hey mom, sorry that I am going to do what I love for a living and not what you love for a living. maybe you’re right and I will wind up a starving artist, but hey, you’ve always made my meals so I’ll know where to come looking.
I AM going to make a living in the arts world, so gird your loins and get ready.
xoxoxo
— Move Over Mummy
This article appears in Nov 12-18, 2009.
As an adult you have the right to decide how to conduct your life. You don’t need your parents’ approval for your career choice.
And, real artists don’t pick their career because it annoys their parents. Real artist make art because they have to. And they do anything, including going to school and/or working boring day jobs, to make sure that can happen.
You probably already know that the arts are a difficult way to make a living, but the rewards for success can be spectacular.
Good luck, and make sure you take care of yourself physically, emotionally and financially.
I never understood why or how any parents could crush their children’s dreams of doing what they love, no matter how old their kids are. It’s like not accepting that your kids are gay, or love someone from a different race, your children do not have a responsibilty to make YOU happy.
Some people’s parents!
That’s fine…but don’t be thinkin’ you’re gonna sit back on welfare benefits paid by my tax dollars while you make your driftwood cows/sing your angry-grrl songs/paint with a sponge…
I had a chick tell me that she’d ‘starve for her art’ once. Her trust fund paid the rent and filled the belly, but I’m sure she meant what she said.
I sold out and took the money. now I hate waking up every work day and loath the fact that I spend all my free time enjoying it (since it is very scant) rather than jobhunt.
I’m not sure if I’d rather be happy but living in a van down by the river with creditors and the gubment hounding me for payments… or able to afford housing and hate living.
“It’s like not accepting that your kids are gay”
WHAT!!!???? Now why the fuck should that matter?? lorilulu, YOU are a fucking moron…..
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I totally read that post wrong lorilulu
SORRY!!!!!!!
My bad…..I agree with you!!!
Oops!!
I don’t think it’s necessary to choose between a decent lifestyle (home, friends, family) and “authentic art.”
One of the greatest poets of the 20th century was William Carlos Williams, famous not only for his writing, but also that he was a practicing physician who wrote his inspriations down on prescription pads between patients.
Art, music, writing, etc. are not the opposite of “thought” and “intelligence”, they are merely another form of thought and intelligence, like mathematical intelligence or physical intelligence.
It is a tired cliche that the only good art is made by people who have rejected everything and everyone around them. Art is an engagement with the world, a response to the world, not a childish tantrum of self-imposed isolation with a secret sketchbook.
Knowing about the world and how to survive and thrive in it will not diminish one’s art, it will enhance it and allow it to be made and seen.
There is nothing wrong with using engineering knowledge as an aspect of art, or using science knowledge, or word knowledge, or electronic knowledge, or computer knowledge, any other kind of knowledge as part of creative expression. It’s done all the time in music, theatre, dance, film, etc. That’s what PROFESSIONALS do.
What I am hinting at here is that our aspiring artist OP should get plan to get some serious skills in whatever fields he/she can, so that he/she has the ability, space, time and also the financial means to do the art he/she so badly wants to do. (Even a modest gallery show is very expensive to put together.)
As other people have pointed out, we do not need another finger-painting driftwood artist selling crap for $2.00 a pound, but we all sure do need GOOD music, painting, craft, design, literature, theatre . . . we all need real art in our lives.
If you’re going to contribute something to the arts, OP, you better make sure that what you bring to the table is the best it can possibly be.
I’ve seen a toilet with a powered fan coming out of it showcased as “art”….
wow.
I had taco bell a day ago… I should be just about ready to make some “art” myself here pretty soon….
Just hope the OB doesn’t expect mommy to fill their tummy. Being an artist is easy if you have someone (parents) to shelter, feed, and clothe you.
zZz,
I have to race everyone else to this.
So will the “Shit hit the fan”?
Well you do know shit is deemed as art. LOL.
Since only 1% of those who try actually earn a living from the arts it’s likely safe to assume your parents simply want better for you (stability, choices). Here’s a plan… get a reasonable degree, work in that field and then you can AFFORD your art supplies, instrument, whatever. You could afford studio time for recording or create your own record label. You could afford or even own the gallery that would feature your art! Come on! Think bigger! 90% of the jobs in entertainment do not involve giving a performance nor produce tangible product.
