“Do you support the arts, sir?” Michael Blackwell asked a businessman with hunched-up shoulders on Michigan Avenue. The day was sunny and crisp, and Blackwell and the man were a study in contrasts: Blackwell, wearing a green cap made of artificial turf, was loose-limbed and dressed in de rigueur artist black; the man, trying to resist the windy cold, was stiff in his blue business suit and yellow power tie.
“Yes,” said the blonder of the two.
“That’s it,” said Blackwell. “What we’re doing here is trying to raise consciousness about the NEA and make some art, too. What I want to do is give you this index card, ask you a question, and then pay you a penny to write down your answer.”
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“Big Art on Small Change,” the brainchild of N.A.M.E.’s performance committee, drew about 60 volunteers, who started the day at the gallery’s River West space. “Sixty-four cents won’t get you a cup of coffee individually,” Lynn Book, one of the organizers, explained to the crowd. “But together with everybody else’s 64 cents, it supports a lot of art.” The “action” planned was for each volunteer to spend 64 cents exactly in a shopping spree on Michigan Avenue. In the meantime, N.A.M.E. also hoped to raise people’s consciousness about the NEA and arts spending.
“Jesus, why is he being so friendly?” asked Roger, flicking ash from his cigarette with a long black fingernail.
“Do you know how much you spend in taxes on the arts?” Blackwell asked, trying desperately to stay on the subject.
