3 ms·

Driving trucks to achieving an auction record of $717,008 USD

2 points by shagunster 3y ago

shagunster 3y ago
I started a newsletter deconstructing the careers of artists who live off of their art. I was doing a lot of this research for myself and then decided to turn it into a newsletter so that I stay committed to learning more and have some accountability. Are there any artists here trying to live off of their art? If yes, I would love some feedback on my very first case study so that I can tighten it up and really provide value. I am a user researcher by trade so I could research and write all day. A fresh pair of eyes would be great!
h2odragon 3y ago
Nicely done. (from considerable ignorance) I think the Art is pretty much irrelevant to an artist's commercial success, as is their ability to market or anything else about them. "Big" art seems to be some shadowy money laundering scheme between a few specialized vendors (one step off of gallery owners) and the rich people using their services for financial manipulation. "Big" artists are just tools used in this trade. Similar to the music recording industry, but with less actual product. I define "artistic success," differently; I have to or I wouldn't know any successful artists. I say that people who can make the things they feel a need to make, to express whatever impulse results in Art, have achieved success. If they're able to share it with the world, even more so. If the world rewards them for it, that's even better; but those are both later, incidental stages, not as important to the artist or to the world as the creation was in the first place.
- shagunster 3y ago
  That makes sense. The art industry is an opaque manipulative machine. It is full of very rich people who just care about how the art is valued in the secondary market. I do feel that there has to be a way where so-called real artists get their due, not just the ones making art for the collectors. I recently saw a show in MoMA PS1 by Puerto Rican artist Daniel Lind Ramos, who is 71, it is a pleasure watching him making his sculptures. He makes me wanna make art again. I am not sure how to delineate art for money from art that is worthy. How does one make the type of art they feel they need to make and be compensated?

2 points by shagunster 3y ago

I started a newsletter deconstructing the careers of artists who live off of their art. I was doing a lot of this research for myself and then decided to turn it into a newsletter so that I stay committed to learning more and have some accountability. Are there any artists here trying to live off of their art? If yes, I would love some feedback on my very first case study so that I can tighten it up and really provide value. I am a user researcher by trade so I could research and write all day. A fresh pair of eyes would be great!

h2odragon 3y ago

Nicely done. (from considerable ignorance) I think the Art is pretty much irrelevant to an artist's commercial success, as is their ability to market or anything else about them. "Big" art seems to be some shadowy money laundering scheme between a few specialized vendors (one step off of gallery owners) and the rich people using their services for financial manipulation. "Big" artists are just tools used in this trade. Similar to the music recording industry, but with less actual product. I define "artistic success," differently; I have to or I wouldn't know any successful artists. I say that people who can make the things they feel a need to make, to express whatever impulse results in Art, have achieved success. If they're able to share it with the world, even more so. If the world rewards them for it, that's even better; but those are both later, incidental stages, not as important to the artist or to the world as the creation was in the first place.

shagunster 3y ago
That makes sense. The art industry is an opaque manipulative machine. It is full of very rich people who just care about how the art is valued in the secondary market. I do feel that there has to be a way where so-called real artists get their due, not just the ones making art for the collectors. I recently saw a show in MoMA PS1 by Puerto Rican artist Daniel Lind Ramos, who is 71, it is a pleasure watching him making his sculptures. He makes me wanna make art again. I am not sure how to delineate art for money from art that is worthy. How does one make the type of art they feel they need to make and be compensated?