3 - Mobilizing Resources - Becker

Artists require various resources to create art, which varies by medium and type.
Common resources include materials, tools, skilled personnel, and financial support.

Monsieur Tuttin was Picasso's printer who struggled with Picasso's unconventional techniques.
- Example: Picasso's lithograph of a pigeon used black lithographic ink with white gouache, which presents printing challenges.
- Mourlot's concerns: Traditional printing processes could misbehave due to the unique use of gouache.
Picasso’s confidence in Tuttin led him to insist he could handle the challenges, highlighting how artistic pride impacts resource mobilization.

Resource needs depend on the form of art:
- Lithography: Requires specialized resources like stones, inks, and skills of printers.
- Poetry: Requires minimal resources, often just paper and writing tools.
- Grand Opera: Requires extensive resources—costumes, large venues, orchestras, and high financial costs.
Artists often contemplate availability and cost of necessary resources for their works.

Eleanor Lyon's Concept:
- Resources can be visualized as pools where artists source required materials and skills.
- Availability is dictated by market dynamics and society's productive organization.
- Artists must navigate these pools according to their needs, preferences, and the supply of materials/skills available in their context.

Resources may not match artists' needs due to:
- Market influences: Companies prioritize profitability, potentially neglecting niche artistic needs.
- Changes in economic conditions affect what materials are available.

Resource suppliers have their own needs and constraints, shaping the artistic materials available to artists.
Artists may resort to using standard materials that have alternative uses, which increases creativity but poses constraints if those materials do not align with artistic goals.

Artists rely heavily on a varied pool of support personnel to produce art:
- The conventional view often minimizes the role of these individuals, viewing them mainly as support.
- These personnel perform vital roles, being crucial to the production process despite being often underappreciated.

Individuals enter resource pools by acquiring specific skills and being available for projects. Training can happen through formal education or experiential learning.
Technical skills required in support roles often saturate the market, leading to an over supply in some areas while leaving gaps in others.

When artists can’t find required materials or personnel, they often resort to teaching others, developing new skills or improvising solutions.
- Example: Harry Partch designed his own instruments for his unique musical compositions.
Artists sometimes need to create their own structures (schools or companies) to facilitate their work when existing resources do not suffice.

Artists mobilize resources via personal networks, various organizational structures, and often through improvisation when faced with constraints.
The systems available for mobilizing resources directly shape the artistic landscape and what is achievable within any given art world. The visibility and availability of resources critically impact the nature and diversity of artistic outputs.