Starving Artists--Chasing the Impossible Dream
Posted: Tuesday, October 19, 2010
by Joseph N. Kolton
PHOTObrainiac
A Van Gogh sells for one hundred and thirty-nine million, a Picasso sells for one hundred and six million, a Titian (who?) sells for seventy million, what pray tell is going on here? The one thing an outsider (us that are un-cultured in art, possibly even uncouth) know is that the common link between these very famous artists is that they are all kinda weird, most died broke; some were purported geniuses, but died broke non-the-less--many suffered horribly for their art, and now strangers with deep pockets pay fortunes for their work.
Is it an investment, a hedge against diminishing currencies, like gold, or is it a love for art; or some kind of class thing--"I've got a de Goya, nyah, nyah n-nyah."
Look at the grandeur of some of their warehouses, The Louvre for instance--it's a multi-million dollar French mausoleum, go figure. Bet the workers who built the structure aren't regulars.
One of the most valuable paintings in the joint is a five century year old woman named Mona, and another, is a group of guys having their last supper. And the painter was a real piece of work himself. And can you believe some guy actually wrote a book a few years ago with the painters name in the title and the author made a gazillion dollars from it.
Ironic, about the painter, considered a genius; da Vinci died broke in his benefactors arms. Bet Leonardo is rolling over now.
What is it about the artists who sacrificed themselves in the name of their art so that centuries later others would benefit, so what drove or drives artists?
The society of starving artists includes painters, writers, sculptors, actors, poets, and on and on, and there have been and are thousands of them, all attempting fame and fortune--most don't make it. Who are these people, and why do they choose such thankless, risky professions.
It seems each has their own personal motivation, an inner need. Here's one true life example in today's world.
Let's call him Ned. Ned had been an entrepreneur for thirty years and hated the lack of creativity in business after the excitement of the startup had worn off. Fate stepped in. After a horrific failure, broke, in his fifties and depressed, Ned, an avid reader, decided he could become a famous and wealthy author. After all it didn't look that difficult, he had a computer, he was inventive and creative, and look at some of the goofballs that had succeeded--it did not look like Rocket Science.
His favorite genre was action-adventure, so he started to write and would learn the ins and outs as he went along. A quick study, he felt he had the talent to succeed. In near poverty, and with support from his faithful wife, Ned finished a novel. Sent out query letters to hundreds of agents and publishers and in return received hundreds of form letter rejections.
He pressed on; he convinced his retired parents to mortgage their house so that he could continue. He rewrote the novel, sent out hundreds of letters and emails and received hundreds of rejections in return. He repeated this process for several years, and even hired a book doctor who came with credentials, charged more than Ned could afford and proved to be a bigger failure than Ned.
Ned kept on, wrote another novel, same scenario--write rewrite, over and over. Ned quit and tried other things, but always come back to writing. Desperate to succeed he wrote a movie screenplay, more rejections, more depression and more personal problems flooded his life. Finally as a last gasp Ned wrote a sitcom--with the same unfortunate result.
After some ten years of perseverance, personal torture, with over five-thousand rejections, on strong medications for severe depression and hypertension, frustrated and his personal life shredded, Ned finally quit, and gave up his dream of becoming a famous writer. Just another nobody, a starving artist--the real price paid for art?
Was it lack of talent, bad luck? Ned's entire life story would in itself fill a book, a rather sad book.
Feel for these starving artists, it is not as easy as it looks--and it definitely is not romantic. And most will never be as sought after as those mentioned earlier--even after death.
Author:
Joseph N. Kolton is a seasoned entrepreneur, author, humorist and the founder of myPhotoLottery.com. For fun visit http://www.myphotolottery.com/art.html
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