Earlier quoted context omitted.
[flagged]
Why?
Ask the guy who was robbed. Maybe he can give you a clue.
How to make a living as an artist
21–30 of 130 posts
Re: How to make a living as an artist
#22I kind of think that “art” that is about repeat sales and branding is really more craft than art.
I don’t mean that it’s without merit just that although these things live in the same space they are not the same.
Re: How to make a living as an artist
#23While this advice may work for some, I would like to point out that this person is making very popular art. This type of art is most likely easier to sell than what most contemporary artists produce. Also, this remark is giving away a fairly limited view on art appreciation: > While you can learn from failures, only sales strengthen the muscle because only they show that someone actually cares about what you are maki…
As a resident of SF I've only ever heard of fnnch in the context of people hating his art (I still don't understand why). Is it a case of any publicity being good publicity?
Seems like a case of snobbery on behalf of these people. These are nice images but not "high art" which I guess prompts some people to scoff at them
Re: How to make a living as an artist
#24While this advice may work for some, I would like to point out that this person is making very popular art. This type of art is most likely easier to sell than what most contemporary artists produce. Also, this remark is giving away a fairly limited view on art appreciation: > While you can learn from failures, only sales strengthen the muscle because only they show that someone actually cares about what you are maki…
Yeah but I mean it does make sense though right?
> Most people who enjoy making art should not try to make it their full time job. When you turn an avocation (hobby) into a vocation (job) you have to do new things you do not enjoy. Emails, events, meetings, accounting, and more. These are not only a drag but can actually strip the joy from the rest of your art practice.
You'll have to do things you do not enjoy if you want to treat it as a business, including changing your artistic vision if needed etc.
> Art is absolutely an expression of yourself. But your art is not you.
A pragmatic approach could be to work on commericially-proven styles for money and your own style just for yourself (and potentially others if you make a branding that's famous enough).
At the end, yeah, it's a job if you want to make a living with art. There will always be market forces and to extract value from that, you need to understand and conform with it. But that's only if you see yourself as a business and not purely as an "artist" which I think is what you're reffering to when you say "most artists don't want to change to popular art" etc.
Also I don't think it's true overall. Like you say the "person is making very popular art" and that's why they're successful but there's many like them who are also making popular art but are not successful at all. It's also the process they follow and how they approach their business that sets them apart. That part is valuable info/guidance for any artist that does want to be commercially succesful imo.
Re: How to make a living as an artist
#25> The Beatles wrote 227 songs, but only 34 hit the Top 10. Do you think they would put out a song that they didn't believe could be a hit? Mozart wrote over 600 songs, but only about 50 of them are widely played. Do you think he purposefully wrote duds? Of course not. This is completely backwards. The Beatles put out songs that they didn't think were hits, and put out songs that they were conscious of being the antit…
Off topic but always incredible to remember the Beatles only recorded for what 7-8 years. Incredible what a legacy that is for such a short period of being a band
Re: How to make a living as an artist
#26> While you can learn from failures, only sales strengthen the muscle because only they show that someone actually cares about what you are making
There are languages where there's a distinction between artists and painters.
They stopped being an artist with that one line.
Re: How to make a living as an artist
#27> Mozart wrote over 600 songs, but only about 50 of them are widely played.
Calling Mozart’s works “songs” is ignorant.
Mozart wrote some songs (“lieder”, or art songs for voice and piano), but his work spans operas, symphonies, concertos, chamber music, masses and other sacred music, and solo piano works.
Re: How to make a living as an artist
#28I compose all sorts of music but the only music people really like (and give me money for) is pirate music.
Not pirated music. Pirate music.
shrug
Re: How to make a living as an artist
#29Move to Ireland, they just rolled out basic income for artists
How does that work? How does the government decide who is an artist and therefore worthy vs someone who just pretends to be one to get the free money?
It's being discussed in another Hacker News submission: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46977175
Re: How to make a living as an artist
#30While this advice may work for some, I would like to point out that this person is making very popular art. This type of art is most likely easier to sell than what most contemporary artists produce. Also, this remark is giving away a fairly limited view on art appreciation: > While you can learn from failures, only sales strengthen the muscle because only they show that someone actually cares about what you are maki…
On the other end of the spectrum, "experimental artist" (whatever that is) Lawrence English wrote "A Young Person's Guide to Hustling (in Music and the Arts", which seems more like what you're after.
https://collapseboard.com/a-young-person%E2%80%99s-guide-to-... https://lawrenceenglish.bandcamp.com/album/a-young-persons-g...