FAME!

or lack of?

i will start by saying that some of the ideas you will read about in this blog are founded on interpretations. they could be entirely wrong and if they are, id rather not know.

i have been thinking a lot about the ideals of an artist who i have been spending a lot of time with recently. i wont say who he is - after reading this blog you will hopefully understand why.

most artists are constantly seeking attention, looking to get their work seen and heard. we measure our success from our notoriety - 'have we made a name for ourselves in our chosen field?' and so on.

sometimes it feels like it isnt enough to be purely creating, there has to be a recognisable outlet that can be measured such as how many people come to your show, how many pieces you are selling and for how much. this is what we want to tell people about in pubs and at work, not that we have just been locked in our studios producing for ourselves.

it seems very rare to meet an artist who is the opposite of this and perhaps this is why i have been so intrigued by this topic recently.

the artist in question is not interested in recognition for his work - in his words (roughly) - 'its just something he feels he has to do.'

i really like the way he will produce work and share it only with close friends and family instead of whoring it to a mass audience.

a big turning point in my development as a performer was when i stopped caring about audience reaction. of course a good reaction is always nice and you can definitely tell when you have an audiences full attention, but 9 times out of 10 you dont and this use to really bother me.

recently though, i have found increasingly that my best performances come when i completely shut out the audience - if they want to listen then they do - i wont try and force any reaction from them. the only opinions i seek afterwards are my own and that of my very close friends.

i can imagine that this is similar for 'artist'. being able to produce, free of any expectation or demand and the only reward being the feeling of satisfaction which can only ever come from within no matter what.

i have set my sights on this type of existence. to be able to produce, write and perform entirely free of expectation or demand and i wonder whether this type of attitude should be embraced by more artists.

perhaps the internet and channel 4 have taught people that a creative ability is another way to make money and become famous rather than something personal that should be nurtured with those close to you.


(an unrelated blog i found today - http://www.sethgodin.typepad.com/)