For love or for money.

I was discussing the state of art schools with an ‘elder’, established Chicago sculptor recently. He is often asked to come to various schools to give a lecture about his work and his process. He said that in recent years, students are less interested in discussing the work and more interested to know how to get into galleries- how to sell it. I agree that there is generally far too little interest in the “meat” of creating the art and more interest in the commerce of art.

Making a living from art is really damn hard! It’s maybe not as difficult as being a poet (hehehe) but even the most successful visual artists supplement their incomes via other means. That might be teaching or doing something else in an art related field. Some may have patrons that “sponsor” their work, or give them stipends to work complete a body of work. But thats rare.

That is not to say that artists should not be interested in selling work. Bah! Of course it’s fantastic when art sells. I think that for emerging artists it is so much more important to keep commerce and art making separate. Time spent marketing half baked work could be better spent experimenting and developing perspective in the studio.

Over the years, I have compartmentalized my work. I have commission work, where the client hires me to do something specific. Then there is the work I do, because I have to do it , see it, work through it. That work I make and I may or may not show, may or may not sell. It is made because it needs to emerge from within, so I can see it. I do not want the pressure in my head when I am starting a piece -‘ooh, this better be good because I have to sell it to pay my rent’. I would rather be flipping burgers at the local greasy spoon.

When one looks at art, you can feel if the artist is trying to ‘please the market’ or if it is made with a different motivation. Much non commercial work makes many viewers uncomfortable- it is made to provoke or to ponder.

Who are you trying to please with your work? Do you want approval of your peers? Do you want to make a living from hashing out 10 paintings a year? But what motivates an artist to create? I believe that intent changes everything. The approach to creating, the point of view of the work, and drive behind it.