Annette Kelm Percent for Art, 2013

The six-part work, with its serial repetition of percentage signs across the separate bright red panels, appears as splashy retail signage for no apparent sale.

The title, Percent for Art, ostensibly refers to the practice of “art enrichment” - the setting aside of percentages of development and building budgets for art projects. By implication a wide circle can be drawn to the role of state or city arts agencies in managing the artist rosters, maintaining public art collections, commissioning artworks, selecting installation sites, among other things for aesthetic and cultural enhancement in both public and private real estate developments. For some, it’s also an opportunity to have desperately needed revenue to counter the displacement of artists and preserve a city or state’s creative spirit.