It seems that National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) chairman Rocco Landesmann — not to be confused with Artforum publisher Knight Landesman — is a man of the people. The NEA has announced it is in need of a new logo and decided to launch an open call to designers to create its image.

According to the official call for proposals, the NEA hopes to find a logo that can works as a “reminder that art workers are real workers who are part of this country’s real economy.” Art workers “earn salaries, support families, [and] pay taxes,” the letter notes in its guidelines. (This sounds like a job for William Powhida.)

Latonca M. Harris, the federal contracting officer, writes in the introductory letter that the agency is looking for a logo that reminds viewers that the job of art is to “inspire, transport, and challenge.” Given the agency’s past flirtations with controversy — such as when grant-winner Andres Serrano earned the wrath of Jesse Helms for his somewhat self-explanatory Piss Christ (1987) — one is advised to “challenge” NEA judges only mildly.

Those interested in applying, can find more information on the NEA’s grant Web site. The deadline for proposals is February 26, 2010, at 5:00 p.m.