The part of Blithe Riley’s visit that stuck out to me most was her discussion of alternative economies. It is difficult for arts organizations to unionize, because the arts sector is often very individual, and artists are often not paid fair wages, so it made sense that arts people would try to organize along different economic lines. Whether or not the models she mentioned (bartering and exchange) are sustainable over a long period of time, they seemed worth a try.
Another feature of “alternative economies” that I thought was interesting was Blithe’s insistence that artists recognize themselves as workers or laborers. The tension between art as a hobby and as a career/profession is a common one, and I can see how frustrating it would be for artists to face resistance from people who say what they do is not “work”.
I think Blithe’s discussion sort of “filled out” our experience with LMCC on Governor’s Island, because while the LMCC is laudable and has done much for the arts community, artists are still struggling and often have to find other ways to help themselves and spread the word. Overall, I think the ideas and projects Blithe discussed were provocative and useful to her (and others artists’) goals, but I wonder how effective going outside traditional channels is. Occupy Wall Street has largely fallen off the map (at least in the media), which does not mean that it should be abandoned or ignored by artists and others seeking to be a part of it, but I wonder if it would better serve Blithe and other artists to separate themselves?
Blythe Riley educated us a lot on the economic inequality of contemporary New York City today. Pointing out the frequent exploitations and unfair labor practices conducted by organizations on students and workers alike shows a significant issue that needs to be addressed. Yet with over 8 million people residing in the bustling capital, and thousands competing for the same position, who has the courage to take the initiative and go against these moguls of the field?
Riley and her group of 30 to 40 artists that meet up each week are making some progress. They plan little, strategic events such as sending black fax messages to museum and having occupy lunch breaks in chelsea to make a statement and defy the system. Bit by bit, Riley and her group are surely making an impact.
Furthermore, Riley mentions the concentrated power on the board of museums. I was very shocked to discover that some people are actually board members of multiple museums in New York, holding the power to choose which works of art to exhibit and to increase value for. This is very problematic in that the subjective vision and perception of art becomes concentrated, much like the concept of the “1 %” in the Occupy Wall Street movement.
I admire Riley a lot for her altruism as well as her ability to take the stand of faith when so little people were willing to do so. At the same time, I’m worried about the result of some of Riley’s protests. While it is considered illegal to not pay interns, it is considered a very common notion because students want to gain “experience” to acquire a higher paying job in the future. If employers are forced to pay people, they will reduce the number of positions available as well as the opportunities to learn. Furthermore, international students or those who can’t legally receive compensation are largely deterred due to this law.
Of course it’s hard to find the perfect solution for everyone, but I’ve learned that often times, there are many more tensions to a problem that one may have to consider .
I think it’s really interesting to consider this highly tangible base of non-monetary capital. At my own internship at a small literary magazine called The Coffin Factory (which I’m finishing up after a year), I’ve seen the editors pour thousands of dollars of their own money; they used their personal savings from non-tenured part-time teaching jobs and “day jobs” such as remote online customer service claims for obscure companies to put their magazine to print and ship out thousands of issues across the country. I often became frustrated that I wasn’t being paid even though I was gaining a great deal of valuable experience while contributing to an excellent independent publication that relied heavily on its small volunteer staff. To me, it was a trade-off to provide that service towards a magazine that valued my work, but it was always nice when I did meet with my editors to discuss the current issue. I obviously was investing my time and money into going to meet with them, so it was always really nice when they did buy me a beer or a sandwich, Sure, it would never equal out to something equivalent to an hourly rate, but it was always a nice and pleasantly encouraging “thank-you” sort of compensation.