Mark my words, OP! Overnight stardom doesn’t happen to 99.99% of those who want for it. Prepare to be hungry. If you’re going to take my advice, OP, get a business degree because that’s what ALL artists are. Entrepreneurs! You may want to also couple it with a law degree. Have you ever actually read a licensing agreement? Licensing is where the money is for ANY artist. If you’re going to be an artist go ahead and whip out, say, your own Microsoft Windows License Agreement. If you understand the implications of each and every line in that document then you’re ready for a career in the arts. Don’t believe me? Google Jimmy Hendrix and see what happened to all the revenue he ALONE earned during his non-entrepreneurial, “just-an-artist” career… and realize he didn’t even have an art degree!
Whoever you are and whoever your parents are I’m SURE they want a bright and sunny future for you. The OTHER thing to consider about great art, great movies and great stories is the life a person has to endure to be inspired to make GREAT things. You must lead an EXTREME life of highs and lows. The song that breaks your heart was written by an artist with a broken heart. The story that moves you the most is the story of a hard life.
Life is HARD as an artist. Your parents don’t want you to chose a hard life for yourself. If they weren’t the “enemy who’s trying to hold you back” then what do their words really mean, OP?
Good luck.
Kay, you are spot on today. That was a GREAT post.
I am so glad that you reminded our OP that “the arts” is a vast and real world—a tough and heartbreaking world—even for the names we know and love.
“The Arts” encompasses music, literature, film, “entertainment” and modern communications. It’s not just making driftwood sculptures and beaded necklaces and living in a van as a way of rebelling against Mom, Dad, and Uncle Bob the Accountant.
Whenever I get a chance, I tell young aspiring talents that the ONLY way that can do ANYTHING in the art of their choice is to work, work, work and study, study, study. And then keep working and studying, even if/when “success” seems impossible.
Everyone, especially “creative types,” MUST learn how to earn and manage money. I always tell my students “It’s not what you earn, it’s what you keep that matters.” There is no creative freedom without financial freedom.
And beware: the constant whine of “You want me to PAY you for this wedding photo/musical performance/web site design/newsletter article/architectural drawing/pet portrait?” will corrode your soul faster than any steady-paying corporate job ever will.
I LOVE the arts. I WANT to see people succeed in the arts. But there is no sugar-coating it. It can all look so fun and colourful and easy-peasy-basket-weavy from the outside, but scratching out even a modest living by acting or playing music or writing books or building sculptures is a long and difficult path. Millions wish they could do it, but only a few really can.
OP, you didn’t say what kind of art it is that you want to do, but I hope you will pay attention to all the comments here and make an informed decision about your future plans.
And remember, there is nothing wrong with getting a really, really good “regular” job like sound engineer, set designer, carpenter, computer technician or copyright lawyer that will give you useful skills, exposure to the human condition as well as the financial means to support your creative work.
There is a demand for original art in a lot of varied capacities. I am a graphic artist with some like minded friends who earn a living from their art, one of whom has murals indoors and out, publicly and privately around HRM and Nova Scotia. Talent is what determines demand, but part of the key to success is promoting yourself appropriately.
“”I’ve seen a toilet with a powered fan coming out of it showcased as “art”….
wow.””
Indeed.
The great irony of modern art is that it DOES seem to help lend ‘credibility” to the art, if the artist HAS been a heroin addict/AIDS survivor/lived in a squat loft etc etc….but it’s probably a fallacy that the art is better, or more “real”…just that the boring middle class/wealthy middle-of-the-road folks that BUY high-priced art are somehow living vicariously through the artists’ supposed “Bohemian” lifestyles…They “expect” it.
And, to a certain degree, this does hold…I always find it funny to listen to songs about anguish, pain and broken hearts from middle-class, young and pretty female singer-songwriters….oh boohoo, lookit me…
But the reality is, that it SUCKS to be poor….you need certain equipment for most types of artistic endeavours.
I’m not sure I agree with the idea that you would want to persue a career that would take 100% of your time though, like law or engineering etc etc….these careers have a way of taking over one’s life, and for what? A bigger house? A better car?…a better life for your brood of kids? WTF is with that last one anyway…everyone is always talking about giving their life to make a better one for their “kids”…lol, what about YOUR life? Let the ungrateful snotty little bastards worry about themselves, and remember to do what YOU want too…otherwise you’re just a breeder, what’s the point? Didn’t YOUR parents want YOU to have a great life?!
