The Artistic Achievement/Validation Scale
So I was bored and thinking about how getting into the Source festival would affect my artistic self-esteem, and I ended up making a -100 to +100 scale of artistic achievement/validation. (In other words, the scale can be used either objectively, to compare other artists, or subjectively, to say how successful you feel.)
Suggestive examples are relative, of course; in Spain, Golden Age playwright Lope de Vega might be something like a 98, but in the rest of the world, he might be an 80.
DE = DECEASED EXAMPLES
LE = LIVING EXAMPLES
100 "World-Changer"
Someone whose influence was so pervasive and powerful, they actually changed the world with their art. This only applies if it's their art itself that caused the change - Ronald Reagan was certainly influential (for better or worse) but not because of his acting.
DE: Shakespeare is the ultimate example. Some other possible candidates: Homer, Aeschylus, Sappho, Dante, Cervantes, da Vinci, Milton, Austen, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Jules Verne, D.W. Griffith (the man who created film language - and how influential are TV and film?), Orwell, Disney, Tolkein, possibly Asimov (we'll see when intelligent robots roll around), Elvis.
LE: Only time will tell.
95 "Legend/Icon"
While not changing the world in the broader ways that a 100 does, their names or works are iconic, and their artistry and influence unquestioned. One-name/household name recognition is a good indicator, although sometimes the recognition goes to their singular creation.
DE: Chaucer, Donne, Goethe, the Bronte sisters, Lope de Vega, Moliere, Poe, Dickens, Dickenson, Whitman, Ibsen, Tolstoy, Wilde, Lewis Caroll, J.M. Barrie, L. Frank Baum, Chekhov, Twain, Hemingway, Charles Schulz, Brecht, Chaplin, Hitchcock, Kurosawa, Gene Roddenberry; Bernhardt, Olivier, Bogart, Bacall, Hepburn, Hepburn, Marilyn, Brando, Mel Blanc; Michelangelo, Degas, Cassatt, Rembrandt, Picasso, Escher, Van Gogh, Dali, Warhol, Pollock; Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Handel, Verdi, Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Lady Day, Miles Davis, Coltrane, Sinatra, and way too many rock and roll artists to begin to name.
LE: Possibles include: Scorsese, Matt Groening, Stoppard, Mamet, Albee, Stan Lee, Alan Moore; Ian McKellan, Harrison Ford, Pacino, DeNiro, Meryl Streep, Chow Yun-Fat, Beat Takeshi, Asha Rai, Richard Pryor; and again, so many rock and roll artists. Given enough time, wildly-popular-but-not-universally-artistically-acclaimed artists such as Spielburg, George Lucas, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Seinfeld, Stephen King, and J.K. Rowling might belong here.
90 "Renowned/Originator"
Someone recognized as not just a master of their art, but as having changed and deeply influenced their art. Not as well-known outside their art as a 95; 95s might be thought of as deities, while 90s are mortal. Probably taught in universities. Essentially, peerless.
DE: Aphra Behn, Robert Louis Stevenson, Corneille, Joseph Conrad, Balzac, Edward Gorey, Gertrude Stein, Upton Sinclair, Lorraine Lansbury; David Garrick, Montgomery Clift, Ossie Davis; Howard Hawks, King Vidor, Leni Reifenstah; Robert Crumb.
LE: Possibles include: Thomas Pynchon, Neil Gaiman, Philip Roth, Joss Whedon, the Coen Brothers, David Lynch, Mike Judge, Will Wright, Shigeru Miyamoto, John Williams, Quincy Jones, RZA, Brian Eno, Stephen Malkmus. Few actors can land in this spot; either they become iconic and go on to be 95, or they become obscure and stay at 80 - unless they create a school of acting, like LeCoq.
80 "Master/Lauded"
The top echelon; elder statesmen; considered to be complete masters of their art by their peers, and likely the recepients of major awards like Pulitzers or Tonys. However, not as influential or original as a 90; they are unlikely to be remembered past their time except by historians and devotees. No one would say that an 80 is lacking in any way, even if they are not as successful as someone in the 90s.
Both DE and LE: For examples - do you recognize these Grammy Lifetime Achievement winners: Roy Acuff, Pablo Cafals, The Mills Brothers, The Funk Brothers? Or these Academy Award winners: William Wyler, Fredric March, Marlee Matlin, Gloria Stuart, Timothy Hutton, Walter Brennan? Or these Pulitzer winners: Conrad Richter, Allen Drury, Carol Shields, Zoe Akins, Michael Cristofer, Richard Howard, Leo Sowerby?
