Etsy has Regretsy. Pinterest has WTF, Pinterest? Now the Daily Dot is proud to present Kickstopper, a series highlighting the most bombastic and absurd projects seeking support through the popular crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter.
Stand-up comedian Myq Kaplan doesn’t just want to tell funny jokes. He also wants to force Kickstarter to answer the eternal question “What is art?”
“…Art might mean something different to everyone,” writes Kaplan, “but according to its guidelines, it seems that Kickstarter will only fund art that Kickstarter agrees is art.”
“But what makes them an expert on what art is?” he asks. “Is it just because they have “art” in the letters of their name?”
To find out, Kaplan will need at least $1, so he’s started a very meta Kickstarter campaign to get an answer. The Brooklyn-based comic plans to use the money to buy a stamp and envelope, and send the crowdfunding platform a letter asking them to provide an explanation on what constitutes art. If he raises enough money, Kaplan will also be taking an art class so that he can compare what he learned in it to Kickstarter’s answer.
The idea for the campaign was born out of a conversation Kaplan had with a friend regarding the topic of technology. This conversation then turned to Kickstarter. “I thought it would be funny to just make a project trying to raise a dollar as a joke,” he wrote to the Daily Dot.
“I saw that there were a lot of rules that governed what kind of projects actually COULD be funded under their guidelines, and that’s what led to the specific project that you now see before you.”
Kaplan isn’t the only one who wants a direct answer from Kickstarter. As of this writing, “What is conceptual art? (A conceptual art project.)” has 147 backers who have contributed $380 to the campaign. Most of these backers (88 of them) contributed the minimum of $1. In turn, Kaplan will be including their name in his letter.
“If we work together, we can raise this dollar or more,” the comedian states in his pitch video. “I think the more we raise, the more art it is.”
With 22 days left on his campaign and having already met his very low goal, it’s only a matter of time before we find out just how artsy this project becomes.
Kickstopper: What is conceptual art? (A conceptual art project.)
- Location: Brooklyn, NY
- Summary: A stand-up comedian wants write a letter to Kickstarter asking them to expound on what constitutes art.
- Goal: $1
- Amount raised at press time: $380
- Days left: 22
- Best buy: For $10,000, Kaplan will fly to any location in the world and mail the letter from there.
Photo via Kickstarter
