This interview with #MatthewCollings really resonated with me.
It surprised me that he is now an art world pariah, yet it doesn't surprise me. It's kind of shocking to hear someone confirm what you know is how things work.
I fairly recently started making art again after around ten years of running a business and I relate to Collings describing his liberation of rediscovered something he loves. He talks of being true to yourself and just making the art you want to make.
I've looked at art competitions to get my work seen, and I recoiled when I read the prize for one competition was to win a solo art show. Ten years ago if someone had offered me a solo show I would have jumped at the chance. Now, I find the idea repellent. I really could not care less about doing that, but that is liberating.
For me, I would be happy just selling work online - for people to see it, like it, and buy it. I really don't care about impressing art world insiders and having a grand solo show.
And really, all that matters is making the art you want to make. I enjoy looking at art and going to exhibitions, but the art world seems an almost impenetrable place where you have to build up a following, make friends, and be a sycophant. It doesn't seem necessary to do all that unless you want super stardom, unless you want to be remembered as one of the greats.
And maybe it's because I run my own business that I know now that you can make money by just providing a good service. You don't need to be impressive and know the right people. You can just do stuff and sell it to people. Art shouldn't be any different.
It would be nice to make a living selling art, but since I don't need to do that, I can make the art I want to make and who cares whether people are interested in it? In a way I've always been like that and I've always not cared if my work wasn't particularly commercial.
At the same time, I am trying to be a bit more commercial. I think again it's my business that has made me realise you can make things people want and you can sell them. So I'm not averse to being commercial, but I don't feel pressured to pursue sales either.
I suppose what I'm saying is that I'm doing whatever I feel like doing, commercial or not, and there is literally nothing to stop me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kDicTOUrPM
#Art #SellingArt #ArtistsOfMastodon #ContemporaryArt #AntiZionism