What’s a creative to do?
While it might seem I am preaching doom and gloom for artists making a living making art, this is far from the case. If anything this highlights exactly what art one should make. What should an artist make? They should make their art, whatever that is. Your voice is exactly what people will want and exactly what you should wrestle for.
A voice, crying in the wilderness! Sometimes that wilderness is quite crowded.
For all the grief Modern art has flung in its direction, the point isn’t really novelty for novelty’s sake. The point is something that has not been seen before, a voice no one has heard before. While a lot of great songs have been written in the key of ‘C’ in common time with a I-IV-V progression with a pentatonic based melody, that is exactly the difficulty. There are a lot of songs written in ‘C’ in common time with a I-IV-V progression with a pentatonic based melody. If that is where your voice is, the struggle is actually even more difficult to stand out from amongst the crowd.
The struggle is to put your own spin on that, so people know it is your song and not just another blues riff. That is what Miles Davis did with All Blues. It is I-IV-V, twelve bar blues, but it doesn’t sound like anyone else’s blues song. It is distinctively his.
At the same time, there are people who love to discover the more subtle nuances between blues players that the average person simply overlooks and doesn’t notice. So, if this is your voice stick with it. Don’t go jazz or pop if that is not your thing.
Of course, the inverse has difficulties, too. If you choose to make art in a framework no one has tried before you are stuck with demonstrating its significance, why people would and should pay attention. The point is, nothing is easy.
It will always be a struggle for most artists to make a living with their art. But the fundamentals of success are always the same, do you because no one else can. And if someone else can be you, think through if you are really doing you.
Mistakes, I’ve made a few
It takes a great deal of time and effort to find your voice. Go back and watch the videos posted in the article Losers still. All the greats put in this time. It doesn’t happen over night. Some just started sooner than others.
And you will make mistakes, as Suzy Schultz points out in her interview and as I point out in Getting it wrong to get it right. But going through the process is important to achieving the goal. You have got to be willing to make mistakes, you have to be willing to get something wrong to be willing to get something right.
And audiences, supporters, and mentors have to be willing to let artists get things wrong. That is how something better comes along.
Can you be someone else artistically?
At the same time, maybe being someone else is your thing. There are a lot of tribute bands out there doing The Beatles or Pink Floyd. Some say they are doing them better than the originals! A funny thing to say, but still a lot of fun. And extremely difficult. Some musicians say it is harder to play someone else than to make their own work, particularly when audiences will know the original’s works so intimately. Tribute bands, the good ones, are really sharing how intimate they have become with someone’s art. This is extremely vulnerable. What if they get something wrong or gloss over something others think is important?
Even the best actors have to be authentic and honest when playing someone else, even more so if the character is based on someone well known. You really can’t “fake” being someone else and expect people to believe you.
A lot of skill is required. A lot of time is required. A lot of patience is required. But most importantly, your voice is required.
Relationship, again?
To wrap this up, let’s think of it this way. I believe art and creativity is reflective and a result of relationship. If you are in a relationship with someone, do you want them (truly want them) to be in a relationship with you or with you as someone else? And a relationship is only as good as the participants are vulnerable and honest.
Additionally, it has been my experience, the best relationships both make one better and want to be better. The best art comes from vulnerability and honesty. That is how others will best relate to your work, when they see themselves in you and you inviting them to see both you and themselves.
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. It is all about relationship.
Thanks for reading! Write me and share as you feel lead!
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Joe