Although I DO know a great singer from a Halifax rock band, who’s also an MD…so there ya go…
I knew a doctor who was also a farmer. Farming was definitely his calling, and when he struggled to divide his attention between the two, farming usually got the best of it. (Needless to say, he wasn’t my doctor for long.)
I have seen some of that “I will be a better artist if I kill myself with drugs” stuff and the results have been predictably horrifying.
For several decades now (Hell, several centuries now) there has been a bizarre mythology swirling in the vicinity of “the arts” that “greatness” must equal self-destruction. I don’t buy it.
Maybe it gives a brief illusion of working in the grosser sides of the entertainment business, but the results are ultimately ugly.
And I really hate that certain music industry parasites and certain Hollywood sociopaths are more than willing to encourage and exploit that whole part of the “show”—after all, they don’t pay for all the cleanup, and there are plenty of new young desparate hungry talents waiting outside the door for their big chance to try their turn on the ride.
Sadly, all the stuff Bad Mr. Frosty refers to are part the reality of a certain kind of life—but I do not believe that anything of lasting value or “authenticity” ever comes from that kind of tragedy.
It’s another pitfall that anyone with burning artistic vision would be wise to watch out for. (Along with the middle-class patrons who find it all sooooooo romantic . . . )
Another reason why I would maintain that an “ordinary” job with art as a side practice isn’t always a bad thing if one wants to preserve one’s sanity.
Oceanlady, “Talent is what determines demand”
NOT true.
I wish it were.
It just isn’t.
You can be the “bestest”in the whole wide world at what you do but, unless you have a marketing machine in or around you, nobody is going to hear/see/whatever.
I don’t care right now about art or following my passion or whatever. All I wish is that I’d taken a degree in something that would have me working in a job in my field right now, rather than working a shitty minimum wage job and living at home again. Silly me, I know.
So don’t make the same mistake I did, OP! Though I’m sure something will come along for me soon, right?
No, I didn’t do an Arts Degree! I’d tell you, but it might help to further give away my identity, and you’ll never guess my secret identity (*plays music*).
Kay: Please reread my post specific to the part about appropriate promotion and you will see that your post was not necessary.
Some artists have risen quite nicely without heavy marketing because their talent creates it’s own buzz with it’s own momentum. It doesn’t matter how heavily promoted something is, if the quality is lacking, the success usually is too. What about musical artists who self-promote on that popular video upload site? Most are mediocre but occasionally one rises to the top to achieve success…without the marketing machine to tell us that they are ‘it’.
Professionals in the music marketing business tell new song-writers what they are looking for is new artists whose music creates it’s own buzz and forward momentum, something which requires talent, no matter how one wishes otherwise.
Oceanlady, “Some artists have risen quite nicely without heavy marketing because their talent creates it’s own buzz with it’s own momentum”
You’re SO off the mark here… where do you get your information?
Name one local artist that has risen to success without aide of a serious marketing machine. Are these artists to whom you refer people like Sam Moon who play MAYBE 4 shows a year for MAYBE $100/piece or, more often than not, out of the goodness of his wonderful heart (and it is!)? Or are you talking about the “successful” artists around here who showcase their work for free once or twice a year and pad their pockets with the rent twice in a year if they’re lucky? So, who do you speak of and where has their “momentum” taken them? Mainstream? I thought not.
Oceanlady, “It doesn’t matter how heavily promoted something is, if the quality is lacking, the success usually is too”
You should stick to something you know.
Case in point.. Alanis Morisette
If that Jagged Little Pill had not been STUFFED down your throat by a mainstream marketing machine Alanis would be serving tables in a pub somewhere before preparing for open mic night.
That’s a marketing machine buzzing and not necessarily ‘talent’. It can work the other way too but your friends loving you, your family or even the whole Canadian East Coast loving your “talent” doesn’t do a dam thing in the way of getting published and earning a decent living off the arts. There’s a reason the big acts don’t bother “marketing” themselves here and it’s not because they’re hurting for friends or family in the region. Don’t believe me, go ask Mitch what talent does for your momentum when the machine stops buzzin’. If you’re scratching your head wondering who’s Mitch then my point is proven quite well.