LE: The vast majority of award-winning or bestselling artists today will end up here - probably everyone from Parker Posey to Hugh Jackman to Idina Menzel to Darren Aronofsky to Sarah Silverman to David E. Kelley to Scott Adams to Gwen Stefani to Yo-Yo Ma.
70 "Appreciated/Recognized"
Recepients of acclaim and recognition in their field, possibly winners of minor awards or nominees for major ones, possibly artists with sizable cults of followers. Unlike an 80, their work might be considered lacking or unfinished; they have greater things ahead of them. They no longer have to fight for funding or attention, however; the top echelon of their field has their eyes on a 70, waiting for their breakthrough.
LE: Playwrights Sheila Callaghan and Jason Grote; up-and-coming but not big-name Hollywood actors like Christina Hendricks, Kristen Wiig, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan; musicians like Andrew Bird and MF Doom; video game designers like Kevin Levine (creator of Bioshock); probably any indie filmmaker winning awards at Cannes or Sundance. There's a lot of room between 70 and 80; Will Farrell and Rob Zombie and Sufjan Stevens might be all around 75.
60 "Mover-and-Shaker/Up-and-Coming"
Someone who has attracted the attention of their peers, but not done enough to have the established reputation or easy access to funding and attention of a 70. Unlike a 50, the upper echelon is starting to pay attention - they might say "look out for this one." This is the highest one can go without breaking out of one's local scene.
LE: See Pitchfork and Rolling Stone and other music press' profiles or reviews of "promising" or "buzzworthy" young bands; many non-star TV actors, particularly frequent guest stars; playwrights Craig Pospisil and Stephanie Zadravec; a writer getting reviewed by major critics; an indie filmmaker getting small festival awards.
50 "Journeyman/Established/Professional/Toiler"
Someone who has achieved relative financial stability working in their field, and/or a highly regular work schedule. The big names trust them for supporting work, but they get most of their work by the strength of their resume, not the recognition of their name. May be well-known on their local scene, but not able to reach into other markets.
LE: In stage actor terms, many Helen Hayes award winners; in TV actor terms, someone with a couple background or cameo roles on Law and Order; in writer terms, someone who is tapped to write for local TV or stages, or having their work published by small or genre press; musicians who can open for a popular touring artist when the popular artist is in town, but who couldn't be taken on tour as opening act to other cities, or musicians who can tour small clubs countrywide regularly and make a living, or working studio musicians. Chuck Brown mostly fits here (although that depends on whether you consider go-go to be enough of an invention to warrant 90 status).
40 "Published/Accepted"
The first taste of real success. A highly respected artistic institution has given the artist a real chance and the imprimatur of acceptance, but the artist has not established viability like a 50 has. The gatekeepers are watching them to see if they deserve 50 status. They can successfully answer the question "but what have you done?" to a non-artist. Within their local community, they might be known, but not a 'name.' Unlike a 30, as long as they keep working, they are likely to keep getting work, although they might never make a living off of it.
LE: A musician or filmmaker accepted into a festival; a band who can play local clubs, or tracked by local papers; a writer produced or published professionally once or twice; an actor understudying for major Equity theatres and occasionally starring in small professional theatres.
30 "Fringe/Noticed"
Someone who has gotten local attention, but not the stamp of approval. The artist must still prove themselves a few more times before they can get regular employment like a 40. Just like a 60 is considered promising within their national or worldwide artistic community while a 70/80 is recognized as having achieved that promise, so is a 30 to a 40/50, but on a local level. Major institutions ignore a 30. The 30 may have local fans or the beginnings of a following. They'll be forgotten as soon as they stop producing.
LE: An actor who has fought for and won small roles at small professional theatres or in small local indie films; a musician who has gotten an important club to let them play in off-peak time slots; a webcomic artist whose work has been linked to on local blogs.
20 "Displayed/Believed"
Someone whose work has been accepted as art. Someone who has no personal ties to the artist has essentially 'believed' the artist when they say they produce art, and liked it enough to put it on display; or, if the artist displays their work independently, strangers have seen it and accepted it as art. (As opposed to, say, the products of a high school art class whose work is put on public walls, and the public dismisses as educational material.) In other words, the artist has proven that people who aren't obligated to like the work can like the work. Unlike a 30, however, the professionals in their community have not really paid attention yet.
LE: An artist who has gotten a local cafe with artistic sensisbilities to display their work, and possibly sold some; the band who has gotten hired by a local bar or for a private party; a filmmaker or musician who posts their work on YouTube, and gets positive comments from people who stumble on it; a writer whose work is published by their large university's literary magazine.
