Art Bart Trade that inscrutable poetry for some window hangings BY TANYA WHITON

The Inkslinger firmly believes that anything you might want or need is available somewhere in the world, for free. Whatever goods or services you desire (keeping it clean, here, keeping it clean) ¾ a new painting for the living room, a professional skim-coat job, graphic design for your Web site ¾ some other guy can offer in exchange for something you want to get rid of. Or something you know how to do.

The Inkslinger acknowledges that this is not a new idea.

It is, however, an idea whose possibilities might be more fully exploited, and here’s how: the Art Bart. Almost everyone I know barters for something, within a relatively small network of friends and acquaintances. Those who don’t barter give away skills they take for granted: the ability to fix computers, edit copy, or glaze windows. The Art Bart would function the same way these small personal networks do (or the way slightly larger ones do, like Uncle Henry’s, the Wise Guide, Portland West, or Portland FreeCycle) only its central purpose would be first to disseminate art and ideas more broadly throughout the community, and second to help artists gain access to the types of goods and services artists are typically without: health care, financial planning, etc.

What this means is that product on Art Bart would be creative: sketches, sculptures, short stories. There are so many ways to buy, sell, and trade secondhand goods in Maine that another outlet for that type of exchange probably isn’t necessary. (Although I do want a late-’70s Winnebago. Short stories for a Winnebago, anyone?)

Here’s how it would work: To begin, the Art Bart recruiting team would find volunteer professionals in as diverse a range of fields as possible (perhaps using the designations in "career choice" software as categories): an ob/gyn, a roofer, a fiber artist, a historian, a boiler repair person, etc. Trade organizations and groups like the Maine Artist Access (a Maine Arts project) would be an excellent place to find volunteers. These volunteers would then act as price setters, and determine the cost of any art object/content or service within their field that comes up on the site, in increments of $25. Their contribution would simply be to assess the value of any goods or services within their range of expertise. The Art Bart recruiting team would also act as a board, and mediate any disputes that arise over cost setting.

Okay? Okay.

Next, the Art Bart recruiting team would wheedle and cajole a civic-minded local Web designer into creating a site, with category lists and contact information for any person contributing a barterable item or service. The main page would be, of course, artists of various disciplines. Each week the board would select an artist (rotating through the disciplines) to feature: A video, writing sample, or photograph of said artist’s work would appear on a link to the main page. That way, people outside the arts community would have regular exposure to a variety of artists in a variety of mediums. All contributors would be able to cross-categorize, with an entry in, say, Latin-jazz piano and HTML design, according to individual skills.

The way the Art Bart’s site would be different from sites like the Bartering Connection is this: Aside from being focused on creative product, the Art Bart would be based on what people could offer, and then users would search individually for what they might like in exchange. The specificity of many bartering ads is entertaining, and good story material, but often this specificity forecloses on possibilities for trade. An example from a national site: "I am offering to design either three Web sites or one Web site with a year of maintenance and/or upgrades in exchange for 50 double-hung/double-paned windows with installation in Phillipsburg, NJ." On the Art Bart, Mr. Web Site could post his offering, and search for more useful stuff he might need. Like three hairy wall-hangings woven of hemp and inscrutable poetry calligraphed on handmade paper.

But seriously. Art Bart would allow people to "shop" for the goods and services they might want or need, and, ideally, create a less compartmentalized community overall. Trades would be made according to the prices set by volunteers: a $50 editing job (one hour) might be exchanged for a $100 dental checkup, with the difference paid in cash. I know lawyers who paint, doctors who make stained glass, and cabinet makers who mix and master sound recordings. Compartmentalizing people according to their professions has made it damn hard to be an artist in this country, but Maine, more than most places, has a functioning underground economy. The Art Bart would make a forum connecting various parts of that economy, hopefully for the benefit of all participants. Now, who wants to be on the recruiting team?

Tanya Whiton can be reached at theinkslinger@hotmail.com