The following is the first post of a new monthly ‘column’ called, The Cole Furnace, written by Larry Cole. The monthly post will explore different aspects of the relationship between art and the marketplace (among other things).

There is a question, which has been churning inside of me for a couple of years now. But before I share it with you, I ought to tell you a little about myself. My name is Larry Cole, I am 34 years old, I live in Grove, Oklahoma, and I have been an artist since I was old enough to hold a husky pencil in my pudgy toddler hands. As I grew older I loved to write, but more importantly I loved to create (visual) art. In addition to loving art I also liked to spend money. So, with that in mind, I attended a technical school where I received a degree in graphic design.

I now own a graphic design firm, ColeCom, which I have run for over ten years now. At work, I create logos, promotional packaging, retail displays, etc. I truly love what I do, I love bringing vision and direction to chaos and confusion, but I still have a passion for “fine” art as well. I continue to create “fine” art but in the process I find myself struggling with some conflicting views. When one works creating commercial art, are they pimpin’ (and in the process devaluing) some sort of artistic super power? Or are they actually an apostle promoting the visual arts by utilizing their gift to shape pop-culture and modern society?

If all of this weren’t confusing enough, I opened an art gallery last fall. Now the plot really thickens. I work during most days promoting some retail product or service at ColeCom, and then I go home and create “fine art” with the hopes and intentions of promoting my artwork and selling it. I find this line between “commercial” art and “fine” art distressing, distracting and in the end just a waste of brain cells. (Do we have heart cells?)

I mean who the heck makes the rules and establishes the line where “fine” art begins and “commercial” art ends? And whoever they are, why do we care? At the end of the day I get paid to create visual art. I even get to write a fair amount. Truth is, I feel pretty lucky. I do what I do because it is who I am and what I believe I am created to do. If no one would pay me, I would do it for free. (Please don’t forward this on to my clients.)

So, my question for you is this: Am I a pimp or an apostle? Are commercial artists still artists? Are they building an appreciation for art, or devaluing it? I want to hear what you have to say. I am curious to learn if anyone else can smell what I am stepping in. For now, I have chosen to drop the descriptor. Instead of calling myself a commercial artist or a fine artist, I will simply consider myself an artist.

Some have called Beautiful Angle a group of underground artists, but more commonly they are known as a guerilla arts project making Tacoma, WA, beautiful. Starting in late 2002 Tom Llewellyn and Lance Kagey turned their knowledge of design and printing into a now awarded effort to give Tacomans a sense of pride and activism in their city. (Check out their work and website here.)

Filling a basement full of type, plates and other equipment, they use their own presses to create monthly posters which are then illegally plastered around town—often to the sides of old boarded up buildings. Placing a work of art on something that has been discarded by Tacomans fits Beautiful Angle’s desire to restore meaning and beauty to a town that often takes on a second-rate persona to its larger, pretty cousin, Seattle.

Beautiful Angle’s Tacoma-centric efforts have inspired the city of Tacoma, which usually tears down illegal posters, to ask if they can link Beautiful Angle to their own web site. The posters have become collectors’ items as many Tacomans scour and explore all of the forgotten nooks and crannies of their own city in hopes of finding a new poster. Galleries want to create exhibits and historical societies have begun collecting as well. Even Tacoma-Pierce County’s Chamber of Commerce has awarded Llewellyn with an award of merit for Beautiful Angle’s role in revitalizing Tacoma’s downtown.

It seems that Beautiful Angle is helping to recreate a sense of ownership for Tacoman citizens and their art community as they look anew on their city with a vision for meaning, restoration and action. While it is important not to overlook the fun that Beautiful Angle has in their work, it is clear that others have taken them seriously.

Rather dramatically, one Tacoman writes on the Beautiful Angle web site, “My addiction has grown; I need more. I need to feel alive, and I only feel the surge of blood through the intricate cheese cloth of my body when I’m next to a Tacoma-centric poster. Feed me!” Take a moment to read through some of these comments and you will see a need to remember and to re-envision Tacoma that is aroused with each subversive piece of art—including a comment that urges Beautiful Angle to “keep your hands on the wheel of Tacoma.”

(HT: The News Tribune)