I recently listened to a podcast with Jacob Collier, and he shared some thoughts on art that really resonated with me. He argued against the idea that there is "pure" art, and I completely agree. Art is subjective, and it's up to both the creator and the observer to define it. If I decide to spend my day admiring a tree and document it as art on Instagram, that's my prerogative, and I'm allowed to call it art, because it is.
There's this notion that some artists are "sell-outs," which is ridiculous. If my art happens to be marketable or lucrative, that doesn't make me a sellout; it makes me smart and resourceful. We all want to be rich, but the second someone makes money off of their art, we criticize them for it.
A great example of this is Taylor Swift. People hate this girl for no reason other than she's successful. They criticize how mainstream her music is, how she became famous in the first place, how she sells her tickets for so much money, and in many more ways. But Taylor is sittin' pretty in the box seats at the Super Bowl and selling out stadiums across the WORLD. If you ask me, that's the ultimate artist.
Yet people hate her. Make it make sense.
The whole idea of criticizing people for monetizing their art is absurd to me. We should be supporting each other's creative endeavors, not judging them. I'm a big advocate for encouraging creativity in others because it's such an important aspect of our lives. It's what distinguishes us from animals, computers, and even each other. By nurturing all of our creativity, we not only grow as artists but also as individuals, and eventually as a society.
Creativity is recession proof.
There's always going to be many needs for it. Wherever category someone's creativity falls in, we need them. We need the creative way in which their brain works. Let's lighten up and let people just make some art.
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