Whipped Cream Difficulties

So let me see if I understand this NYT article correctly:

The “SoHo” district of NYC has a rule that allows people to live in lofts in SoHo, provided that they are “artists”.

Saying that you’re an “artist” isn’t good enough: there’s actually a city certification process for artists. For example, Jon Bon Jovi is a city certified artist.

Up until recently, the “artist” requirement seems to have been honored on a “wink and a nudge” basis. But now, banks, co-op boards, and the city have started cracking down.

And the process for become a NYC certified artist is somewhat mysterious:

It has never been entirely clear who qualifies as an artist; the applications and even the names of the two judges who decide are not available to the public. Some SoHo residents have questioned how Mr. Bon Jovi and the hotelier André Balazs, among others, could obtain certification, since neither would seem to require a SoHo space for their work, one of the major criteria for certification, along with educational credentials and a body of work that has been displayed and written about in the previous five years.

…

The Department of Cultural Affairs has certified roughly 3,400 artists since 1971, but the number of applicants shrank as the lofts filled out and the requirements began to be ignored. From 2003 to 2008, the department certified 164 artists and rejected 11.

But in 2009, the department accepted 14 artists and rejected 14. This year there have been 6 rejections and 14 acceptances.

…

The judges rejected a jewelry maker for producing work that was too commercial and a photographer whose pieces did not show enough “focus, quality and commitment.” Others were turned down for being a student, a “hobbyist” or an “interpretive artist.”

Am I missing something?

This entry was posted on Friday, November 12th, 2010 at 7:32 am and is filed under Art, Clippings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.