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# Become A Medieval Patron of the Arts with The $5 Commission
- URL: https://www.killscreen.com/5-commission/
- Published: 2015-04-08T11:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2015-11-17T17:20:43.000Z
- Description: Is this art about you or the Internet?
- Author: David Rudin
- Tags: News, Art, Crowdfunding, Kickstarter, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2024-07-26 09:39

Art is a transactional endeavor. Through their works, artists give something of themselves to their audiences. In return, patrons of the art—consumers, if that term doesn’t bother you—give the artists their attention and a portion of their pocketbook.

The $5 Comission is art about transactions.

Electric Objects’ “The $5 Commission,” which is currently raising funds on [Kickstarter](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/electricobjects/electric-objects-the-5-commission?ref=killscreen.com), places these transactions at the heart of the process of making art. At the conclusions of its fundraising phase, the project’s backers will receive an 8-10 question survey. The answers to this survey, in turn, will inform the works of the project’s four artists: Addie Wagenknecht, Casey Reas, James George, and Lauren McCarthy. Fittingly, those works will be displayed both on- and off-line.

“The $5 Commission” is, in a sense, a decidedly old fashioned endeavor. It harkens back to the Middle Ages’ system of patronage, where artists were more explicitly at the whims of their backers. Through a variety of contractual terms, the patron could exercise control over how the art was made and what it depicted. “The $5 Commission” gives artists far more rights over their works but it too uses a funding mechanism as a means of influencing the eventual artistic output.

In another sense, however, “The $5 Commission” is an endeavor that is completely of its time. It takes advantage of a digital funding mechanism and the expectation that backers get something in return for their money and turns these staples of the Internet age into grist for the artistic mill. “The $5 Commission” promises to make art inspired by its backers but make no mistake: The art will ultimately be about Kickstarter.

*You can [find out more about The $5 Commission on Kickstarter](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/electricobjects/electric-objects-the-5-commission?ref=killscreen.com).*