I thought about my attachment to the piece and what it all meant. I had placed a very high price on it in the off chance that someone would want to buy it. But then I worried...maybe I should have said it was not for sale? What if someone did buy it- was I ok with that?
The attachment is not limited to this particular piece. I usually have a very hard time parting with my art. I still think about a particular piece that sold to someone before I was ready to sell it. I'm grateful that I at least have a picture of it.
One of my favorite books on art and process is "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield. As much as I enjoyed this book for its motivational qualities, I was surprised when reading it that the author took such an impersonal viewpoint to his work. He separates artists into two distinct categories: the amateur and the professional. One of the qualities he lists as being a professional is this, "We do not overidentify with our jobs. The amateur takes it so seriously it paralyzes him...If we think of ourselves as a corporation, it gives us a healthy distance on ourselves. We're less subjective."
I once had a very professional artist tell me that my problem was that I fall in love with my art. I can completely understand what he was trying to say and can even agree with it. I don't want to be a corporation. I do fall in love with it. I'm an amateur and I would have to say, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Very interesting. I wonder if it it really true, if you can separate artists into to the two groups, amateurs and professionals, by how attached they are to their works. I suppose to pay the bills, the professionals have to "crank out" their art at a rate that allows them to pay the bills, while an amateur may labor longer over a piece and produce work that is intended largely to satisfy themselves instead of a market. I bet that there is a lot of overlap between amateurs and professionals when it comes to their attachment to their work just as there are in so many ways between people in life. Some people are simply more sentimental and appreciative of beautiful things while others may just use their god-given talents to produce work that will sell. My two cents! :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree Dale, I think there is a lot of overlap. The main point in his book is that the professional "goes to work". He clocks in & sits down to work whether the muse is there or not. I do agree with that but separating yourself so much from your work is something that I don't understand. To me, it's clear whether the artist put his soul into a piece and to me that is what makes it successful to the audience.
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