Don’t you feel like everyone in America is a failed creative person? Yeah, that’s because we are.
- Some of us are writers.
- Some of us are artists.
- Some of us can knit like mofos.
We sing. We dance. We paint. Then we get a real job as police officers, plumbers, and receptionists. We feed our kids and pay our mortgages — and we turn our art into a hobby.
*
Do you want to be an anchorwoman? Love musical theater? Are you interested in sculpture?
Pursue those passions and be prepared to live the life of an artist, which is complete with crushing disappointment and poverty. Happiness comes in alternative ways, and you will work twice as hard for every single penny you earn.
It’s brutal and awesome in its own ways.
*
Want to buy stuff at the mall, have an apartment/house without cockroaches, and pay your cell phone bill?
- Solve a problem.
- Meet a customer’s need.
- Build something.
That’s how money is earned in middle-class America.
*
Very few people can be creative and make money. Be happy you have natural talents and abilities, cultivate your craft when you have the opportunity, but don’t tell yourself that you are too brilliant and talented for a traditional job.
You aren’t.
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Amen, sister.
I have a doctorate in music. Yes, you read that right. And I want to teach at the college level. Being an HR Manager pays better. HA!
I’m stilling looking for the ideal teaching job and I’m willing to take a significant pay cut to do what I love, but you are right, you have to sacrifice to do what you love.
*Note, I will still get paid well, so “sacrifice” has a different meaning. But a doctorate costs money – BIG money – so any extra income is going to student loans for the next 27 years.
Dude, you are dead on. Art and creativity is awesome, but sometimes you have to choose between feeding your soul and feeding your belly.
I love stand up. I’m passionate about it, I am a student of it, and if I say so myself, I’m quite good at it. The statistical probability that I’ll make a living that feeds my other dreams, not so high. It’s a flooded marketplace and unless you are a top .5% performer, your hustling day in and day out (did you know that that even the big long term acts in Vegas have to four wall? They don’t get a salary, they pay their own advertising and they hope for the best).
HR, although it can be emotionally draining, pays the bills and lets me do the things that I enjoy, such as having the ability to perform stand up on my schedule and to not do it for the money. It also lets me have a family life and travel, two of my other passions.
Art is great, artists are great, but I love the flexibility a day job gives me.
I am glad that Georgia O’Keefe, Thomas Edison and J.K. Rowling followed the beat of a different drum…
For most of my life, I have followed your philosophy. I found myself no more fulfilled or wealthy than I currently am as I ponder the transition to becoming a full-time artist.
Indeed, if you choose to seek the life of an artist, you must suffer the consequences and choices that go along with it. I am often bemused by people who say, “I wish I could paint like that!” I want to say, “No you don’t,” because when you can, you must, and the compulsion takes away from other things that most people enjoy in their lives.
If you ask me, we have missplaced our priorities in our world. We value the almighty dollar and creature comforts more than we do the efforts of those whose creativity brings cultural change and true progress to the world. Instead of sapping the creativity of those who have the gift, why not support it by collaborating with them, and helping them with the the things that they are less versed in?
I look at my brother-in-law Mark, who is the most diligent money manager around. When others say to me, “I wish I could paint like that!” I think, “I wish I could manage money like Mark!” I sometimes think, if we could combine the creativity of artists and the practical diligence of people like Mark, how amazing would our world be?
I doubt that I will ever have the practical wisdom to run a business like I should to really promote my artwork. Yet I am getting out there with some surprising success. Imagine if someone decided to collaborate their business skill with my creative imagery in a way that was non-exploitive on both sides and mutually beneficial–How phenomenal would that be?
In the meantime, I’d love to paint a pic of Scrubby…
BZ
You are spot on, Laurie.
I’m trying to do both – working and living my passion – but it comes at a price. It demands more hours to do both. I hardly sleep on days when I stretch myself too much. But the end result really is the sense of fulfillment of doing what you really love.
I can repay sleep debt on weekends, anyway.
I am mediocre in the business world. I don’t understand business. I’m in recruiting because I’m good with people, and seem to have a knack for it, and I’m learning what I need to along the way. I like what I do – a LOT. That being said, I’m not living any sort of American dream. I don’t own a home, I don’t have (much of) a savings, etc. Sign of the times, or sign of my life? Who knows.