Because this was my only unpaid internship that I’ve held thus far, I can’t really speak on behalf of other unpaid internships— I was lucky enough to work with some really great people that wished they could have paid me, but were totally unable to. Had I worked for a larger group or company where no one was directly held accountable for payroll or making those executive decisions, I doubt that I would have received any of those courtesies or offers of generosity. I think that the bartering system that Blithe suggests be used in exchange for a strictly no-pay policy truly is a viable option in the workplace. For me, it comes down not just to the monetary value of the objects given to you (i.e. a sandwich, free books, whatever is available) but also the message that one’s work is valued and appreciated. I don’t think it’s realistic to ask all companies to remove all unpaid internship listings, and I think it’s also unreasonable to ask all interns to refuse to work for pay— as discussed, we are all a part of this system and such drastic changes are wholly unrealistic. However, I think it’s really important that Blithe and other artists are honing in on such an NYC-specific issue. It’s especially angering that stipends are so readily available for interns working in banking, finance, etc; it’s as though we’re being penalized for contributing to the arts. Just because we are all willing to deal with the city in order to contribute to its culture doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be compensated in some form or another.
I also have to agree with Liz— I truly do think that if Blithe’s group wasn’t blanketed by OWS, it would be able to stand out much more on its own.
During my three years of stay in South Korea, I spent countless hours on unpaid translation of documents, from Korean to English or the other way around. In return, I got nothing. I expected nothing. They almost always said, “you learned your English in fun American schools while Koreans suffered under harsh educational system, so you owe us.” At first, I thought, what kind of crazy logic is this? But after hearing about 30 or 40 people say the same stuff, I got used to, or gave up on, their needy helplessness, and obliged to write and speak on behalf of their stiff brains.
I liked the fact that she valued labor, perhaps because I suffered so much from my people asking for free labor. She also reminded me of a lot of people who wanted to be on the guest list for my shows, the same people who pay two to three hundred dollars for overpriced drinks. It’s becoming more difficult to find people who pay for cultural experiences.
Her explanation of power games in the arts industry was also quite a shock, and an uncanny parallel to the OWS movement. The depressing diagram on our whiteboard could apply to both circumstances, where the widening bottom pool was awkwardly fit into much smaller pyramid.
I was taught to compete harder for limited resources and positions. Not that I was good at it. It’s a belief that I still try to live by. The alternative to fierce competition sounds ideal though, where positions and resources can be shared more equally. I never made any money from playing live shows. I still wish someone paid me for my stage presence.
I found our discussion with Blythe very interesting. She offered an alternative perspective on a sector that I personally did not previously know much about. The first point that I found interested was Blythe’s work with the Edna Diaries. Her quest to find out more about a person from just a basic diary entry was very romantic as well as artistic. It merged the gap between science and art. The study reminded me of New York culture and the idea of seeing someone on the street for just a moment, and then ever seeing that person ever again.This phenomenon can only occur in a city like New York. From these images and studies we can represent information, as Blythe explained. All of her studies are very interconnected with the City of New York and its culture. For example, labor and repetition are continuing tracks of her studies, both of which are integral functions of urbanity. This reminded me of Linked in, the social networking site for professionals. This, too, is a small glimpse into someone’s labor, which is mostly speculation. Occupy Wall Street was actually sparked by artists interested in political science who met at a building called 16 Beaver. Blythe gave us a perspective on art in Occupy Wall Street, and the power of the market over artists. New York contributes to this system because of the many art schools and unpaid talent that exists. Blythe and her partners are working to expose exploitive working conditions to perhaps correct the imbalance. As students and interns, it was especially inspiring to hear her story and perspective.
I started an unpaid internship at a magazine the same week an unpaid intern sued Harper’s Bazaar for violating labor laws. My supervisor was walking on eggshells; despite all of the buzz about magazine internships that require the unpaid worker to stay in the wee hours of the night, she made me leave at six—exactly when I was supposed to. She repeatedly told me to notify her if I was ever overwhelmed—which really never happened. At the same time, I felt that I was doing work that a hired employee might have done. I tried to look at the bright side—I was being allowed into the well-secured doors of a magazine. I was going to be able to add this internship to my resume, making me a better candidate for other job opportunities—paid ones. I was doing work that a hired employee could do, but I was also going to be able to brag about assistance I offered at my next interview. Everything I did was directly relevant to the production of the magazine. There are some horror-like internship stories (I have a friend who wound up making gynecologist appointments for her boss, as well as daily walks for her dog), but this was not one of them. Although unpaid internships seem to be taking away jobs from people, and they are illegal, they are building a crop of very experienced college aged students.
