So lately I have found myself making moves, which has the accountant in me is screaming, “This is fiscally irresponsible. “ The artist in me is telling the accountant, “put a sock in it.”
It started with the Biennale.
The accountant in me: “$8,000 in estimated expenses? Are you kidding me? We don’t have the money.”
The artist: “Everyone (who matters to me) is telling me I must go; it’s a ticket to the show. I am going.”
The accountant in me: “But it’s $8,000.”
The artist: “I will find a way to make this happen…”
You get the idea.
The artist won on the Florence Biennale, but the benefit of attending the Florence Biennale is not financially obvious. The artist still sees the intangible benefits I did receive. The accountant is still grumbling. What were the benefits?
- The networking opportunities with like minded artists are unbelievable. All participants passed through the same ring of fire that I did and came out at the other side. The Biennale is a band pass filter that indicates a level of commitment to your art.
- Some artists faced far more difficulty than I did getting there-risking their lives, jail… for some other artists getting there was just another day on the job, but for me getting there was an accomplishment.
- After talking to many of these other like minded individuals my vision of my art has expanded.
- I did it without winding up homeless (I am absolutely sure for many of you reading this, that fear is one of your fears too). I conquered my fear.
What am I talking about then? A paradigm shift. I perceive my world differently. The accountant is all doom and gloom, fiscal responsibility. Reacting to the down economy by want to draw all resources inward and conserve them until the sun comes out again. The artist is telling the accountant, “You have no vision. Besides, look around little accountant dude, the world is currently full of people who followed all the rules and wound up bankrupt anyway…”
The accountant in me certain has its place, don’t get me wrong. The accountant knew it was going to cost 8 grand to get to the Biennale. The accountant can organize a plan. Knowing what you need to accomplish something is useful too. But I needed to curtail the accountant’s powers to some extent as the accountant is fully aware of the worst case scenario and plans for it, but really, does it usually get that bad?
Anyway, so today I read someone else’s blog and the words for this change in my perspective clicked. I thought, “Oh. That is what is going on.” When I create, I create. The whole process from beginning to end unfolds without regard for worldly distractions; I have a vision and it will be expressed in its complete form. But when I am not painting I respond to the world reactively. I don’t know about you but these last few years have given me a lot to react to.
The shift: What I have started to do is apply the creative process to my life. Rather than responding to deeply depressing state of affairs in the national economy, I am moving on. I have no power over the deeply depressing state of affairs in the national economy, why am I giving it power over me. I no longer want to be a flakey artist when I grow up-I will be a flakey artist when I grow up. It’s the difference between a dream and a vision.
The area that I have always been weak at is marketing me. My mission this year is to address that defect head on. Since I have been unable to do it by myself, I am buying the tools I need to make this happen. I am taking classes, and doing my homework and embracing the idea that for a while I will have to spend more time on this stuff than painting. Yes I am spending money on something other than the art-for me it is a lot of money.
But I realize do need to keep painting to be ready to take advantage of opportunities as needs arise.
Oh, and I have given the accountant another thing to squawk about. Remember that Biennale networking I was talking about? That network has presented the opportunity for a mere $1000 to show in NY and get the full court press of publicity from NY Arts Magazine. It’s the publicity that is the thing. Oh yeah, little accounting dude is screaming. The artist is saying, “Shut up, obviously I have work to do.”
What are your thoughts?
Yours in art,
Jake
Artist, AKAJake.com Come Experience the Art!
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