I am a kick-ass singer. But no one ever said, “You CAN.” In the world I grew up in, you went to college and got a sensible job. But then, no one gave me guidance as to what to study, what to learn. No one advised me to take an Econ class or a Biz 101 class. So I graduated with a Sociology degree and a bunch of useless electives to my name.
I stayed a dreamer in my head. No one told me to get my head out of the clouds. As long as I had a solid B average, it was all good. But I came out of it all with no direction, but yet knowing that I could never pursue my dreams because it’s not practical.
I sing a lot of karaoke. It’s fun for me. I get a lot of compliments; a lot of “you should go pro!” and “you should be on American Idol” – but, I’m way too old for that now. So I smile and say thank you, but wonder what could have been, if someone had given me the encouragement and help along the way when I was young enough to take those risks.
I turn 34 this Friday, so this kind of stuff has been on my mind alot lately.
I’ve never minded having a regular job (and certainly don’t believe I’m too brilliant for one), but I’ve been a professional artist for about 15 years, and it’s typically earned me six figures annually.
These things:
* Solve a problem.
* Meet a customer’s need.
* Build something.
and creative expression do not live at two different ends of the spectrum.
I’ve always thought–and have always told young people–that that myth of tortured/starving artist is just that. MYTH. If you believe it, it’s true.
I’ve never believed it.
I whole-heartedly agree with Elise!!
I went to school for Fine Art, Graphic Design, Illustration — and have had professional experience in all of it. I’ve worked at dream jobs (Architectural Digest), (not so dream, but paid the bills– no wait, it was a dream job, I admit)– Art Director at a porn magazine, worked in mural painting (italian), worked as an “Art Dog” – art department on many indie movies (my first being “The Room”, which is turning into a cult favorite — touted as “the best-worst film ever made).
Just recently, I decided I wanted to focus and pursue more of my Fine Art (paintings, sculpture) and just put that thought in my head– and the next thing I knew I had a sponsor, leads, etc. As it turned out– the sponsor was a raving, greedy SOB who wanted ROI immediately!! (sorry, takes a while to get a reputation and connections to galleries)— If I was gay (no offense) I could have slept around with MANY gallery owners, curators and the like to get a “foot in the door” (no pun intended), and then???? Economic Crisis!! Yea!!! Art Market goes to crap!!! Oh well— gotta start from square one again!!!
I love working in recruiting and staffing because I’ve never gotten more thank you’s and positive feedback from clients and candidates from any other job other than recruiting. When you get someone their dream job (or any job sometimes), they are so appreciative– better than a smug art director giving you the “satisfactory” look on their face at deadline, that’s for sure.
The moral to the story is– pursue your dreams and start them now!! As soon as you put the idea out there?? The world opens up wider than you think.
You ever see that South Park episode with the Underpants Gnomes? Their business model goes like this:
Phase 1: Collect underpants
Phase 2: ?
Phase 3: Profit
I believe that a huge part of the difference between those who fail at creative careers and those who succeed is that the latter have come to terms with the existence of Phase 2.
A lot of people seem shocked to learn that a creative career still requires all the same elements of business and commerce as any other career. In other words, it requires more than just picking up an instrument and expressing yourself, it requires lots of hard, tedious work and many compromises.
It’s like Laurie says, people pay other people to solve problems. Now, there are lots of problems that can be solved with art – people will be willing to pay you to entertain them with a song, for example, or brighten up their apartment with a painting.
But nobody is going to pay you to play the music that you want to play or express yourself through painting simply because you like it. The only person whose problem you’re solving in that case is you.
But many people seem to have this idealized notion of what a “Creative career” is, that it’s all fun and dancing and sunshine and sparkles. And when it turns out it’s not – i.e., when they run into the big gaping hole in their plan left by their ignorance of Phase 2 – then the whole thing falls apart. Or their passion turns into a hobby and they get a boring job and get angry about having a boring job that prevents them from spending more time on their hobby.
Someone should write a career-advice book (or better, a blog) on Phase 2. You could even call it “Phase 2″. Maybe I’ll do it. That’s it, I’m quitting my stable job and pursuing my hobby as a writer!
Phase 1: Start blog
Phase 2: ?
Phase 3: Profit
@MattyMat – Dude, you worked on The Room, Awesome. It’s the Rocky Horror of the 21st century. Where you involved with the odd framed pictures? What was Tommy Wiseau like? I’ve heard him recently saying he set out to make a dark comedy, but I’m not sure that was the intention, as my experience is that it is unintentionally funny.
