There are plenty of ways to support local artists, and plenty of reasons to support them. Sri Whipple may need a little more support than most at the moment. ---

The Salt Lake City visual artist was the victim of a recent beating that left him with a fractured cheekbone and a pile of medical bills -- reportedly because Sri Whipple made the Good Samaritan "mistake" of trying to break up a fight. Because Whipple, like many visual artists, lacks health insurance, local musician Brad Wheeler has set up a website so that people in the community can help defray the cost of Whipple's medical expenses. In a message on the website from Wheeler himself, the artist offers to thank those who contribute with "a limited edition silk screen (most likely of my swollen mug)." That level of dark good humor about the situation is just one more reason to help him out.