10 "Novice/Avowed"
Essentially, someone who claims to be an artist, and can show their work. Only their friends or family or school might see their work. They may be someone taking classes in their art. Untested.
5 "Diarist/Dabbler"
Someone who has not completed anything, but has tried to do art, and wants to be a 10 but has nothing to show for it; or who has made some intentional art for frivolous reasons (like drawing for fun, or putting on skits for their friends), but doesn't consider themselves an artist; or someone who has completed some work, but keeps it to themself. Most people in the world probably fall here.
0 "Non-Artist"
Someone who has never attempted art, except incidentally, like in required school classes.
-5 "Doubter"
The opposite of a +5; someone who has not completed anything to their own satisfaction. While a +5 has either only done it frivolously or is trying to complete something and become a 10 or more, the -5 wishes to be an artist, but constantly undercuts themselves. If asked what ever happened to that art they were working on, they'll say "Oh, I dunno, it sucked. Maybe I'll try something else later." Many, many people.
-10 "Disavowed"
Someone who intentionally has given up on being an artist. They consider themself a failed artist. However, like a +10, they are unproven, which means it is entirely in their head that they are a failure.
-20 "Rejected/Unaccepted"
Someone who has been roundly ignored or rejected by official channels. It is impossible to sink lower than this without either self-producing, or convincing some sort of artistic institution to produce their work against the judgment of that institution's peers.
-30 "Joke/Dismissed"
Either self-produced in a noticeable way, or published by a dubious insitution of some kind. The vast majority of the public and press dismiss the work as amateur, make fun of it, or ignore it completely. An active rejection, as opposed to -20, which is passive.
-40 to -100 "Laughingstock/Reverse Appreciation/Reviled/Infamous"
Again, either self-produced, or somehow produced by a recognized insitution, but actively campaigned against by the majority of the public and the artistic community. There may be a strange and very small cult following who actually like the work, but unlike with cult followings from the positive side of the scale where non-followers simply aren't interested, an artist at -40 or below attracts actual derision from non-followers. Artists who attract very polarized love/hate reactions in equal numbers could be considred simultaneously + and -40 or above. Lastly, an artist who is infamous, and perhaps beloved, for work that nobody considers good, belongs here.
LE and DE: Ed Wood, Jr., of Plan 9 From Outer Space. -75 or so.
Most filmmakers whose films end up on Mystery Science Theater are probably around -40 to -50.
Leni Reifenstah, who practically created the modern documentary but happened to do so while working for the Nazis, is probably a +90 -90 case due to the subject matter, even if her artistic influence and power are undisputed.
Florence Foster Jenkins, the famously bad but popular singer. -60 to -70. In her own mind, a +60 to +70.
Uwe Boll, near-universally reviled filmmaker of bad video game adaptations, rumored to have gotten the work in order to get tax breaks for overseas investors. -60 to-70. In his own mind, he's between 90 and 150.
Webcomic artists: Jennifer Diane Reitz is about -40, and David Gonterman is about -50, though in both of their own minds they seem to be, like Uwe Boll, anywhere between 90 and beyond 100.
Suggestive examples are relative, of course; in Spain, Golden Age playwright Lope de Vega might be something like a 98, but in the rest of the world, he might be an 80.
DE = DECEASED EXAMPLES
LE = LIVING EXAMPLES
100 "World-Changer"
Someone whose influence was so pervasive and powerful, they actually changed the world with their art. This only applies if it's their art itself that caused the change - Ronald Reagan was certainly influential (for better or worse) but not because of his acting.
DE: Shakespeare is the ultimate example. Some other possible candidates: Homer, Aeschylus, Sappho, Dante, Cervantes, da Vinci, Milton, Austen, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Jules Verne, D.W. Griffith (the man who created film language - and how influential are TV and film?), Orwell, Disney, Tolkein, possibly Asimov (we'll see when intelligent robots roll around), Elvis.
LE: Only time will tell.
95 "Legend/Icon"
While not changing the world in the broader ways that a 100 does, their names or works are iconic, and their artistry and influence unquestioned. One-name/household name recognition is a good indicator, although sometimes the recognition goes to their singular creation.
DE: Chaucer, Donne, Goethe, the Bronte sisters, Lope de Vega, Moliere, Poe, Dickens, Dickenson, Whitman, Ibsen, Tolstoy, Wilde, Lewis Caroll, J.M. Barrie, L. Frank Baum, Chekhov, Twain, Hemingway, Charles Schulz, Brecht, Chaplin, Hitchcock, Kurosawa, Gene Roddenberry; Bernhardt, Olivier, Bogart, Bacall, Hepburn, Hepburn, Marilyn, Brando, Mel Blanc; Michelangelo, Degas, Cassatt, Rembrandt, Picasso, Escher, Van Gogh, Dali, Warhol, Pollock; Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Handel, Verdi, Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Lady Day, Miles Davis, Coltrane, Sinatra, and way too many rock and roll artists to begin to name.