On a completely different topic, I was most interested in Blithe Riley’s work called “The Edna Experiments.” It reminded me a little bit of myself and my weird recording habits. Although I do not keep a diary of my daily activities, I am constantly making lists of things I have to do. These lists consist of completely trivial daily activities—things I would have remembered to do without having to write them down. Exhibit A.
8:14 Wake Up
8:15-8:45 Get ready for school
8:45-9 Walk to Train/Get coffee
9:15 Must be on train
10 Class
Something tells me I would have remembered to wake up, even if I didn’t write it.
It made me wonder what I would have if I collected all of them (it might make me realize how ridiculous the whole practice is). The piece reminded me of Vivian Maier’s story. She was a nanny photographer, discovered after her death, for taking photos concerning her daily life. The film was originally unidentifiable, but now they help us understand the inner workings and emotions of a nanny in Chicago.
Blithe Riley’s visit reminded me of the different connotations art may have. She is an activist and artist, and uses her art to communicate meaningful messages that affect society. Blithe Riley ‘s art spins around a wide range of art expressions. Her art is versatile and responsible. I enjoyed our conversation with her because she is an artist that commits to her environment. Through art she attempts to improve society. Her participation in Occupy Wall Street and the movement she is working on to communicate and improve work conditions for artists struck me the most because I am a believer on the impact social art can have on society. It is important to communicate when something is not right, and art is a great way to do it.
Our conversation on internships and working conditions for the artists made me think about the way art is perceived in our world. Somehow, and I have this feeling often, artists and the role art plays in society is not taken as seriously as other professions. In my view, and due to some experiences I have had, other professions like engineering or medicine are regarded as useful to the world and meaningful. Evidently, there are people that appreciate art and believe in the role it plays in our world. I am not trying to generalize, but sometimes I have this feeling. Comparing my feeling to reality I think I might be right. For instance, if society thought of art high and seriously we would get paid as traders and finance people, and there would not be unpaid internships or unfair work conditions for the artists.
The class discussion with Blithe Riley was fascinating. For the most part in this class, we have been focused on the ways in which large companies, or at least well established companies, operate in the city. These have primarily been larger groups with sizable operating budgets, firmly working inside of existing economic systems. Blithe’s presentation was a fascinating look at the flip side of the coin. Who is left out of the system? Who can compete? What does it mean to be competitive? One of the most interesting parts was her focus on the unpaid internships and the socio-economic realities that accompany that business model. She pointed out how the reliance on unpaid internships to get started means that the business favors wealthier people can afford to support themselves off of savings or alternate revenue for a year or two. The result is an inherent inequality inside of the art world.
I was reminded of a Princeton Commencement speech that was making its way around the blogs at the start of the summer. It was titled “Don’t eat Fortunes Cookie” (you can find the text here http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S33/87/54K53/), and was pretty much about the inequalities of life. Like Blithe the over arching thesis seemed to be, have some humility and try to even the odds when you can. Like when I read the speech, I was faced with the same though as I listened to Blythe answer questions: This is nice and all but how real is this? This time though, it sounds more grounded in reality. Blithe made a point of talking about the research they were doing and the discussions being had with unions. Unlike other more unfounded movements, after listening to her talk I felt as if I might see something different if I came back in five or six years.
I found visual artist Blithe Riley’s discussion to be interesting and multi-faceted. When I found out that an artist was coming to speak to the class, I assumed that she would spend most of the time talking about her own art and personal vision. However, I was surprised that we actually spent most of the period not talking about art, rather about unpaid interns’ rights. I’ve held two unpaid internship positions so far as an NYU student, one here in Manhattan and one when I was studying abroad at NYU Tel Aviv. At both jobs I wasn’t paid at all, and wasn’t even offered a stipend to compensate for my transportation costs. Over time, the whole concept of unpaid internships started to bother me, but I never realized that as Blithe was saying, many unpaid internships are actually illegal according to the US Department of Labor’s laws. I truly think that it is an unfair system—the students who can afford to work for free get the experience and connections to the companies that they want, while student who need paying jobs are stuck waiting tables throughout college instead of working in the field that they desire to go into in the future.
