Clark student Sampson Wilcox sits with his artwork on Park Avenue during stART on the Street in September. (Photo by Ashley Klann)

By Ashley Klann
Clark U.

Clark University student Sampson Wilcox has been coming to stART on the Street for five years and has been selling art at the annual festival since 2008. While he’s seen stART grow and change over the years, he’s trying to embrace where the “street” comes in.

At the annual festival on Park Avenue in September, Wilcox very literally started on the street.

While most artists were pricing their wares and watching passersby stop, stare and move on, Wilcox was there with the goal to engage. He placed his drawings, paintings and photographs neatly in his designated area – right on the street. Prices? What prices? Wilcox embraced the open atmosphere of stART and let his customers pay what they wanted, even if that meant giving away his work.

“That form of selling work is a performance in itself, and that’s why I do that at stART,” Wilcox said. “It fits into the street art scene – being around musicians and roller derby. That’s the philosophy behind it.”

“It’s not a gallery. It’s a social event,” he said. “You’re not there for deep intellectual discussion. You’re there to revel in the arts community. That’s great if you do have those conversations, but it’s more about spectacle. That’s why there’s so much performance there.”

In an interesting social experiment of sorts, Wilcox watched throughout the day as reactions to his method changed.

“I had groups of teenagers going ‘Whoa, This guy is giving things away,’ and they called their friends over.”

But some responses weren’t as positive.

“Some people were so repelled by it,” he laughed. “Either way, they’d stop and appreciate it … instead of just passively walking past the booth. They at least had a response. That’s why I do it.”

The less than positive responses, Wilcox explained, were due to his simple presentation. Wilcox wasn’t putting on airs to sell his work.

He casually laid on the asphalt in a plain black T-shirt and jeans, surrounded by his unpriced work. But that work being unpriced certainly didn’t mean that it didn’t have value to him.

“I do think about what they’ll do with it [after someone buys it]. Since I’ve given it away or sold it for low prices, the aura of value has decreased, and perhaps it’s cheapened it to a poster – something lacking in permanence,” Wilcox said.

That possibility doesn’t bother the artist, however.

“Someone will appreciate it as more than a poster – something they’re not going to just throw out next time they move. Even if five or 10 people really cherish those objects for some length of time, that’s satisfying to me,” he said. The experience is also gratifying.

“I created all that art specially for stART,” he said. “My memory of it is that afternoon. My personal connection was in that event.”

Adding to his satisfaction in just giving away his work, Wilcox’s plan succeeded monetarily, more than covering his cost to participate in the event, but he’s not taking credit for it.

“That’s not at all due to any brilliant artwork so much as the idea of wanting people to be able to have it,” he said.

While some of his work went for free, there was also one piece that sold for $50.

“The open pricing system is a collective social experiment in faith. You either have faith in people or you don’t. I’m at a much more faithful point in my life.”

Wilcox was also glad to be able to further connect with the community at stART on the Street. A lot of his photography is very honest representations of the city, its streets and the sad reality of many people on the street.

“People who I don’t think usually engage in fine art were recognizing places and being very connected and engaged because they’re places they know,” Wilcox said.

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