Quote:Nurturing the idealistic philosophy that the Art itself is the only thing of importance, can become a self-indulgent ego thing in itself. A way of pompously inflating oneself. It's just empty talk and pretension.
It's a matter of perspective. As I see it, any art whose
emergence depends solely or primarily upon the need to fill the belly is likely to be as ephemeral as a given meal.
As for ego and the like, no one loathes self-important, pretentious "art for art's sake" artists more than I do. That is not the sort of thing that I mean, at all. All I am saying is the following:
1. Powerful desires to reach a given end can interfere with the means; and,
2. Artistic activity that is primarily motivated by external forces, such as the desire for status or economic advancement--in a word, to advance the ego--is less desirable in the longer term than creating out of pure joy and personal inspiration.
I have stated these points as clearly as I can, and more than once, yet they still seem not to be well understood. For that reason, I am letting the matter drop. Best wishes and best of luck to all in this regard, whatever their perspective and motivations. Those who think that great art arises from mundane needs for food and shelter, or from the desire for personal recognition and aggrandizement, are welcome to follow that path.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11 Oct 09 | 09:15PM by Kyberean.