True insanity. I’m not really sure what lineage of links brought me to this blog, but it has been awhile since I was so thoroughly repulsed.
People reading blogs for career advice obviously don’t value their time much, but it’s hard to wrap my head around the notion that you’d prefer your readers care so little about their lives that they should forget about doing what they enjoy, lest they earn your ridicule as a *GASP* poooooor person.
How twisted is it that you’ve co-opted proletariat and anti-authoritarian iconography and language to create a stage on which you attempt to coerce readers that no individual is above sucking off the elite employment overlords that give us all just enough pittance to “buy stuff at the mall”.
What a genuine punk rock notion.
Also, I’m aware that this probably wont make it past your comment moderation. Comments like this aren’t good for selling speaking arrangements, after all. As long as the author reads it, I’m comfortable with that.
The surest sign of failure in most cases is believing you’re “above” something – other people, a regular jobs, etc. For every person convinced of their own wonderfulness who succeeds, there’s legions of failures.
I’m a firm believer in using hobbies, art, creativity, etc. on the job – my passions led me to where I am now (an It career that led me to working in video games). However, that was basically a lot of hard work, awareness, and growth – and it never ends.
I do see a strange dichotomy with people’s passions – they alternate between giddy excitement and the crushing feeling they’ll never live them. Both are illusions – hard work to apply what you like and what you’re good at is the solution. You have to commit to it and make it work – and be aware of the MANY ways one can succeed.
@Ian: I agree on your assessment. I meet lots of people who either forget #2 OR give up in that #2 seems to hard as opposed to powering through.
I’d also note that there’s a thread here that success requires doing something for others. That’s also an important part of success – if you don’t take pleasure in doing something others want, you’ll lose out. Appreciating that you CAN do something that others like (and get paid for it), can make life more fulfilling.
Some interesting thoughts here…
“But nobody is going to pay you to play the music that you want to play or express yourself through painting simply because you like it. The only person whose problem you’re solving in that case is you.”
Must creative people resolve only to create what satisfies an existing taste or desire or function? If so, would anyone have ever created Microsoft, Apple or Twitter? Would we have ever had Punk Rock or Pop Art?
“* Solve a problem.
* Meet a customer’s need.
* Build something.
and creative expression do not live at two different ends of the spectrum.”
I agree with this–you can be creative and meet the needs of a customer, sometimes before they even realized that they needed it, by building something new and previously unrealized.
I am not shocked that “a creative career still requires all the same elements of business and commerce as any other career.” I am, however, dismayed that exceptionally talented people can go nowhere because their personalities and skills do not fit with the established marketplace. Yes, there are talented folks who can have an oar in both ponds, but many do not. Should the world lose out on the benefit of their talents? Should highly talented people just slip into obscurity and allow only business savvy folks to be the creative force in the world?
Call me an idealist, but I think the establishment of the marketplace could use a little reconsideration of the tendency to push artists into conformity, which is totally opposite of the notion of “creativity”. I am not expecting the marketplace to embrace flakey artists who hole up in their studios, waste their brains on substances and expect the resulting canvases to be considered masterpieces. I am only suggesting some partnership, where talents and skills are exchanged. Is that too much to ask for? If so, then why are artists bringing forgotten downtowns back from obscurity all over the world? We are doing our part to bring economies back–where’s the quid pro quo?
BZ
@Nick L – It’s called GETTING BY. Most of us are not giving up what we love to be able to take our 6th vacation of the year or to buy a new Beemer. Most of us do it so we can put food on the table, keep a roof over our heads, and hopefully not sink (further) into debt. Being practical sometimes has to be a priority. Times are tough, haven’t you heard?
I personally hate corporate BS, and most of the employment-related blogs that I come across piss me off to no end. I understand the annoyance, believe me. But the other side of the elitest coin, the indier-than-thou attitude that is coming from your comment isn’t really making me feel all warm and fuzzy either.
@HRPufnStuf Thanks– it was my very first film project, and it was shot in a small, cramped back warehouse (the grips were going nuts from day one) of a camera store on Highland & Santa Monica Blvd in Hollywood CAL.
