So what catagorizes a good artist? The age old question. If you look at it from your standpoint, which you are, it is whatever your mind is open to. It could be a piece of paper, a chair or it could only be a traditional painting that you consider to be art. However, if you look at it from a market standpoint, your opinion has nothing to do with it.
All artitsts are visual people. They adapt their senses to contributing to whatever expression their mind is suited for. For example, I cannot write music nor easily learn a foreign language, but I see everything as space and color hence why painting and architecture is perfectly suited for me. This is a fairly nice talent to have but what most artists lack is a sense of business.
Let’s say that 5% of the americas population is considered to be artistic with some sort of talent or developed skill. I’m willing to bet that only small fraction of those 5% has any business sense as it pertains to their art. Which is why there are countless artists but only a handful of marketable artists (most of whom are dead).
Art is an aestetic with zero functionality. Hence why it caters to wealthy. The wealthy see it as both decoration and as a status symbol. Likewise, others that may not be well off see it as an investment. Either way, that is the target market. I used to play poker for about 5 hours a day in college. I started a year before the poker boom and the population acceptance only fueled my addiction. I play it sparatically now, but I learn a great deal about physcology (self taught). In order to apply this knowledge to other things, I had to start thinking in the macro of things… Sociology. Good thing for me is that my father is a Sociology professor.
Moving on. Without having this knowledge of sociology and physcology, I would have never been adapt to making myself a well-known artist. It takes an incredible amount of hard-work and luck… just like anything else. When you being to see things from a business standpoint, the art then comes easier, as you are now creating something sustainable and recognizable.
The art world is an enigma. It is closely tied up with pop culture and with society as a whole, which makes sense. Therefore, in order to adapt yourself with its gravitational pull, one needs to apply a fairly complex understanding of society both to their art and to their venues. For all those who dream of becoming a famous artist, you will need to apply the same amount of time studying society and business, as you do creating the actual art. Scary…
Switching it up a bit I do have some good news… I will be displaying my work at Cafe Manhattan in Springfield, MA beginning the first week of June and on through the summer. It is a lounge with a rich aptmosphere. Looking forward to that.
Also, I do not have a time available yet when people can come see the library exhibit. Stay tuned for that.