I admit, I had been kind of ignorant to the Occupy Wall Street movement because it started and was most active when I was studying abroad, so it was great to have someone like Blithe break it down for us in simple terms, highlighting aspects of the financial crisis that affect us as students. I liked how she talked about the “cutthroat New York City mentality,” it’s definitely something that NYU students experience on a daily basis. Students at our university are constantly sending out resumes, and trying to get as many internships and job experience under their belts before graduating in the hopes of one day being successful. While Blithe did answer someone’s question about what “alternative economies” her and her group are supporting, and talked about “mutual aid” such as the sharing of food, space, savings, and childcare between artists, I wish she went more into detail about how those alternative economies would be structured and how realistic it would be to actually instill them.
The conversation we had with Blythe Riley made me think a lot about the nature of the art world and what it entails to be an artist in the city. Indeed, she was explaining that, in contrast with many European governments that give a lot of subsidies to working artists, the U.S operates extremely differently and barely dedicates any of its budget to funding the arts. What was most interesting to me in the conversation was the discussion about unpaid internships. I’m currently working for an independent curator in my free time. The job is a lot of work, I work pretty long hours and, even though I love it, I really wish I was getting paid for it. It clearly should be a paying job and I realize that it is a position that a hired graduate could fill. However, I know that my boss wish she could pay me and would gladly do it if she could. However, the reality is that most people in the art world are in the same position and it is hard to get revenue. Museums are not doing well financially, therefore they pay curators less and curators can’t afford to hire assistants and have to find interns instead. The art world is a very competitive world as it is a field that attracts a lot of people and in which only a very few people succeed.
I also thought her work with Occupy Wall Street was really interesting, although I thought she was not really clear when it came to discussing alternative systems of economies when a student asked her what she thought could be better than our current capitalist system.
Cultural Capital: Media & Arts in NYC 
The part of Blithe Riley’s visit that stuck out to me most was her discussion of alternative economies. It is difficult for arts organizations to unionize, because the arts sector is often very individual, and artists are often not paid fair wages, so it made sense that arts people would try to organize along different economic lines. Whether or not the models she mentioned (bartering and exchange) are sustainable over a long period of time, they seemed worth a try.
Another feature of “alternative economies” that I thought was interesting was Blithe’s insistence that artists recognize themselves as workers or laborers. The tension between art as a hobby and as a career/profession is a common one, and I can see how frustrating it would be for artists to face resistance from people who say what they do is not “work”.
I think Blithe’s discussion sort of “filled out” our experience with LMCC on Governor’s Island, because while the LMCC is laudable and has done much for the arts community, artists are still struggling and often have to find other ways to help themselves and spread the word. Overall, I think the ideas and projects Blithe discussed were provocative and useful to her (and others artists’) goals, but I wonder how effective going outside traditional channels is. Occupy Wall Street has largely fallen off the map (at least in the media), which does not mean that it should be abandoned or ignored by artists and others seeking to be a part of it, but I wonder if it would better serve Blithe and other artists to separate themselves?
Blythe Riley educated us a lot on the economic inequality of contemporary New York City today. Pointing out the frequent exploitations and unfair labor practices conducted by organizations on students and workers alike shows a significant issue that needs to be addressed. Yet with over 8 million people residing in the bustling capital, and thousands competing for the same position, who has the courage to take the initiative and go against these moguls of the field?
Riley and her group of 30 to 40 artists that meet up each week are making some progress. They plan little, strategic events such as sending black fax messages to museum and having occupy lunch breaks in chelsea to make a statement and defy the system. Bit by bit, Riley and her group are surely making an impact.
Furthermore, Riley mentions the concentrated power on the board of museums. I was very shocked to discover that some people are actually board members of multiple museums in New York, holding the power to choose which works of art to exhibit and to increase value for. This is very problematic in that the subjective vision and perception of art becomes concentrated, much like the concept of the “1 %” in the Occupy Wall Street movement.