Ahhh… Tommy!! First day, he shows up at the production meeting looking like he’s sweating from too much cocaine… funny, but a red flag none-the-less. I did pretty much everything on set, but was Prop Master for the better part of shooting, so yes, the odd framed pictures were my doing (hey– it was my first project!) I was also in charge of the famous (and/or infamous) football that was being thrown around indiscriminately— talk about keeping that thing in the right place every frikkin’ shot!! We were in charge of the “big green screen”, with all the editing mistakes done in post. All the pillows, furniture, doors (GOD THE DOORS!!!!) and every accessory prop there’s a story behind it. And whenever Tommy would need us, he’d yell “Awwwwt Depawwwwtment!!” We’d laugh about that while we were working through those 18hr days and 7 shot Red-eyes. He never told anyone where he was from, so that was the running gag trying to figure that out— He always looked like a polish guy trying to pass as an egyptian armenian disco patron or something?? Also– if he was gay or not (in the morning, he’d always roll up in his mercedes with the lead actor— hmmmm…. curiouser & curiouser??).
Anyway– to answer the “dark comedy” excuse Tommy has drummed up for better sales, it was definitely supposed to be serious on Tommy’s part— but he wanted full control over everything (writer, director, producer, actor)… and everyone knew he was just SO BAD!!! As much as everyone’s laughing in the theatre, is how much we were laughing on set— the funniest filmshoot ever– but still frustrating for learned professionals, which brings me to my next point.
Just so you know, and can tell all your friends, just about everyone working with Tommy quit! The reason the films shot pretty well is Tommy got a very good french cinematographer to shoot the majority of it— he walked off. The grips, lighting crew walked because of payment issues, art department walked because our Production Designer, Mercedes, was being hassled by Tommy, basically out of disrespect that “I, Tommy Wiseau, will not be told what to do by a woman!!” Tommy asked me to stay on set, but I felt obligated to go with the crew, so I left as well. All in all, a good experience, a great memory.
btw– have you seen Tommy’s guest appearance on “Tim and Eric’s Awsome Show, Good Job!”? Tommy plays “Pig Man” and does a parody of his “Room” role! Classic!!
@MeredithElaine – What part of that do you consider practical, exactly? For me, having to spend the far majority of my waking hours forcing myself to do things that I statistically probably hate, just to be able to afford the basic necessities of life (the roof, the food, etc.) seems like a pretty impractical lifestyle.
After I posted that comment, the author of the post sent me an email that boiled down to saying she kinda/sorta gets my point, but that there’s a choice for all of us where we can either be “victimized by corporatized special interests[...] or [we] can own the system and make it work to [our] advantage”. When viewed through the lens you’ve presented, in which you have to do things you don’t like so you can pay to survive (literally), that doesn’t really feel like a choice to me.
It’s a bizarre system where we’ve been so thoroughly screwed by the moneyed portion of society that we read, write and comment on blogs about how great our shitty jobs are and how to get a better one that gives nothing more back to you than the ability to consume more useless stuff and watch bigger and brighter TV screens.
You’re right, times are tough. The reason that is so is because the working class has ceded so many of the decisions about the types of lives we live to corporations that we have no recourse when things go wrong. If you get fired from your bad job, instead of having spent your time developing the ability to live off the things you like doing, you’re forced to beg anyone to let you do the things you hate for even less.
I’m able to do what I love for a small, economically sustainable business where I can be creative, have a reasonable parity of resources with people I work with and for, and be generally happy in my working situation while not feeling enslaved. It’s hard to imagine, but it’s not hard to do. If the rest of the population would demand the same, rather than taking whatever little is offered to us, we would hate what we do and who we work for a lot less, if we even required those conditions.
The systematic disempowerment of the collective working class is another sick symptom of the messed up system I’m referring to. I think that blogs like this only encourage that system.
I had a similar blog moment yesterday about how the world is full of ballerinas. But, we can’t all just dance
Nick – here’s my email to you. I loved it for it’s contrary point of view, not because I believed you are sorta right.
Best,
Laurie
*
I loved your comment and it’s going up ASAP.
I’ll address your comment on the blog. I’m a big believer in art, music, writing, etc., but I’m also a big believer in getting paid and having health insurance.
The system is fucked up. You can either be victimized by corporatized special interests — which many artists are — or you can own the system and make it work to your advantage. Most people overestimate their natural talents and abilities, and I don’t think it is very punk rock to be a starving and dependent artist.
More on the blog, but thanks for writing!
- Laurie
@Amy2 I think your doctorate is awesome. I think it’s awesome you make good money. Here’s what I say to most people: a job is a job. When it crushes your soul, it’s time to move on. In the meanwhile, get paid and love music. You can do both, and you are a good example of that.