Professionals in the music marketing biz want ready-made, ready-to-hit-the-road, ready-made-hits to market. Is it a wonder they require your backyard like you even a little bit? Once they learn the “backyard” makes up .0000000001% of the potential market mom and dad’s applause doesn’t get you very far, does it?
There are ways to make it in the arts but more often than not VERY little of it has to do with actual talent. Go ask Mitch, er, those who voted against him and all his “talent”. I’ll bet he’s wishing he had completed a business degree right about now.
Kay: “Is it a wonder they require your backyard like you even a little bit?”
Huh? I’d respond if it this made sense.
Kay: “Name one local artist that has risen to success without aide of a serious marketing machine.”
I was speaking about the music business in general not locally.
Anyway, Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill would not have been the seller that it was if no one liked the music. THAT is where talent comes in. Those in the industry know the difference between family and friends creating a false buzz and the real thing. Ever hear a song that stopped you in your tracks the first time you heard it? That is more about talent and less about marketing machination. It certainly has nothing to do with the family and friends promtional ‘machine’. In the end, it is not just black and white but all that lies in between including the exceptions to the rules.
Kay: “Stick to something you know”
What makes you think that this is something you know about?
Kay: There are ways to make it in the arts but more often than not VERY little of it has to do with actual talent. Go ask Mitch, er, those who voted against him and all his “talent”. I’ll bet he’s wishing he had completed a business degree right about now.
Are you saying Mitch was talented or not?
Oceanlady, “I was speaking about the music business in general not locally. “
Okay, name even one not-local artist who has risen to fame without the aide of a marketing machine. Some might pony up and say Stompin’ Tom but I’d argue today the man is hungry.
I’ll tell you what people liked about Jagged Little Pill. They liked the PRODUCTION. They liked the fact that a Canadian girl had been swept up by the machine. They even liked Ironic after it was shoved down their throats 15 times before they completed their morning commute.
Oceanlady, “What makes you think that this is something you know about?”
My husband works in the field and has for 20+ years. No, I’ll not tell you who he is. Yes, you’re likely to know his name (it’s not ‘Desi’).
The thing about Mitch… do you know who I’m talking about? The thing is, he won a national talent contest. He’s a writer. He won a bunch of money, recording contract, tour… and where is he? No, he didn’t get my vote but the majority of those who participated considered his the best talent of all. So, where is he?
There wouldn’t be much to argue about if you knew how to market music. One needs dollars MUCH more than they need talent. Sad but true.
I bet 15+ years that kay’s “husband” was involved in the “music business” was making mixed tapes on a dual cassette deck until they could afford a CD burner.
I think anyone who wants a new way of looking at how and why certain people achieve extraordinary success in business, entertainment or sports should read Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers.”
He explains that the innate talent or intellect of someone like Bill Gates, John Lennon or Wayne Gretzky is only the beginning—the necessary “raw material.” But lots of people have the same “raw material”; the differentiations show up when you look at effort, where you live, who you already know, unexpected partnerships, chance events, lucky breaks and timing.
The talent and marketing may be within our control, but there are so many other factors that determine what we get exposed to and what opportunities open for us.
The OP sounds extremely naive about what “making it in the arts” actually means. He or she doesn’t even say what kind of “art” it is that he/she is supposedly so “passionate” about.
I suspect that the OP thinks that “the arts” is something like kindergarten playtime, and will be in for quite a shock when he/she sees all the thousands of people working their asses off trying to actually DO something related to music, film, theatre or visual arts.
Kay: I do not think for a minute that my husband’s experience in the field of special effects makes ME know what that is all about. As far as your husband goes, I am easily just as likely not to know who he is and I certainly don’t care if I know who he is or not. As for Mitch, he is proof that winning a contest with all the exposure, money and promotion does not guarantee success as many of the winners of these star-search reality tv contests have discovered. Rubyjane’s (who perhaps doesn’t have a husband struggling for 20+ years to make it in the music business) post about achieving success is closer to reality.
Thanks Oceanlady.
For the record, neither my husband nor myself are in the music industry.
My only knowledge of music is from being a listener and a fan, and my only knowledge of “the arts” is my peripheral experiences through university study, graphic design work, teaching and some participation at the community level.
Believe me, if I knew how to ditch graphic design and become a “great artist” (with accompanying wealth and fame) I would do it in a minute!
Ahh, but we all know that it’s soooo hard to do anything truly original in any creative field!
I wonder if the OP is reading any of this?
: )