The Lean Years

The other day I was talking to a colleague about “the lean years” in art making. You know; you’re out of school, not yet where you want to be in terms of exposure, or business, and you start wondering whether you are on the right path. You see your schoolmate’s careers taking off, and feel a pinch of envy, or anguish, and maybe you feel like you are out of the loop, because you are holding a day job, and aren’t working on your art as much.
Needless to say that today’s version of art patronage is a joke compared to what it used to be, and that the stigma on art-collectives and unions is far from gone, making kindred spirits less inclined to pursue common projects. So for those of you who have not secured your Sugar Daddies/Mommas yet, I will try to offer some detached advice which is easier to say than to follow...

#1 Never ask yourself the “Did I make the right decision?” question unless you are doing art at that very moment! If you are on the right (or wrong) path you will know right there and then.

#2 As humans, we can’t help feelings of envy from arising, but we can turn them into positive energy. There are many implications to our colleagues making it in the art world. If they were friendly to you, then you can feel happy for them. If they weren’t, then it means that “if that looser can make it, then mine should be coming pretty soon...” No, but seriously, these things can be taken as an indication that people at your level are finding their niche, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t.

#3 If you feel like you are out of the loop, then get back in it! It only takes one hour to flip through the art journals in your local bookstore once a month. In New York, you have even more possibilities, escape from work every now and then and go to a gallery. There are bookstores like St. Mark’s where you can go at night to read. Even if you hate the work being shown out there, at least know what’s being shown out there. Every skilled profession has a whole culture of journals and things to keep its practitioners informed and you, as an artist, are no exception. So you have to go see the work, and inform yourself.

#4 Disconnect your TV! Or better yet, give it away. You are in NY, you lazy, bum! Go to the movies, go to a park, or at least walk and rent something good on video! Without the idiot box you’d be surprised how much time you will find to work, or take in other art forms. Of course if you thrive on pop culture or make video art then keep the TV, but maybe give yourself a regime of x number of hours to work, or just play it in the background while you work.

#5 Make your day job work for you. Go for things that will either feed your technological knowledge, or teach you how to run an operation. Did I mention free Xeroxes? Lots of computer-scanner access? Web searching? Try service, do something that feels good. At least we got an education, some people would kill to have the choice to study whatever they wanted in their hearts.

#6 Just because you aren’t creating objects doesn’t mean you have to stop practicing. Keep a sort of journal with possible projects as they pop in your mind. Maybe later you will have a surplus of time, and a deficit of ideas, and you can refer back to these ideas and pursue them.

One teacher asked me once “If you didn’t have access to the materials that you are using now what would your art look like?”
Exactly….

Your art is the expression of something that is within you. Try to find out what those concerns and relationships are, and learn to apply them to different things in your life. Most importantly, try to recognize them in other people’s actions as well.

#7 Research, research, research. We could all use better skills, or more information on grants, residencies and the like. There are some links on this blog, and please e-mail me any others that you have. Share this information with your colleagues, so that you establish a dialogue and they can return in kind.