LE: Possibles include: Scorsese, Matt Groening, Stoppard, Mamet, Albee, Stan Lee, Alan Moore; Ian McKellan, Harrison Ford, Pacino, DeNiro, Meryl Streep, Chow Yun-Fat, Beat Takeshi, Asha Rai, Richard Pryor; and again, so many rock and roll artists. Given enough time, wildly-popular-but-not-universally-artistically-acclaimed artists such as Spielburg, George Lucas, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Seinfeld, Stephen King, and J.K. Rowling might belong here.
90 "Renowned/Originator"
Someone recognized as not just a master of their art, but as having changed and deeply influenced their art. Not as well-known outside their art as a 95; 95s might be thought of as deities, while 90s are mortal. Probably taught in universities. Essentially, peerless.
DE: Aphra Behn, Robert Louis Stevenson, Corneille, Joseph Conrad, Balzac, Edward Gorey, Gertrude Stein, Upton Sinclair, Lorraine Lansbury; David Garrick, Montgomery Clift, Ossie Davis; Howard Hawks, King Vidor, Leni Reifenstah; Robert Crumb.
LE: Possibles include: Thomas Pynchon, Neil Gaiman, Philip Roth, Joss Whedon, the Coen Brothers, David Lynch, Mike Judge, Will Wright, Shigeru Miyamoto, John Williams, Quincy Jones, RZA, Brian Eno, Stephen Malkmus. Few actors can land in this spot; either they become iconic and go on to be 95, or they become obscure and stay at 80 - unless they create a school of acting, like LeCoq.
80 "Master/Lauded"
The top echelon; elder statesmen; considered to be complete masters of their art by their peers, and likely the recepients of major awards like Pulitzers or Tonys. However, not as influential or original as a 90; they are unlikely to be remembered past their time except by historians and devotees. No one would say that an 80 is lacking in any way, even if they are not as successful as someone in the 90s.
Both DE and LE: For examples - do you recognize these Grammy Lifetime Achievement winners: Roy Acuff, Pablo Cafals, The Mills Brothers, The Funk Brothers? Or these Academy Award winners: William Wyler, Fredric March, Marlee Matlin, Gloria Stuart, Timothy Hutton, Walter Brennan? Or these Pulitzer winners: Conrad Richter, Allen Drury, Carol Shields, Zoe Akins, Michael Cristofer, Richard Howard, Leo Sowerby?
LE: The vast majority of award-winning or bestselling artists today will end up here - probably everyone from Parker Posey to Hugh Jackman to Idina Menzel to Darren Aronofsky to Sarah Silverman to David E. Kelley to Scott Adams to Gwen Stefani to Yo-Yo Ma.
70 "Appreciated/Recognized"
Recepients of acclaim and recognition in their field, possibly winners of minor awards or nominees for major ones, possibly artists with sizable cults of followers. Unlike an 80, their work might be considered lacking or unfinished; they have greater things ahead of them. They no longer have to fight for funding or attention, however; the top echelon of their field has their eyes on a 70, waiting for their breakthrough.
LE: Playwrights Sheila Callaghan and Jason Grote; up-and-coming but not big-name Hollywood actors like Christina Hendricks, Kristen Wiig, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan; musicians like Andrew Bird and MF Doom; video game designers like Kevin Levine (creator of Bioshock); probably any indie filmmaker winning awards at Cannes or Sundance. There's a lot of room between 70 and 80; Will Farrell and Rob Zombie and Sufjan Stevens might be all around 75.
60 "Mover-and-Shaker/Up-and-Coming"
Someone who has attracted the attention of their peers, but not done enough to have the established reputation or easy access to funding and attention of a 70. Unlike a 50, the upper echelon is starting to pay attention - they might say "look out for this one." This is the highest one can go without breaking out of one's local scene.
LE: See Pitchfork and Rolling Stone and other music press' profiles or reviews of "promising" or "buzzworthy" young bands; many non-star TV actors, particularly frequent guest stars; playwrights Craig Pospisil and Stephanie Zadravec; a writer getting reviewed by major critics; an indie filmmaker getting small festival awards.