@HRPuf I wonder why people think being an artist and being a job can’t mutually co-exist? I think they can.
@BZTat I’m glad, too, but many traditional artists are sick, homeless, and poor. Furthermore, many are discovered after death. I love artists, but the life isn’t for everyone. The hipster idealization of ‘artist’ really bothers me. Also, I’d love for you to paint a pic of Scrubby. Just send me one of Brew!
@mari I love how you’re doing both. You can sleep when you’re dead.
@ME I just turned 34 and I reinvented my life. I’m doing Punk Rock HR — but for many years, I opted out of being punk rock and lived a life of suburban housewife and a Corporate America schmuck. You can be a singer and work. You can do both. I’m doing it.
@Nick 1. You’re wrong. You made it. 2. It’s not punkrock to live a hipster lifestyle, siphon off donors/contributors/parents, and claim an allegiance to your art. I’m anti-consumerism, but I’m also a realist. Iggy Pop, Mick Jagger, Johnny Rotten, Debbie Harry, Chrissie Hynde, Henry Rollins, Ben Folds, Rivers Cuomo, The Beastie Boys, Paul McCartney — all musical idols, to some extent, and all astute businesspeople. There’s nothing wrong with that.
@Elise You are my hero.
@MattyMat If you were gay? If? What? Whoa, you are so gay. Quit denying it and get busy selling your (ahem) art.
@Ian Phase 1: Start blog
Phase 2: ?
Phase 3: Profit If you write this book, I will buy it. Seriously. Also, I have not seen that episode of South Park. How is that possible?
@Steven I love that you work in the video game industry. That’s an art, a science, it’s technical, and it’s creative. There’s PR, communications, marketing, finance, and HR involved in creating a video game. Also, there’s fun. It’s the perfect form of art & business combined.
@Nick The systematic disempowerment of the collective working class is another sick symptom of the messed up system I’m referring to. I think that blogs like this only encourage that system. You’ve read one post of mine and you make such bold assumptions. I’m pro-union, pro-EFCA, and I believe in shopping locally and behaving in responsible, sustainable ways. I also believe that human brains will atrophy if we don’t work. So get to work, Nick. If you find an employer that acts irresponsibly, fuck them. Expose them. Organize against them. Or leave and opt out to build a better, stronger, kinder business model. Just don’t leave comments on a blog and pretend like you’re a populist hero.
I rarely post on blogs, especially HR blogs, which I never read. This one I enjoy because it is, well, creative. Little did I know that posting here would lead to 15 emails in my inbox!
Although I posted counter points, I cannot say I disagree with anything anyone here has said. I battle the “hipster” stereotype all the time, as well as the “tortured soul” BS that many of my fellow artists spew to justify irresponsibility, addiction and neuroses. Anyone who knows me knows that I am anything but hip, and my primary career is being a clinical counselor. HA!
The other side of the coin is that many very talented people have much creative potential to offer the world, yet their lack of business acumen keeps it from getting any traction. I have a marketable talent, I believe, yet need the support of others with the business sense to get it marketed. I am offering a solution that seems to have been unheard here–partnering artists with business people so that both can benefit from the exchange, and both can feel a sense of creative fulfillment. It is the concept of interdependence–we work together for mutual interest and benefit, which is good for everybody.
Gotta love your nerve Laurie! “If you find an employer that acts irresponsibly, fuck them. Expose them. Organize against them. Or leave and opt out to build a better, stronger, kinder business model.” Been there, done that. Have 6 former employer T-Shirts that I use as paint rags to show for it. That is why I am not only a starving artist, but also a starving therapist.
Did you know that public mental health care reimbursements have not been raised since 1997? Don’t even get me started on the state of healthcare in this country…
Nick–I agree with some of your remarks, but the tone is a little bothersome. Follow Laurie a bit more and you will see that you may have judged her unfairly. I find her ideas on many issues beyond HR to be provocative and intriguing, but more than anything, I appreciate her ability to spark such interesting dialogue. Keep it coming Laurie!
Now back to my painting…
BZ
@BZ -
“I am offering a solution that seems to have been unheard here–partnering artists with business people so that both can benefit from the exchange, and both can feel a sense of creative fulfillment.”
I believe that’s called an “agent”
Amen, sistah! I am so sick of the Oprah mentality in this country that we’re all destined to a Life Purpose that then gets defined as making a fine living off one’s passion. Enough already.
