A few years ago a market research firm, First Research, came up with the following: There are approximately 5,000 art dealers and galleries in the U.S. and (at that point in time) the combined annual revenue was close to $6 billion. It has been estimated that the size of the global art market is around $15 billion annually. Those numbers aren’t set in stone, but they do offer a good window into the art world.
So, with that in mind, I’d suggest that being a starving artist is neither a necessity nor a noble aspiration.
Somewhere along the line the cultural zeitgeist separated money and art into two camps. And one was incompatible with the other. The myth of the starving artist was romantic, unless you happened to be the artist. The overriding story was that a miserable, broke artists must be the best artists since they are remaining true to their vision. If that were true it would have to follow that the public and the art world had no interest in an artist’s personal vision. That would seem accurate if it wasn’t for the fact that there are a number of successful artists who have steadfast held true to their vision.
Art, success, and money are not incompatible.
Being a wealthy, successful artist is not something to shun or avoid.
It’s damn strange that I’m even writing an article about this. An article about the tech world using this construct would be absurd. It simply would make no sense, so, let’s agree to bury this concept in the art world as well.
There are artists who have no regard for their audience, which is a modern conceit. That’s a choice an artist needs to make and it can be a valid choice, but artists can’t disregard their audience and then curse their audience for not supporting their work. Well, they can, but it seldom does them much good. Understandably such artists scare the hell out of gallery owners.
With that said, the best approach is to nurture your vision and use your art as a way to communicate with your audience.
There is no dichotomy here.
Art connects and communicates.
It is that which gives art its’ power.
Copyright © PR FOR ARTISTS / Anthony Mora / Aubrie Wienholt 2016