Art School Auction

Dear Ms. Messer:

I have question for you regarding a fund raising option for the Lamar Dodd School of Art. To be direct, I am wondering why we couldn't re-institute the annual Art Auction that the Lamar Dodd School had in years past. If this event is unfamiliar to you, I believe it may also be to much of the faculty at this point.

Let me provide you with some background information to better orientate you.

You may have heard, parenthetically. from Georgia Strange that I am presenting a paper on a historic events that took place at the Lamar School of Art at Wake Forest University, in March. In the course of the required research, I have been looking though many of the old documents kept from the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the Hargrett Library. Among the paperwork, I found a collection of the Auction catalogs, listing each of works to be auctioned along with their dimensions, subject matter, and media (even price sold). It occurred to me these artifacts create a de facto archive of the work being done in the school.

Inspired this discovery, I reflected on the many benefits this program could provide:

-Foremost, to excite students into the creative process with a clearly defined goal and deadline.
-To excite the general public, particularly those outside members that are not already connected through an alumni network, about the Art Program
-To raise money for needed student and faculty resources
-To generate a social event that enhances the reputation and prestige of the art school and the arts in general here in Athens, Ga
-To create a tangible archive of the student work being produced
-To inspire students to think along the lines of becoming a professional artist without dealing with a hypothetical demonstration.
-To tap into the historical legacies of the school and maintain the success and standing within the region

For all the potential benefits, it may concern you as to why this program is no longer in place and what are the obstacles to overcome.

So, why does this program not exist at the moment?- the answer is the same for so many aspects of our program: our namesake, Lamar Dodd. Lamar not only was a driving force to put together events and mobilize people, he always offered some his own substantial work to the auctions which led interest and prestige to these undertakings.

And what other obstacles must we overcome?

-Finding volunteers to set up the event (faculty to judge work and others to physically set up the event)
-Finding an appropriate venue
-Raising the initial capital to fund the advertising and publishing costs.
-Mobilizing the faculty and students to produce and donate the work
-Acquiring the necessary audience of buyers to make the event successful.


A final plea to the necessity of this event, a fund raising event could produce money necessary to acquire tools such as slr cameras, video cameras, and other equipment that the students could use to document their work. This equipment could belong to the school as a whole, not one department, as certain faculty members have suggested. What's more this event could be an inciting incident that causes the photography department's display studios to be assembled properly and successfully shared with the all the other departments in a controlled way, as the students document the auction pieces. This event could be used to give the Lamar Dodd School students and faculty a share of stock in their own school, in a manner of speaking.

All the potential obstacles are ones that could be overcome with the right amount of persuasive appeals and creative problem solving.


--
Sincerely,
Sean Mills

Tel: 404.630.9678
www.seanmillshospital.com
srm@galatindesigns.com