a quick ‘hit and run’ (time) on this to maximise your earnings (cost) you will probably end up with something that is a piece of shit (quality). And because it is shit, you’ll have to do it again (quality), which means resetting the programme (time) and negotiating an extension with the sub-contractors (cost). As the commissioned artist, the only aspect of this you control is quality, the client has, in the brief you responded to initially, already set the budget (cost) and the installation date (time). So in terms of finalising the contract, you and the client now both need to be confident that you are agreed on the quality level of the final output. Obviously this was easier when art was craft, and quality was measured in terms of the amounts of gold leaf or ultramarine to be used in the work. All I can say is that you have to have the quality discussion now, before the contract is finalised. Once the contract is confirmed, you take on all the risk and you probably won’t be able to go back to the client for more time and/or money. ------ Dear A 16th May 2004 Subject: Public Art – being on-site and insurances No, no, no – you simply can’t act like that. Is it any wonder B told you to get off site? Floating about in a cloud of chiffon is no way to conduct yourself on a building site. Obviously Benjamin got it wrong when he said, “The eternal is in every case far more the ruffle on a dress than an idea.” (1) On a building site the idea is that you shouldn’t be an accident waiting to happen. Get yourself sorted out. Buy the necessary protective gear (I prefer the yellow hardhats) and, while you’re at it, sort out some insurance. Why don’t you give Nia a call at Layton Blackham (0870 333 1208) and ask her to talk you through what you need. Given the work that you do and the way you deliver it, I guess you are going to need Public Liability (say £5m), Employers Liability (£10m) and Personal Accident. You might also need to take out Product Liability and Professional Indemnity. You might also want to cover yourself for Business Interruption in case your studio burns down. ------ Dear A 7th June 2004 Subject: Public Art – cash flow Thanks for the e-mail, and yes I’m fine and the work is going really well. Sorry to hear about your cash flow problem. Believe me, I’m trying hard not to remind you of the cost, time and quality discussion we had earlier in the year. Give me a call and I’ll give you the ‘phone number for my accountant, Christine – she’s very good and I’m sure she’ll be happy to help. ------ Dear A 13th August 2004 Subject: Public Art – presenting ideas Well done, I thought that went really well and everybody seems to be up for what you are proposing. What really struck me was the level of genuine enthusiasm and sense of project ownership shown by your sub-contractors. This is always a good indicator that things will go well during the next phase. Just don’t change your mind now! ------ Dear A 16th August 2004 Subject: Public Art – doing it for real So you changed your mind! And now everybody is nervous. I guess that, like me, they are now worried about programme and budget over-runs. And, of course, we are all worried that your new idea won’t match the level of expectation you created following your presentation the other day. Keep in mind that it is easy to talk a good project, but what really matters is being able to deliver it. You need to get this back on track. ------ Dear A 14th September 2004 Subject: Public Art – ‘forget it’ I’m sorry to hear that your bank won’t extend your overdraft, your sub-contractors have walked off the job and the client has cancelled the commission, and everybody is now demanding compensation. By the way, Christine says ‘forget it’ – seems you never sent through the paperwork she asked for. ------ Dear A 15th November 2004 Subject: Not Public Art What can I say? No, I don’t know of any work that “might interest you”. Look, let’s be honest here, maybe you can’t do this sort of work. Maybe you should do something else. ------ (1) W. Benjamin: Passagen-werk See also: Remember what Jack said by David Patten; a piece about artist/architect collaboration commissioned by Public Art Online. David Patten studied painting at the Royal College of Art and has worked in the developing area of public art for over twenty years. For the last ten years, David has concentrated on design team collaborations for large scale developments. From 2000-2005 David Patten establishes pro/POSIT as a working partnership with Maurice Maguire.