Just add 'Art Patron' to the list of notable accomplishments that stage & screen actor, writer, director and producer Barbara Sicuranza has under her creative hat.  Along with her husband Chris Stein, guitarist & songwriter for the band Blondie (and an accomplished multimedia artist in his own right), Ms. Sicuranza has built a diverse and impressive art collection that includes contemporary art, historical antiquities and popular culture memorabilia.  Her impeccable eye for the cutting-edge, unusual and the new have been cultivated by her long involvement in the downtown New York City visual and performing arts scenes.  United Creators was privileged to chat with Barbara Sicuranza to get her insight on contemporary art.  
 
1. What kind or artist or artwork do you gravitate towards?  The stark raving mad, almost exclusively. I'm kidding, sort of.  
 
2. What venues do you explore to discover new artists? The streets, walls... in or outdoors.  Occasionally I'll stagger into a gallery.
 
3. Has the internet made it easier for art patrons to discover new artists?  Would you ever purchase artwork online?  Of course, I have bought art online.  It's everywhere you look: Craigslist, Google, sitting on the dock of eBay...  It's out there, it's available and people are just starting to put their finger on it.  Only a fraction of people are exploring it, but it's coming.  The potential for more control over the creation, distribution and shared appreciation of our own art is exciting.  Yeah, I'd would like to see a greater spectrum of all art online, oh, and of greater quality while we're at it.  Sing it with me; "Don't dream it, be it"...

 4. How much does 'art-as-investment' factor into your art purchasing?  Less than zero.  I have to want to live with it.  Though now with the kids, I do think more about preservation.    
 
5. What advice would you give to a new artist in becoming more visible to attract the attention of discerning art patrons?  Go naked to your friends' openings. Make your own celebrity pornos. Mandatory street art.  Seriously, I have no idea what the best way to get your work seen is.  I think you have to do what your soul compels you to do.  >>>(more)

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