Itinerant artist will paint for a bed and a meal
Jim Mott's cross-country odysseys are an attempt to barter art – and hang it in the homes of everyday people.
from the October 16, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
"I'm sort of pretending I'm living in a world where there isn't money," he says. "That drives my painting a little bit more."
Inspired by the book "The Gift," by Lewis Hyde, Mott has an idealistic preference for what's referred to as a "gift economy," more so than the market-driven one he – like the rest of us – are forced to inhabit. Though his paintings appear in art galleries in the Northeast, he feels the system prevents art from belonging to everyday people. He attempts to change that, by trying to stay with people who wouldn't normally frequent art galleries.
And, by not purchasing anything along the way, he also hopes to change his own role as artist.
"The need to paint to survive is very real then," he says.
Case in point: Yellowstone National Park. It was cold, rainy, and snowy when Mott arrived early this month; camping was not an option for him. His mind filled with doubts, he knew he had only one recourse: to trade a painting for a room in one of the park hotels. The manager was sympathetic – and an art lover. So Mott made it through one more day.
Next stop, Bozeman, Mont. Mott sits on a wall in front of a suburban house painting a scene that includes a tract house under construction in a nearby field.
As Mott paints, he talks about his background. He studied art at Dartmouth College and the University of Michigan. He finds painting a challenge, not a pleasure; he does it because it's what he does best. He tries to live as simply as possible, and likens his travels to a spiritual search. He works part time as an environmental consultant. He'd like to stay at the homes of more working-class families; most of the people he stays with are upper-middle-class. He's also staying with three artists on this trip, which makes him a bit anxious. As soon as he starts getting comfortable with the people with whom he's staying, he finds it's time to move on. His father is a doctor who was inspired by Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, and devoted his life to working in underserved communities. After retiring, both his parents became full-time social justice activists – something Mott appreciates, but doesn't claim for himself.
"I'm more a contemplative than an activist," he says.
Mott describes a stop on his first road trip where he stayed in a house in an anonymous subdivision outside Las Vegas. Rather than paint scenes of nature or the strip, he painted a white plastic deck chair next to his host's pool.
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