
My Life as a Failed Artist - zt
http://www.vulture.com/2017/04/jerry-saltz-my-life-as-a-failed-artist.html
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Mendenhall
I enjoyed his thoughts on his youth and artistic struggle, but as an artist I
would say the fact that he quit making art is the proof that he just wanted to
be an "artist" rather than make artwork. I think there is a difference between
someone who wants to be an "artist" and someone who wants to make art and very
often that is what determines success or failure.

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vanderZwan
An as another on-and-off artist I find this an infuriating simplistic remark.
I quit the art _world_ , not _making art_ , and quite frankly, your attitude
is like someone telling me "then you didn't really love her anyway" after
leaving an abusive relationship and not really being interested in talking
with that person again.

Being an Artist is so much more than just making work. It's living within a
context of fellow artists, and art critics. It's hustling. It's playing by
very specific social rules and knowing how to sell your work to fit whatever
is popular according to the whims of the public and the art critic. Knowing
how to, and _being willing_ to play that game, is just as often what
determines success or failure. And most of that compromises the artwork
itself.

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Mendenhall
Was not my intent to make you feel infuriated. I do feel you may be reading a
bit more into my post. I agree with your thoughts on the art world. I also
notice you say you quit the art world not making art.I think that is very
different than what author did.

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vanderZwan
My apologies for misunderstanding. However, from how I understand the article
the author quit mainly because of the mental burden:

> _But then I looked back, into the abyss of self-doubt. I erupted with fear,
> self-loathing, dark thoughts about how bad my work was, how pointless,
> unoriginal, ridiculous. “You don’t know how to draw,” I told myself. “You
> never went to school. Your work has nothing to do with anything. You’re not
> a real artist. Your art is irrelevant. You don’t know art history. You can’t
> paint. You aren’t a good schmoozer. You’re too poor. You don’t have enough
> time to make your work. No one cares about you. You’re a fake. You only draw
> and work small because you’re too afraid to paint and work big.”_

I find it very harsh and inappropriate to conclude that the author just wanted
to "play artist" from this. I'm not surprised he quit making art altogether -
the experience sounds very traumatic, and I have seen this up close with other
friends who stopped making art altogether - if anything, for most of them that
is because they _believe_ in art much more than many other artists.

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dan-compton
I will never understand the need to identify as something. To do so is to
reject dynamics. Do the things that sustain you and keep an open mind.

~~~
optimuspaul
I had identified as open minded, but now I'm conflicted. Thanks a lot, now my
life is in turmoil.

~~~
dan-compton
heh

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hoodoof
The parallels with my life as a software developer / entrepreneur are
disturbing.

I often think of my development projects much as I think an artist must think
about their art.

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chfs
> I made art obsessively.

It's amazes me how the more control over the creation process someone gets,
the more passionate he usually becomes. I've observed this and vice versa in
myself and others so many times.

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cousin_it
From reading his story and looking at his artwork, it seems to me that he went
off into a feedback loop of making and appreciating a very specific kind of
art, which requires a certain mindset from the viewer. It's a danger to anyone
who's trying to express themselves as fully as possible. With enough time, you
can teach your mind to find depths of meaning in anything at all, so it's
sometimes useful to trust other people's first reactions over your own highly
evolved (warped) perspective.

~~~
vanderZwan
In his defense, you can say that about a lot of contemporary art, including
the successful stuff.

Part of the problem is the need to be "original": true originality is almost
impossible to recognise, because _by definition_ we only recognise ( _re_
-cognise) what we already know.

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hprotagonist
If anyone else has read a bunch of Daniel Pinkwater, there are some
interesting coincidences. I wonder if they ever met...

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theprop
10 years of a life...

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gnarbarian
You're not alone, Hitler was a failed artist too.