Maybe my Life Purpose is to make my way through the world without abusing other people. Maybe my Life Purpose is to love my family and to make a difference in someone’s day just by hanging up my freaking cell phone and taking an interest in the person making my coffee or sitting next to me at work.
I think that “Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow” is complete bollocks. I know effing brilliant writers who’ve worked at their craft for years without a single book deal, yet I’ve spent more money than I care to ponder on crappy books that could have been written by my 6 year-old goddaughter. I have a relative who has followed his passion his whole life, only worked on the projects he felt fulfilled his creativity, and now he’s calling all the relatives asking them if he can borrow money because he can’t pay his bills. Boo on him.
I don’t understand this notion that once we identify our Life Purpose, then the “universe” will respond to us. How mind-bogglingly self-centered to think that God/the universe/whatever-you-believe-in is a vending machine just waiting on your desire. I’m sure people living in Darfur or other desperate locales are putting their souls into desiring the right to live and eat in peace, so I’m hardly going to believe that I’m going to make a living following my creative bliss because I focus all my energy on it.
Some people do follow their passion and make a good living. Some people follow their passion their entire lives, yet still have to hold down a day job to pay their bills. C’est la vie, dudes. It’s called being a grown up. The trick is finding your happiness through the choices you do make and being proactive enough to change what isn’t working instead of falling prey to self-pity and waiting for a rescue.
And then you have to make sure you are spending some free time doing those fabulous things that really engage your soul/intellect/whatever tickles your fancy. I’d call that a pretty awesome life.
With all due respect, Ian, I think that is a bit old school. An agent isn’t really a partner. An agent is someone who treats you as a commodity. I am talking about people entering into entrepreneurial relationships where both are equal, just fulfilling different roles.
BZ
@Laurie
The gaming industry in many ways embodies the idea of being artsy/creative/cool and being business oriented. One has to definitely be talented and business-aware to be able to do the “cool thing.” It’s worth it, but it takes a lot of work.
As a PM, it is the most challenging job I’ve had. you note that many successful artists are successful business people, and I think one needs those other skills to be a successful person in a creative industry.
As I said awhile ago – Geeky/creative jobs are HARD: http://www.fantopro.com/blog/2009/07/geeky-jobs-are-hard.html
@BT – I think I see what you mean – but doesn’t that just depend on the agent? Maybe if you’re an artist who’s associated with a larger agency (or, for example, a record company) you wind up as a commodity, but that’s a product of disparate financial leverage. If you want a relationship where both parties are a little more equal, don’t you just have to find someone who’s part of a smaller organization (or a freelance/solo agent)? Or, as you put it, an entrepreneur? Then, of course, you limit your marketability, since in the arts world, bigger agencies mean bigger markets.
What do you think of this: replace long-term agents with temporary marketing consultants who train artists to market themselves?
Laurie, you sure know how to generate great conversation.
I like the “be what you are” philosophy, and I have been fortunate in my career as people recognized “what I are” and gave me opportunities to develop that. And I was kicking and screaming all the way. No self-respecting engineer makes the conscious choice to join HR, right?
I love music and theater, my wife and I met (believe this or not) playing the romantic leads in a community theater production of “Anything Goes”. Following your talents on many fronts can be rewarding. My life is great because I’ve been able to hear all my muses.
Tim
@Ian–I like the concept better. Truthfully, though, I do not like the way that the “artworld” is set up in the first place.
Artists are developing a new paradigm for the entire art market so that we are becoming less dependent upon galleries, agents and corporate America to get our work seen or heard. Through technology, we can get our work seen and heard more quickly by a less elite and more vast public, and we are no longer reliant on the arts bourgeois to make a career. Through websites, blogs and social media, artists are making an amazing stand for controlling their creative content without the middle men/women.
I have had my work seen all over the world in a matter of months through the wonders of Twitter, where it had barely been seen in my own community until recently. Twitter, amazingly, has played to my creativity, and it has leveled the playing field. I can get as much notice as the next woman or man out there. And I can insert myself into the conversation on the most unexpected blogs… He He!
But how to capitalize on that? Artists need folks who can help them construct the nuts and bolts of a business. We need partners who can do the accounting, the record-keeping and the business planning. Having marketable talents, but few resources to sink into paying consultants and accountants, it seems to me that workable partnerships could be arranged between artists and folks who enjoyed those aspects of business.
I admire artists like Elise who are able to succeed in both the business and artistic aspects of a creative career, but most artists are not like that. Is there not some way that we can have our talents realized, despite our deficiencies in business-mindedness?
