Institute for Unpopular Culture
Encyclopedia
Institute For Unpopular Culture (also known by the acronym, IFUC) is an alternative and outsider culture organization based in San Francisco, California
.
. IFUC's stated objective is to provide a range of services necessary for non-mainstream artists to fulfill their goals of artistic expression: public relations, counseling, business opportunities, and access to equipment. Ferguson says that IFUC provides artists with grants and other funding for their projects.
Ferguson calls his approach to arts patronage 'New Philanthropy'.
Ferguson has said that IFUC arranged exhibitions of William Noguera's pen and ink photorealism—a sponsorship that raised eyebrows due to Noguera's status as a death row
inmate at California's San Quentin State Prison
. Ferguson claims that IFUC has also been associated with performance artist Holly Hughes
, one of the infamous NEA Four
, a quartet of artists who saw their NEA
funding cut off because of concerns of indecency. Other talents Ferguson claims have benefitted from IFUC backing including graffiti artist Barry McGee
(a.k.a. "Twist") and installation artist Joe Mangrum. Ferguson states that The Institute helped launch the Punk Rock Orchestra, a San Francisco Bay Area music group which performs orchestral arrangements of punk rock classics.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Funding
IFUC is a Private Foundation. It no longer accepts tax deductible donations in the USA.History
It was founded in 1989 by David FergusonDavid Ferguson (impresario)
David Ferguson is an international outsider-culture impresario, activist, music producer and concert promoter. Over his career – most of which has been spent on the West Coast—he has worked with musical acts such as The Avengers, John Lydon David Ferguson is an international outsider-culture...
. IFUC's stated objective is to provide a range of services necessary for non-mainstream artists to fulfill their goals of artistic expression: public relations, counseling, business opportunities, and access to equipment. Ferguson says that IFUC provides artists with grants and other funding for their projects.
Ferguson calls his approach to arts patronage 'New Philanthropy'.
Much of the business that takes place at IFUC is volunteer-driven, or works given in trade.
Ferguson has said that IFUC arranged exhibitions of William Noguera's pen and ink photorealism—a sponsorship that raised eyebrows due to Noguera's status as a death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
inmate at California's San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men in unincorporated San Quentin, Marin County, California, United States. Opened in July 1852, it is the oldest prison in the state. California's only death row for male inmates, the largest...
. Ferguson claims that IFUC has also been associated with performance artist Holly Hughes
Holly Hughes (performance artist)
Holly Hughes is an American lesbian performance artist. She began as a feminist painter in New York but is best known for her connection with the NEA Four, with whom she was denied funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, and for her work with the Women's One World Cafe. Her plays...
, one of the infamous NEA Four
NEA Four
The "NEA Four", Karen Finley, Tim Miller, John Fleck, and Holly Hughes, were performance artists whose proposed grants from the United States government's National Endowment for the Arts were vetoed by John Frohnmayer in June 1990. Grants were overtly vetoed on the basis of subject matter after...
, a quartet of artists who saw their NEA
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
funding cut off because of concerns of indecency. Other talents Ferguson claims have benefitted from IFUC backing including graffiti artist Barry McGee
Barry McGee
Barry McGee is a painter and graffiti artist. He is also known by monikers such as Ray Fong, Lydia Fong, Bernon Vernon, P.Kin, Ray Virgil, Twist and further variations of Twist, such as Twister, Twisty, Twisto and others.-Life and career:McGee graduated from El Camino High School in South...
(a.k.a. "Twist") and installation artist Joe Mangrum. Ferguson states that The Institute helped launch the Punk Rock Orchestra, a San Francisco Bay Area music group which performs orchestral arrangements of punk rock classics.