Danica Swanson
@danicaswanson
"I might even go so far as to recommend that artists abandon web platforms (except as places to chit-chat and waste time) and instead focus on revitalizing older, IRL spaces where the weight of art has an impact." ~ @tombeck.eth I understand this view. I don't think I'd go quite that far myself, but Tom makes some great points here. I do share the frustration I'm seeing in my feed lately about the dismal prospects for those who practice art forms. It's also worth noting that one reason I spend a lot of time online is that every attempt I've made to build, join, or co-create a suitable IRL retreat space for my own art (for two decades!) has failed, for a long list of reasons. In the US, the deck is pretty heavily stacked against artists. I don't have answers. But when the chips are down, I'll always side with the artists.
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Andrew Zav
@andrewzav.eth
Great discussion. And valid points all round. But can I ask, what does “success” look like? What does it mean? Is it just a measure of being able to sustain oneself through their chosen art form?
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Danica Swanson
@danicaswanson
Can't speak for anyone else of course, but I'd be overjoyed if *any* of my art forms *ever* earned enough to support even my basic living expenses. That would be a huge success for me. At this point I've made my peace (as much as possible) with the likelihood that I'll go to my grave without ever having that experience. (For clarity: I've earned a living as a writer and editor for about 10 years. But creative work that I do on contract for other entities is a different animal from the writing-as-art-form that I do out of intrinsic motivation).
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