Millions of dollars are donated to “support the arts” programs in communities around the world. Do you really want to support the arts in your community? Then develop a small business incubator for artists. That’s what we need. We don’t want handouts. We just want legitimate and effective support. And we give back, too. Best way to redevelop a blighted area in a community is to bring the artists in. Develop a thriving arts district in your town and before you know it, you have an attraction that draws people from all over to a place where no one wanted to go a few years earlier.
Sorry Laurie, for using your blog as my soapbox…
BZ
“no individual is above sucking off the elite employment overlords”
I don’t want to suck off the elite employment overlord.
I want to BE the elite employment overlord. That’s where the real money is.
@BZ I love that you’re here — and furthermore, that you’re waging an awesome war of ideas! You rock.
@H Aria Obviously you’ve never heard of the law of attraction and the secret. I get 1000 spam messages a day from people who want to teach me to believe in myself so I can make stuff happen. If you build it, they will come. Believe in yourself and it will happen. Also, I can see Alaska from my house.
@Steven YEAH! I want to learn more about the gaming industry just for fun. You can be my guide!
@TimG I love Anything Goes and that’s an awesome, romantic story.
@class You are an evil SOB and welcome here anytime. Awesome.
@BZ/Ian Soapboxes = ok. Respectful disagreement = good. No probs.
I wonder what @NickL’s suggestion for an alternative system is? Dismantle the corporations and have the economy comprise a network of small businesses and sole-proprietorships?
I also wonder who your clients are, Nick, and how many degrees of separation there actually are between you and an “elite employment overlord”.
@Nick L – Um, the practical part is being able to stay in my home, eat a couple meals a day, take care of the general necessities of life and maybe have a little left over for some small-scale fun along the way. I’d rather not risk being out on the streets and hungry.
Another practical part for me is realizing that the arts is a VERY tough area to be successful in. Not everyone has the know-how or resources to be able to make it. I sure don’t. I recognize that, and I’m lucky to have found an industry that I enjoy working in. And then I do my singing and writing as a hobby. I never said that I was in a job that I hate. I know that not everyone is as lucky as I in that respect; I know that many people ARE in jobs that they hate, when they’d rather be doing something else. I still say it’s a matter of you-gotta-do-what-you-gotta-do. Not everyone is willing to take such a huge risk.
You go on and on about the system. And yes, it sucks. But right now a lot of us don’t have a choice to do anything about it. I admire the people who, again, have the know-how and resources to say f*** the system to do their own thing. You said that you are “able to do what you love…” – and I salute you for that. I just think don’t think that the overwhelming majority IS able. You have to have a certain mind-set, and a certain level of ability – not just artistically, but business as well.
And yes, it sucks “giving up” your dreams, but hopefully, those who end up doing so, are somehow able to channel their creativity somewhere, somehow. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses, abilities and limitations, and trying to reconcile it all – that’s practical.
@Laurie–You can see Alaska from your house??? Can you see Russia too? The Brew is incredibly jealous of his bro. Scrubby. Are you going to run for president someday? He’d really like to have a first cat in the White house…
BZ
@Ian I think Nick is gone. I wish he’d stay. I have plenty of people who vehemently hate what I write and stick around, anyway, for the fun of being contrarian and meeting cool people who read this blog. Nick will be missed. Sorta.
@MeredithElaine I still have a dream to do the weather on TV. Honest to god, I’m not even messing around, that’s a goal of mine. I’m not giving up — although I have no idea how to make it happen since I know nothing about weather, science, clouds, or whatnot. I just like the green screen and weather is fun.
@BZ OMG, I meant Russia. So funny — I’m officially ditzier than Sarah Palin.
@Laurie – OMG, me too. I kinda used to watch The Weather Channel obsessively as a kid. I wanted to be a meteorologist so bad, and let people know when the hurricanes were coming, etc.
@ME We. Are. Twins.
Ok.. ok…OK!! I’m officially out of the closet!! (my eyes are still adjusting….. ok… hmmmm….)
Hey wait a minute!!— you wanted the truth about working and striving to reach your artistic dreams at the same time— and the f*cked-up compromise’s that have to be made. Laurie… there are thousands of great “starving” artists out there and the reality of the art world is, whether people want to deny it or not, what compromises are you willing to take and how far you’re willing to go to get to your goal. I wasn’t willing to take that particular path, (ahem) thank you. (and it happened WAY more than once– I was like “here we go again!”)
