Being completely self-taught I must say I’ve become very intolerant with the measure of arrogance that comes with success in the arts. Being a regular in the deviantART community I see it very often where talented artists go from unknowns to veritable artistic superstars and forget all the work that went into getting to the point where their work is out there and being appreciated.
For each and every artist in both traditional and digital mediums there is a period where the only person aware of their artistic ability is their mom their imaginary friend and their mangy mutt Waldo. Depending on the level of skill of the artist they’ll get into contact with people who love their work and people who don’t. In amongst this second group will be fellow artists, some of whom who have already arrived. For most every artist this second group is the group that will drive them on to greatness. It is no coincedence that the great artistic movements in history spanned periods, periods where artists pushed each other past the boundaries of the conventions of their time.
The pervading sense in art communities both online and in traditional art tends to get a bit toxic. There’s an all pervading mindset of scarcity. “People don’t buy art so the less competition the better!” seems to be the order of the day. This is one of the driving forces of the artistic ego. The Zero sum fuels the idea that one has to be better than one’s peers. Someone has to lose for me to win. In this way the cycle is perpetuated.
So much more would accomplished if artists learnt some humility. So much more would be accomplished if artists exhibited some responsibility. The craft of art is learned and should be taught. In the teaching we learn and our names are remembered. Giving a man the ability to create, in reality, the ghosts that haunt his mind frees him of them. I am not proposing a smurf village filled with caring and sharing I’m just wondering who is responsible.
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