I admire Riley a lot for her altruism as well as her ability to take the stand of faith when so little people were willing to do so. At the same time, I’m worried about the result of some of Riley’s protests. While it is considered illegal to not pay interns, it is considered a very common notion because students want to gain “experience” to acquire a higher paying job in the future. If employers are forced to pay people, they will reduce the number of positions available as well as the opportunities to learn. Furthermore, international students or those who can’t legally receive compensation are largely deterred due to this law.
Of course it’s hard to find the perfect solution for everyone, but I’ve learned that often times, there are many more tensions to a problem that one may have to consider .
I think it’s really interesting to consider this highly tangible base of non-monetary capital. At my own internship at a small literary magazine called The Coffin Factory (which I’m finishing up after a year), I’ve seen the editors pour thousands of dollars of their own money; they used their personal savings from non-tenured part-time teaching jobs and “day jobs” such as remote online customer service claims for obscure companies to put their magazine to print and ship out thousands of issues across the country. I often became frustrated that I wasn’t being paid even though I was gaining a great deal of valuable experience while contributing to an excellent independent publication that relied heavily on its small volunteer staff. To me, it was a trade-off to provide that service towards a magazine that valued my work, but it was always nice when I did meet with my editors to discuss the current issue. I obviously was investing my time and money into going to meet with them, so it was always really nice when they did buy me a beer or a sandwich, Sure, it would never equal out to something equivalent to an hourly rate, but it was always a nice and pleasantly encouraging “thank-you” sort of compensation.
Because this was my only unpaid internship that I’ve held thus far, I can’t really speak on behalf of other unpaid internships— I was lucky enough to work with some really great people that wished they could have paid me, but were totally unable to. Had I worked for a larger group or company where no one was directly held accountable for payroll or making those executive decisions, I doubt that I would have received any of those courtesies or offers of generosity. I think that the bartering system that Blithe suggests be used in exchange for a strictly no-pay policy truly is a viable option in the workplace. For me, it comes down not just to the monetary value of the objects given to you (i.e. a sandwich, free books, whatever is available) but also the message that one’s work is valued and appreciated. I don’t think it’s realistic to ask all companies to remove all unpaid internship listings, and I think it’s also unreasonable to ask all interns to refuse to work for pay— as discussed, we are all a part of this system and such drastic changes are wholly unrealistic. However, I think it’s really important that Blithe and other artists are honing in on such an NYC-specific issue. It’s especially angering that stipends are so readily available for interns working in banking, finance, etc; it’s as though we’re being penalized for contributing to the arts. Just because we are all willing to deal with the city in order to contribute to its culture doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be compensated in some form or another.
I also have to agree with Liz— I truly do think that if Blithe’s group wasn’t blanketed by OWS, it would be able to stand out much more on its own.
During my three years of stay in South Korea, I spent countless hours on unpaid translation of documents, from Korean to English or the other way around. In return, I got nothing. I expected nothing. They almost always said, “you learned your English in fun American schools while Koreans suffered under harsh educational system, so you owe us.” At first, I thought, what kind of crazy logic is this? But after hearing about 30 or 40 people say the same stuff, I got used to, or gave up on, their needy helplessness, and obliged to write and speak on behalf of their stiff brains.
I liked the fact that she valued labor, perhaps because I suffered so much from my people asking for free labor. She also reminded me of a lot of people who wanted to be on the guest list for my shows, the same people who pay two to three hundred dollars for overpriced drinks. It’s becoming more difficult to find people who pay for cultural experiences.
Her explanation of power games in the arts industry was also quite a shock, and an uncanny parallel to the OWS movement. The depressing diagram on our whiteboard could apply to both circumstances, where the widening bottom pool was awkwardly fit into much smaller pyramid.
I was taught to compete harder for limited resources and positions. Not that I was good at it. It’s a belief that I still try to live by. The alternative to fierce competition sounds ideal though, where positions and resources can be shared more equally. I never made any money from playing live shows. I still wish someone paid me for my stage presence.