The bare naked truth really does f*ckin’ suck sometimes, doesn’t it??
The vast majority of the art created during the Rennisance was painted at the behest of, and to the specifications, of patrons. Davinci was brilliant, but the art he painted for patrons was what paid the bills – all of his other stuff was done on the side to feed his “creative soul.” Don’t we still consider much of this art work to be the best the world has produced? But by the standards of many in the art world today, these great artists would be “sell-outs feeding the coroporate/public/money machine.”
I stopped taking art classes in college when my professor gave me a bad grade for painting something “pretty.” And my creative writing teacher once tried to insult my short story by telling me and the class that the best thing she could say about it was that it was “marketable.” I said “thank you.” I’d rather eat than be “true to my art.”
)
You go Laurie!
@Totem
Yes! You’re so right, thanks for bringing that up. It’s the same with Dickens and Shakespeare. The Beatles got popular because of their marketing (in America at least, they were on a lunch box before they were on a stage). Even the Sex Pistols were (arguably) more a business model than a band. Good call!
@Ian & @Totem
Does that mean that, if it is the way it has always been, it is the way that it always shall be?
I do not disagree that artists need to find patrons and that they need to market themselves. I do think that we need to find ways, though, to make it more possible for artists to do that without sacrificing their individual vision, and I think that we need to recognize that a good marketer does not always make a good artist.
@ME @Laurie And here I thought you were frustrated artists…Turns out you’re frustrated weather girls!
BZ
@Totem–Been mulling your thoughts over a bit…
“The vast majority of the art created during the Renaissance was painted at the behest of, and to the specifications, of patrons.”
“But by the standards of many in the art world today, these great artists would be “sell-outs feeding the corporate/public/money machine.”
Ever heard of the famous artist Anonymous? Suspicions are that Anon was a woman…
Ever heard of any famous African American artists before the 20th century? Me either. Wonder why?
Seems that it all boils down to the “Haves” and “Have-nots”, or the ones with cultural advantage vs. those with none. Talent has nothing to do with it.
I have no quibble with the amazing genius of DaVinci, whose talent was so immense, even the damp tastes of his patrons could not suppress his virtuosity. It is sad to me, though, that there were others who were his contemporaries who did not have his advantages of connection to the “Establishment”. Women could not afford the oil paints and canvases in those days, much less could they afford to step out of their place in the kitchen. Imagine what our world may have been like if they had…
Should we just capitulate to the way that things are, or should we push for change in our culture?
In the context of this blog, and all matters practical in regards to employment and economic success, I am fighting a losing battle I presume. Yes, we all have our needs to get by and all cannot (and really should not) sacrifice their personal needs to change the system. But does that mean that we should assume that those who do make those sacrifices for their art are thinking that they are “too brilliant and talented for a traditional job” as Laurie suggested?
Totem, I heard the same criticisms that you did when I was in art school. I continue to hear it now, as I paint for commission and I do not buy into the Goth angst that is the art d’jour. I have a commitment to my vision, though, and although feedback is always given consideration, it does not stop me. I find that artists who are not selling their work tend to justify their lack of sales by calling those who do “sell-outs”.
I also have a traditional job, although over the past year have taken all kinds of risks by making that part time as I pursue developing my art career. You may all be saying “I told you so” soon.
I get back to my original point. Most artists, by virtue of excelling in right brain activities, are seriously lacking in the left brain skills that it takes to excel at business. How can we develop non-exploitative and non-disparate partnerships between artists and practical business folks so that artists, businesses and the entire cultural landscape can benefit from fresh creative vision?
You may call me a dreamer, but I’m not the only one…
And if anyone is wondering, I have paid my cell phone bill this month. Rent and truck payments are questionable though.
Shameless plug: http://www.artadventuresstudios.com
BZ
And thus my business was born. I do independent admin work and most of my clients are the little non-profit theatre companies I work with (techie/actor combo, preferably both in the same play). I’m like a temp agency without the agency. Awesome.
funny, we were just talking about something similar over at Waiting for the Muse…. I’m with BZ in that the creatives and business people just see each other as opposites and don’t realize that can help each other. I’m an artist as well as a creativity & PR consultant…. having worked freelance for many years now after leaving the media world (radio news in the mid 80s).
@mouse–would love to hear more about your business and how it works.
@Ann–How do we traverse the precipice?
BZTAT