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Thursday
Feb182010

Polemic on the Thing That Bothers Me Tonight

The thing that bothers me tonight: fresh-out-of-the-college youngsters, barely out there for three years (which makes them kind of my age, 26-ish) and calling themselves Artists, Models, whatevers. I believe that a person can genuinely call himself a writer when he gets paid for his writings, i.e., when he lives off by his writings. And so is eveyrything else- just because you want a title before your name, (which can also be a pseudonym you'll want to change when you get a kid in ten years) you don't just tag yourself "artist" or "painter" or "choreographer" when you're actually paying someone to get those titles ahead of you. Actually, just like Warhol said, an "artist" is just a job name. It's not something fancy or high or Ivy League or postmortem Godard. Seriously, if someone wants to call herself an "artist," she should first redefine and clarify that term. To refresh my point, here's that favorite quote of mine that I think is pure genius:

Sue:
What are you majoring in?
Joel: Russian literature and Slavic languages.
Sue: Oh wow, that's pretty interesting. What career track is that?
Joel: Cabby, hot dog vendor, marijuana delivery guy. The world is my oyster.

I don't get the hype (= fad, vogue, whatever you call it) of becoming an "artist" overnight, especially after you've failed being another thing for the last four years of your life, when you're still in your twenties. Say, if you have a company of a group of artists, and the people around you start calling you an artist, only then you're able to call yourself a genuine "artist" without guilt and embarassment for the things you crave to own. And for those "models" who pay their photographers to take some random pictures, my poor 20-something experience of life tells me that they're spoiled Hilton-wannabes. Paris, I mean. 'Tis a strange, strange world. I guess, "why bother?" Good night, River.

Reader Comments (7)

I think they just crave the attention, no?
February 19, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterLady Gag Me
Lady Gag Me: Cool alias. If that's the case, Tila Tequila should be the greatest artist alive.
February 19, 2010 | Registered CommenterSo-Rim Lee
So-Rim, I'm shocked by this analysis that effectively you have to be paid to be an artist. If that were true so many artists of bygone times that we now consider great would not be called artists at all. The fact is, artist is a pretty hard thing to define, and maybe requires deep philosophical thought to define art (Heidegger did a pretty good job), so until you come up with some expansive philosophical argument you basically just have to accept that if someone says that they are an artist, they are! But you can still call them a terrible artist.
February 19, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterLord Dennison
p.s. those fresh-out-of-college wannabes have a lust for life that we'll be missing for the rest of ours. If you wanna be an artist or whatever, just do it! And don't let anyone hold you down.
February 19, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterLord Dennison
and the world fucking is Joel's oyster!
February 19, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterLord Dennison
Lord Dennison: I guess my point was that it seems, at least to me, slef-flattering
when someone walks up to me and says, "Hi!. I'm ***, and I'm an artist/model/choreographer!"
Redefining art, redefining artist, those fall short in the face of ostentatious display of megalomania.
(Would Socrates have said, "I am an artist. I art for a living." ...? Just asking.)

I wish we could talk, have a real "talk" with our voices. This issue has been on my mind for awhile
and I want to explain what specifically happend to me the other day. (something disillusioning)

PS. Joel's oyster is my freakin' oyster too! And yours!
PPS. Messaging is a good idea. Say hi to my Lord Byron if you see him before I do.
February 19, 2010 | Registered CommenterSo-Rim Lee
Lord Dennison: a slight but extreme twist on the quote is what kind of happened to me:

SUE: What do you do for a living?
JOEL: I art.
SUE: Huh?
JOEL: I'm an artist. I art all the time.
SUE: Can you elaborate that?
JOEL: I did some banking, tried other stuff, didn't see myself in difficult positions.. so I just decided to art. I mean, Isn't it, like, everyone's last resort? Being an artist and Carpe Dieming whenever you get the chance? By the way, I'm a serious artist. My art is really freakin' cool.
SUE: That sounds pretty... sacrilegious to me.

P.S. And our lust for life shall never deteriorate, I give my word on that. Even when I get depressin attacks and can't get out of bed, or when people start dying on me.
February 19, 2010 | Registered CommenterSo-Rim Lee

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