Chia Yen
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What is art: Part 2

7/26/2016

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This post is in response to this article 
18 Female Artists Give Advice to Women Starting Out in the Art World

In this post graduation season, life is always uncertain. Should I dive into the art world or be realistic and rational. Being passionate about things that on the surface seem like they exist on both ends of the spectrum can be exhausting yet rewarding. 

So when I read what Adrian Piper said, it sparked me.
Adrian Piper
First, you should be clear about what you are aiming for:
(1) public approval,
(2) commercial success, or
(3) art-historical significance.

​These three are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and there is nothing wrong with any of them. But my remarks address only (3).

The best means to art-historical significance is financial independence. Don’t even think about trying to earn a living from your artwork, or else you’ll start producing the artwork that will earn you a living. A trust fund will divert your energies in a different way. The best means to financial independence is a day job in a different field. Waiting tables, driving a cab, office work, and teaching are traditional alternatives for artists, but the digital revolution opens up many others. All of them will free you to make the work you are most deeply driven to make, regardless of whether or not anyone else likes it or buys it. That’s the work that’s most interesting and important to you. You won’t have time to waste on producing work that doesn’t obsess you.
Your day job will also free you to be selective about what you do in order to promote your artwork, and with whom. It will protect your pursuit of quality. That’s one reliable path to art-historical significance (although of course not the only one).
It's not a snobby thing,  but to me personally,
type (1) is craft- a skill I can hone; like painting a beautiful landscape, or making portraits out of nails and strings. something with a WOW factor, something made to be 'viral'.
type (2) is design - making something in exchange for monetary needs. 
type (3) is art today - pushing boundaries, asking questions, making statements, 

So, I choose you. (3). Now all I need is a push off the diving board. 
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