City Sets Price of Artistic License: $25
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The demand caught fair organizers by surprise and quickly prompted activist members of the Chicago Artists Coalition to begin investigating the matter. Meanwhile, an assistant to Alderman Natarus swiftly delivered 280 itinerant merchant’s license applications to the chamber of commerce, to be sent to all artists with booths at the fair On April 19, chamber officials mailed out the forms, though they were dubious many artists would meet the fee deadline; most of them were already on the road participating in art fairs elsewhere. In a matter of days the city revenue department backed down on its demand; it realized the chamber of commerce couldn’t legally issue a valid receipt for the license on the city’s behalf. The fee was waived, but not before some 200 of the artists sent in checks, all of which had to be returned.
Many observers believe applying the itinerant merchant’s ordinance to arts fairs is a poorly concealed attempt by the city to increase revenue. Ann Herben, a department of revenue employee, said attempts to enforce the ordinance weren’t so much a matter of money as an effort to protect the consumer. Chuck Hadley, executive director of the Lake View East Development Corporation, which runs the Lake View East Art Fair, disagrees: “They’re looking for money any way they can get it.” Isserman believes the fee would be counterproductive: “It’s a drop in the bucket from the city’s perspective, and it’s not going to keep a school open.” Adds Chicago Artists Coalition staffer Diane Grams: “I think there are better ways to go after money than hitting on people who are so unempowered they have to sell their art on the streets.”
The uncertainties of the contemporary art market took their toll on the 12th annual Chicago International Art Exposition, held for the first time in Donnelley Hall at McCormick Place while Navy Pier is under construction. Attendance dropped to around 40,000 from last year’s 47,000. A spokesman for the event speculated that some people stayed away because they were scared by the recent sharp drop in art prices, but other Art Expo executives weren’t ruling out the less convenient location as a factor. Meanwhile, David and Lee Ann Lester, organizers of the competing Art Chicago ’91 at the ExpoCenter, also suffered an attendance falloff, to 12,000 from 14,000 last year. But David Lester says their experience this year convinced them two competing art expositions can coexist in Chicago “happily.” The Lesters, who say they think the market will be stronger next year, will be back with an expanded edition of their show.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Charles Eshelman.
