“What’s in a name?” The Art Guys® offer their registered trademark for sale! “...art has ceased to be an illusion; it has become an idea.” - Jean Baudrillard In another feat of audacity and wrongheaded wizardry, The Art Guys are offering their name for sale! For more than a quarter of a century, The Art Guys® have marketed themselves in an elaborate, ongoing meta-project meant to explore “not only commerce but the commerce in ideas." (Dave Hickey) Now, they are challenging all assumptions associated with themselves by offering to sell, and thus discard, their very name! On July 8, 2008, after a two year legal process, The Art Guys® successfully secured their registration mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Now, after 25 years of building the brand name of "The Art Guys", The Art Guys® are offering their name for sale and all legal rights associated with the ownership of the name "The Art Guys®." If sold, The Art Guys® will no longer use "The Art Guys" in association with their work. They will assume a new name with which to work. This new name will be selected from an open call to rename The Art Guys®. This new name will be selected by a third party who will be named at a later date.* The Art Guys are offering their name for $500,000 (U.S.) Included in the sale of this piece will be: -the official original notice from the United States Trademark Office -all legal rights and privileges associated with ownership of the name "The Art Guys®" -all legal documents and copies of all communications associated with securing the trademark -the original design and rights to use The Art Guys Logo -the original DBA forms from Harris County, Texas for The Art Guys® (1994, updated 2004) -original documents, designs and ephemera associated with "The Art Guys®" which may include and may not be limited to business cards, letterhead, stamps, seals, internet domain name, etc. Final decisions regarding artifacts to be included in this sale will be determined solely by The Art Guys®. Says Jack, ”It may seem like a simple, conceptual idea, but it's a huge risk for us. And $500,000 may seem like a lot of money for a trademark but if one divides that amount by 25 (the number of years we’ve collaborated) it works out to $20,000 a year. ‘The Art Guys’ name has certainly been worth that to us. Well, maybe not every year...” Says Mike, "After 25 years of tirelessly promoting the name and brand of 'The Art Guys,' we thought it would be funny, interesting, weird and very risky to just chuck it. It's as if we've been building this huge, elaborate joke for a quarter of a century and now we're saying, 'We were just kidding this whole time." It's a hell of a punch line if you think about it." *In 1993, The Art Guys® produced The Art Guys Logo Contest in which they solicited designs for the official Art Guys® logo in an open call worldwide. The winning logo (shown above, designed by artist Derek Boshier) was selected by Walter Hopps who acted as the judge for The Art Guys Logo Contest. The Art Guys will use a similar process to rename themselves if successful in selling their name. "What's in a name" is an official Art Guys Silver Jubilee event The Art Guys® 1983-2008 The Art Guys® America's Greatest Artists "25 years of collaboration, commitment, confustion." All materials © The Art Guys.TM. Unauthorized use prohibited.