I’ve been thinking about the recent Holland Cotter article in the New York Times called, “The Boom Is Over. Long Live the Art!.“ It’s an interesting look at how past down markets have creatively-fueled artists by allowing them a freedom that being tied to the marketplace may not.
Frankly, my first thought was, Well, we’re artists -- of any occupation in the world, we should be free to create without constraints. How odd to think that a recession somehow gives us permission to, um, BE ARTISTS. Of course, I know I’m being a little naïve in thinking that…but am I, really?? Yes, we all have to pay the bills and more importantly, this reality means it’s always a juggle between making $$ and making art. But I’m wondering if it worth exploring what that relationship exactly is and how it affects what and how we make our work.
In the article, Cotter wrote: “It’s day-job time again in America, and that’s O.K. Artists have always had them — van Gogh the preacher, Pollock the busboy, Henry Darger the janitor — and will again. The trick is to try to make them an energy source, not a chore.”
Having never had my livelihood depend solely on art sales, I don’t know first-hand what it must feel like when the market drops out from under you… or what it’s like to have a waiting list for yet-unmade work. I remember being in a rather well-known artist’s studio and was rather shocked at how he was talking about getting rid of his “day job” for the first time in his career. What I expected to be this amazing freedom was instead one of the most terrifying things he’d ever done because he had had given up the security of a predictable income every month. Now, he had no idea if he was going to be able to pay his bills from month-to-month, his credit cards were maxed out in order to produce his next show, and although it would probably be a great success, he was plagued by the thought of “…but what if.” I found myself reaching for a Xanax just listening to him. I guess I’m just not one of those artists who is comfortable taking those kinds of financial risks (and in hind sight, neither was he).
That said, my relationship to my day jobs has been complicated, as I suspect most artists’ are. Job experiences ranged from the extremely (and happily) under-employed when I was in my 20s to rather over-employed now in a very corporate setting, now that I’m, er, not in my 20s. The earlier jobs were office jobs for 2-3 days per week that paid enough to support my meager lifestyle – one that allowed me to own my own apartment in an artists-cooperative in Baltimore, have a separate studio and take 2 months each year off to spend in residencies. I loved this time of my studio life because it allowed me to create, create, create. Of course, this all was based on the fact that I lived in an amazingly-affordable city with no extravagances.
I’ve also taught full-time as a visiting professor – also great for giving me creative time and that delicious academic schedule, but when I moved to New York City eight years ago, I found myself working – for the first time in my life! – 40 hours a week. Honestly, it took me a good two years of mourning my past freedom and finally to accept how this infringed on my studio life. I’ve thought about teaching again, of course, but the idea of being dependent on adjunct-teaching was too uncomfortable to me, and I also just plain old hated feeling exploited.
Fast forward and I still work at the same large corporation. I’ve worked with the same boss for the entire time. I earn a comfortable living and don’t worry if I get sick because I have health insurance. And although I have a little flexibility in my work schedule and have gone to the occasional residency, I also fight every week for my studio time, and it’s never, ever enough.
“Energy source,” Cotter? I don't know too many folks who would see their day job as an energy source. For me, my job doesn’t drain me of my creative energy I need when I’m in the studio, but it does tap me of overall energy. On more days than not, I do feel intellectually invigorated but I still leave the office at the end of the day pretty spent. If I chose to move away from NYC, I’m sure I could have a less intense kind of job – maybe even regaining the lovely academic schedule. But in the end, I choose to be here for all the craziness, the community, the opportunity (she said still hopeful), the inspiration, the energy, etc., etc.
So here’s a question, folks, how does the day job (or lack thereof) hurt or help you? I know I’ve had this conversation with so many of you, so I’d love this to be a start of a more-communal conversation, not just something between a couple of kvetching-artists at a cocktail party. Nothing against cocktail parties, mind you.
