Is it all BS? A discussion about Art and about being an Artist.

You've been there. You're new to Art and . . . you're confused how "this thing" that just anyone could do, or something that you saw last night on the street (garbage) is - in a different context like a Museum, Art Gallery, or Art Fair - considered Art, and fetching more money than you can make in 1 year's salary.

Or, you're not new to Art, you've been trying this thing for a while, maybe you even survived Art school, and against all odds, you hold a full-time job making OK money, and then you also do your Art; you enter contests, got a residency or two, a few solo shows, many group shows, got some press (they misspelled your name too), made some sales overcoming the "but it doesn't match my couch, could you add some green?" objections. And still, you're puzzed by:

1. How is it possible to make a living as an Artist when it's so hard to sell a $1,000 piece where my profit is only a few hundred bucks (commissions, expenses, materials..) if any at all (studio rent, all the unsold inventory) and even a "First Prize" pays something like $500. You can make that in less than a week at a crappy job!
2. How do I get "inspired"? If I go to Contemporary Art Museum I see a piece of cloth with a movie of a hammer driving a nail into the head of Barbie doll and that's supposed to symbolize the struggle of [insert here a category of people] that's fighting/oppressed [pick 1 of the 2 or make your own action verb] the [insert here an oppressor, real or imaginary]. If you go to an Art Gallery you see a piece of toilet paper (unused, of course, but . . . ) framed in a 6ftx7.11" stainless steel frame, with a gold leaf inscription of the birthdate of the Artist, who has exhibited at all the Biennials for the past 10 years and documenta too. And then, if by any chance you approach a gallerist they start to take you apart (Ad hominem) "you didn't go to the right school", "you didn't graduate top of your class" "you're too young, wait a bit" "you're too old, what have you done up until now?" or they pick your art apart (Straw man) "What brand of oil did you use?" "Oh it's acrylic and not oil?" "Why didn't you use linen?" "it's too small" "it's too big" "it's too derivative" "it reminds me too much of Warhol.." "It doesn't remind me of anyone..."

Of course the top 1% of the top 1% of Artists are doing just fine, with their pieces fetching millions of dollars, and most of the time they don't even touch their pieces but they have assistants or subcontractors make the stuff for them....

Ask a gallerist, an Art critic, a Curator what is that they like and why they like it, or for some direction of where to take your work and you get the deer-in-the-headlight stare and then "I'll know once I see it." and "it's YOUR JOB as an Artist to dazzle me, it's not my job to be the Artist" and similar run-around speech justifying their own . . . cluelessness?

Is the Art World today complete Bullshit?.

Is it a con job?

I have way too many questions and not enough answers. Got comments? Post them. Got more questions? Post them? Got answers? Post them.

Should we all just go to the Dark Side and become literal Con Artists?

Is there an App for that?

Submitted January 04, 2019 at 08:25PM by ART-DUDE http://bit.ly/2VwJVEa