Dying by social sway
Scrolling through Facebook and Instagram, I’m a bit horrified to see that most artists seem to be trying to make their money and fame by doing what people in the media claim is valid for art. I see very little pushing the limits or trying to bring attention to things that are outside of the social norms. And I don’t mean that they need to be gross or sexual or discriminating or hateful. Not all. That isn’t art either. It’s just that people’s art looks very safe right now.
If everyone is applauding everything you’re doing, perhaps you aren’t doing art.
This statement isn’t meant to be a perfect statement of fact, but instead one to think about. Just step back and analyze yourself and the art that you’ve been creating lately. Are you creating for the applause and the likes? Honesty is the best policy here. No one is around you in your thoughts as you read this to judge you. There are times that I’ve been persuaded to write what others say I should write, create characters according to what is or isn’t acceptable right now. Thankfully I’ve never gotten very far with those and never bothered to continue in that vein. It’s easy to go down he easy road of pleasing everyone and getting a book that ends up on Opera’s book club list because it makes them all happy, but as creative people we should daily question whether we are making our art to make society comfortable and happy, or if we are creating our art to make us happy even if it makes society uncomfortable.
Most artists are not accepted by society in their lifetime.
Of course, it’s always nice to have people accept your art while you’re alive, but my point is that you shouldn’t be making your art from the desire to be famous to people who are so wishy-washy. Let’s face it, the social media mob is willing to cancel an artist when they don’t do exactly as they say. And they are such fickle fans that they are swayed by something new and shiny next month and leave you behind in an instant because suddenly they find you boring.
Basing your art or creativity on fickle fans will eventually lead to burnout of the artist or worse: a loss of yourself completely. Remember that creatives have a purpose within them to create things. Be it paintings or sculptures or books or dresses. When their creativity starts to be dictated by someone or something other than what is inside of them, they can fall apart. And falling apart will lead to the world not receiving the art it needs to survive the hardships.
202 artist soul
We have moved so far away from the soul of being an artist and into only doing what society tells us is the top issue, the top concern, the thing we are supposed to be creative about. True artists are usually called to be on the outskirts of society and push the boundaries. That typically means that artists are not welcomed by the main stream society until much later on.
2020 has been an odd year. Much of the years leading up to this year have been about conforming to what the loudest people in society are screaming about. Not that there aren’t times that the loudest people don’t have a point, but many times the hysteria is just a distraction for many artist.
The fact is that not every person is created with the passion to focus on the same thing as their neighbor. And not every artist is created to comment on the same thing in society that the news is.
And that’s OK.
Never ever should an artist criticize another artist for focusing on something that others are not focusing on. We should understand that each artist has eyes and ears for something and it might not be the same thing as their neighbor. Artists, above all, should understand that every artist has a different passion. Artists should understand that they can work together in harmony while still having different points of passion or societal criticism. The fact that an artist must hide their address because she works with bringing light to Jewish issues because the mainstream right now is focusing on injustice for the black community is a signal of a breakdown in the art community. It is possible for each artist to work on their passions at the same time. And it is not necessary for each artist to have the same passion.
But ART itself is necessary
Especially when times are tough, art is necessary. Life is about fully living, not just making it from day to day. Art is part of the life experience that makes one feel ALIVE, like they have experienced something to the fullest. Going to a ballet, or opera, museum or taking a painting class, reading a new book or listening to music, is all what makes life enjoyable. Some say that we can live without all this stuff. I say, that isn’t living. That is scraping your human flesh from one day to the next.
So make true art by being true to yourself!
Challenge
Take a few days away from social media and the news and the television. Immerse yourself in silence or being outside. Take a moment to really feel your feet on the ground in the morning. Take your cup of coffee and feel the heat seeping through the walls of the mug. Purposefully go somewhere different than where you go every day ie: warehouse, vintage market, museum, woods, abandoned areas, etc. Stand in the middle and take time to SEE. Then close your eyes and take time to LISTEN. Touch and feel and much as you can. Be present in that different space and see what starts spinning on the creative side of your brain. Take that spinning and put it to use in your art.