This is great. Explains why I’m not an artist and would never want to be one.

This is great. Explains why I’m not an artist and would never want to be one. https://thebaffler.com/odds-and-ends/its-not-what-the-world-needs-right-now-norman-wilson

Blogger at ribbonfarm.com, running summerofprotocols.com, host of /gloom ☀️

It was disturbingly relatable and even at its most absurd I was like “yeah, sounds right”

yeah, I more or less got off the ride pretty early because I saw all my peers either living like this or floundering in grant-writing hell. Also, I realized I am too much of a normie family guy for that life.

In rare cases this sort of gonzo life input seems to fit the person and produce comparable output like Werner Herzog. Mostly though it seems like performative hairshirt masochism feeding into mediocre talent and generating mediocre art. 

This guy’s stuff seems… okay. I wouldn’t suffer for this art.

There are people suited to it, and I think you have to self-assess whether that path would work. I do my best creative work with a stable routine and steady home/income situation, so I opted out of the art nomad party scene.
FWIW, my favorite work of his is the work-for-hire stuff