I found our discussion with Blythe very interesting. She offered an alternative perspective on a sector that I personally did not previously know much about. The first point that I found interested was Blythe’s work with the Edna Diaries. Her quest to find out more about a person from just a basic diary entry was very romantic as well as artistic. It merged the gap between science and art. The study reminded me of New York culture and the idea of seeing someone on the street for just a moment, and then ever seeing that person ever again.This phenomenon can only occur in a city like New York. From these images and studies we can represent information, as Blythe explained. All of her studies are very interconnected with the City of New York and its culture. For example, labor and repetition are continuing tracks of her studies, both of which are integral functions of urbanity. This reminded me of Linked in, the social networking site for professionals. This, too, is a small glimpse into someone’s labor, which is mostly speculation. Occupy Wall Street was actually sparked by artists interested in political science who met at a building called 16 Beaver. Blythe gave us a perspective on art in Occupy Wall Street, and the power of the market over artists. New York contributes to this system because of the many art schools and unpaid talent that exists. Blythe and her partners are working to expose exploitive working conditions to perhaps correct the imbalance. As students and interns, it was especially inspiring to hear her story and perspective.
I started an unpaid internship at a magazine the same week an unpaid intern sued Harper’s Bazaar for violating labor laws. My supervisor was walking on eggshells; despite all of the buzz about magazine internships that require the unpaid worker to stay in the wee hours of the night, she made me leave at six—exactly when I was supposed to. She repeatedly told me to notify her if I was ever overwhelmed—which really never happened. At the same time, I felt that I was doing work that a hired employee might have done. I tried to look at the bright side—I was being allowed into the well-secured doors of a magazine. I was going to be able to add this internship to my resume, making me a better candidate for other job opportunities—paid ones. I was doing work that a hired employee could do, but I was also going to be able to brag about assistance I offered at my next interview. Everything I did was directly relevant to the production of the magazine. There are some horror-like internship stories (I have a friend who wound up making gynecologist appointments for her boss, as well as daily walks for her dog), but this was not one of them. Although unpaid internships seem to be taking away jobs from people, and they are illegal, they are building a crop of very experienced college aged students.
On a completely different topic, I was most interested in Blithe Riley’s work called “The Edna Experiments.” It reminded me a little bit of myself and my weird recording habits. Although I do not keep a diary of my daily activities, I am constantly making lists of things I have to do. These lists consist of completely trivial daily activities—things I would have remembered to do without having to write them down. Exhibit A.
8:14 Wake Up
8:15-8:45 Get ready for school
8:45-9 Walk to Train/Get coffee
9:15 Must be on train
10 Class
Something tells me I would have remembered to wake up, even if I didn’t write it.
It made me wonder what I would have if I collected all of them (it might make me realize how ridiculous the whole practice is). The piece reminded me of Vivian Maier’s story. She was a nanny photographer, discovered after her death, for taking photos concerning her daily life. The film was originally unidentifiable, but now they help us understand the inner workings and emotions of a nanny in Chicago.
Blithe Riley’s visit reminded me of the different connotations art may have. She is an activist and artist, and uses her art to communicate meaningful messages that affect society. Blithe Riley ‘s art spins around a wide range of art expressions. Her art is versatile and responsible. I enjoyed our conversation with her because she is an artist that commits to her environment. Through art she attempts to improve society. Her participation in Occupy Wall Street and the movement she is working on to communicate and improve work conditions for artists struck me the most because I am a believer on the impact social art can have on society. It is important to communicate when something is not right, and art is a great way to do it.
Our conversation on internships and working conditions for the artists made me think about the way art is perceived in our world. Somehow, and I have this feeling often, artists and the role art plays in society is not taken as seriously as other professions. In my view, and due to some experiences I have had, other professions like engineering or medicine are regarded as useful to the world and meaningful. Evidently, there are people that appreciate art and believe in the role it plays in our world. I am not trying to generalize, but sometimes I have this feeling. Comparing my feeling to reality I think I might be right. For instance, if society thought of art high and seriously we would get paid as traders and finance people, and there would not be unpaid internships or unfair work conditions for the artists.
