Age We all have one thing in common. Most commercial industries have understood, many years ago, that on reaching the ripe old age of 40 most consumers are set in their ways. The artist though, has yet to understand this. I often hear young artists complain. They work long hours, but no one wants to buy or exhibit their work. There are two possible scenarios for this. One is that they have no talent, or that they haven't fully developed it. Another, is that we tend to relate to what we experience in everyday life. An obvious statement to be sure. If a young artist has many admirers within his own age group, we really wouldn't give it a second thought. If on the other hand he has many admirers amongst an older generation we would assume he is relating to them in some way. An indisputable fact is that the money and power in the art community belongs to the over 40`s. Success for a young artist today will inevitably force him to answer a relevant question. Am I making art for an older generation, with no bearing on my own life? Am I that weak, have I no integrity? In most cases, yes. There is and always will be a fair amount of inertia in the art community. It can be compared to jumping in front of a freight train and screaming at the top of your voice, YOU ARE GOING THE WRONG WAY! And where does that leave the young artist? He can either hop on the freight train hoping it doesn't derail at some point, or he can build his own train, hoping a number of gullible artist will join him, perhaps someday having a really big train of his own. No young artist can possibly hope for success without this mechanism. To become a successful artist one needs a number of art critics, collectors and institutions putting their reputation on the line, just for you! And because of this human mechanism we will never have a truly diverse art community, no matter what you might imagine. So is there any way around our somewhat hopeless future? Some would say that artists are completely independent of institutionalisation. But being a part of the art community for a few short years I see that this is not the case. I mostly feel like I'm in the middle of a cattle drive. Different herds rushing by with their respective " cowboys" leading the herd. And any poor artist standing his ground is quickly trampled. In my own perfect world I would rather see the herd spread out, all grazing on their own little patch of grass. But...The cow is a herd animal... And so is man. |