The class discussion with Blithe Riley was fascinating. For the most part in this class, we have been focused on the ways in which large companies, or at least well established companies, operate in the city. These have primarily been larger groups with sizable operating budgets, firmly working inside of existing economic systems. Blithe’s presentation was a fascinating look at the flip side of the coin. Who is left out of the system? Who can compete? What does it mean to be competitive? One of the most interesting parts was her focus on the unpaid internships and the socio-economic realities that accompany that business model. She pointed out how the reliance on unpaid internships to get started means that the business favors wealthier people can afford to support themselves off of savings or alternate revenue for a year or two. The result is an inherent inequality inside of the art world.
I was reminded of a Princeton Commencement speech that was making its way around the blogs at the start of the summer. It was titled “Don’t eat Fortunes Cookie” (you can find the text here http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S33/87/54K53/), and was pretty much about the inequalities of life. Like Blithe the over arching thesis seemed to be, have some humility and try to even the odds when you can. Like when I read the speech, I was faced with the same though as I listened to Blythe answer questions: This is nice and all but how real is this? This time though, it sounds more grounded in reality. Blithe made a point of talking about the research they were doing and the discussions being had with unions. Unlike other more unfounded movements, after listening to her talk I felt as if I might see something different if I came back in five or six years.
I found visual artist Blithe Riley’s discussion to be interesting and multi-faceted. When I found out that an artist was coming to speak to the class, I assumed that she would spend most of the time talking about her own art and personal vision. However, I was surprised that we actually spent most of the period not talking about art, rather about unpaid interns’ rights. I’ve held two unpaid internship positions so far as an NYU student, one here in Manhattan and one when I was studying abroad at NYU Tel Aviv. At both jobs I wasn’t paid at all, and wasn’t even offered a stipend to compensate for my transportation costs. Over time, the whole concept of unpaid internships started to bother me, but I never realized that as Blithe was saying, many unpaid internships are actually illegal according to the US Department of Labor’s laws. I truly think that it is an unfair system—the students who can afford to work for free get the experience and connections to the companies that they want, while student who need paying jobs are stuck waiting tables throughout college instead of working in the field that they desire to go into in the future.
I admit, I had been kind of ignorant to the Occupy Wall Street movement because it started and was most active when I was studying abroad, so it was great to have someone like Blithe break it down for us in simple terms, highlighting aspects of the financial crisis that affect us as students. I liked how she talked about the “cutthroat New York City mentality,” it’s definitely something that NYU students experience on a daily basis. Students at our university are constantly sending out resumes, and trying to get as many internships and job experience under their belts before graduating in the hopes of one day being successful. While Blithe did answer someone’s question about what “alternative economies” her and her group are supporting, and talked about “mutual aid” such as the sharing of food, space, savings, and childcare between artists, I wish she went more into detail about how those alternative economies would be structured and how realistic it would be to actually instill them.
The conversation we had with Blythe Riley made me think a lot about the nature of the art world and what it entails to be an artist in the city. Indeed, she was explaining that, in contrast with many European governments that give a lot of subsidies to working artists, the U.S operates extremely differently and barely dedicates any of its budget to funding the arts. What was most interesting to me in the conversation was the discussion about unpaid internships. I’m currently working for an independent curator in my free time. The job is a lot of work, I work pretty long hours and, even though I love it, I really wish I was getting paid for it. It clearly should be a paying job and I realize that it is a position that a hired graduate could fill. However, I know that my boss wish she could pay me and would gladly do it if she could. However, the reality is that most people in the art world are in the same position and it is hard to get revenue. Museums are not doing well financially, therefore they pay curators less and curators can’t afford to hire assistants and have to find interns instead. The art world is a very competitive world as it is a field that attracts a lot of people and in which only a very few people succeed.
I also thought her work with Occupy Wall Street was really interesting, although I thought she was not really clear when it came to discussing alternative systems of economies when a student asked her what she thought could be better than our current capitalist system.