50 "Journeyman/Established/Professional/Toiler"
Someone who has achieved relative financial stability working in their field, and/or a highly regular work schedule. The big names trust them for supporting work, but they get most of their work by the strength of their resume, not the recognition of their name. May be well-known on their local scene, but not able to reach into other markets.
LE: In stage actor terms, many Helen Hayes award winners; in TV actor terms, someone with a couple background or cameo roles on Law and Order; in writer terms, someone who is tapped to write for local TV or stages, or having their work published by small or genre press; musicians who can open for a popular touring artist when the popular artist is in town, but who couldn't be taken on tour as opening act to other cities, or musicians who can tour small clubs countrywide regularly and make a living, or working studio musicians. Chuck Brown mostly fits here (although that depends on whether you consider go-go to be enough of an invention to warrant 90 status).
40 "Published/Accepted"
The first taste of real success. A highly respected artistic institution has given the artist a real chance and the imprimatur of acceptance, but the artist has not established viability like a 50 has. The gatekeepers are watching them to see if they deserve 50 status. They can successfully answer the question "but what have you done?" to a non-artist. Within their local community, they might be known, but not a 'name.' Unlike a 30, as long as they keep working, they are likely to keep getting work, although they might never make a living off of it.
LE: A musician or filmmaker accepted into a festival; a band who can play local clubs, or tracked by local papers; a writer produced or published professionally once or twice; an actor understudying for major Equity theatres and occasionally starring in small professional theatres.
30 "Fringe/Noticed"
Someone who has gotten local attention, but not the stamp of approval. The artist must still prove themselves a few more times before they can get regular employment like a 40. Just like a 60 is considered promising within their national or worldwide artistic community while a 70/80 is recognized as having achieved that promise, so is a 30 to a 40/50, but on a local level. Major institutions ignore a 30. The 30 may have local fans or the beginnings of a following. They'll be forgotten as soon as they stop producing.
LE: An actor who has fought for and won small roles at small professional theatres or in small local indie films; a musician who has gotten an important club to let them play in off-peak time slots; a webcomic artist whose work has been linked to on local blogs.
20 "Displayed/Believed"
Someone whose work has been accepted as art. Someone who has no personal ties to the artist has essentially 'believed' the artist when they say they produce art, and liked it enough to put it on display; or, if the artist displays their work independently, strangers have seen it and accepted it as art. (As opposed to, say, the products of a high school art class whose work is put on public walls, and the public dismisses as educational material.) In other words, the artist has proven that people who aren't obligated to like the work can like the work. Unlike a 30, however, the professionals in their community have not really paid attention yet.
LE: An artist who has gotten a local cafe with artistic sensisbilities to display their work, and possibly sold some; the band who has gotten hired by a local bar or for a private party; a filmmaker or musician who posts their work on YouTube, and gets positive comments from people who stumble on it; a writer whose work is published by their large university's literary magazine.
10 "Novice/Avowed"
Essentially, someone who claims to be an artist, and can show their work. Only their friends or family or school might see their work. They may be someone taking classes in their art. Untested.
5 "Diarist/Dabbler"
Someone who has not completed anything, but has tried to do art, and wants to be a 10 but has nothing to show for it; or who has made some intentional art for frivolous reasons (like drawing for fun, or putting on skits for their friends), but doesn't consider themselves an artist; or someone who has completed some work, but keeps it to themself. Most people in the world probably fall here.
0 "Non-Artist"
Someone who has never attempted art, except incidentally, like in required school classes.
-5 "Doubter"
The opposite of a +5; someone who has not completed anything to their own satisfaction. While a +5 has either only done it frivolously or is trying to complete something and become a 10 or more, the -5 wishes to be an artist, but constantly undercuts themselves. If asked what ever happened to that art they were working on, they'll say "Oh, I dunno, it sucked. Maybe I'll try something else later." Many, many people.
-10 "Disavowed"
Someone who intentionally has given up on being an artist. They consider themself a failed artist. However, like a +10, they are unproven, which means it is entirely in their head that they are a failure.
-20 "Rejected/Unaccepted"
Someone who has been roundly ignored or rejected by official channels. It is impossible to sink lower than this without either self-producing, or convincing some sort of artistic institution to produce their work against the judgment of that institution's peers.
-30 "Joke/Dismissed"
Either self-produced in a noticeable way, or published by a dubious insitution of some kind. The vast majority of the public and press dismiss the work as amateur, make fun of it, or ignore it completely. An active rejection, as opposed to -20, which is passive.
-40 to -100 "Laughingstock/Reverse Appreciation/Reviled/Infamous"
Again, either self-produced, or somehow produced by a recognized insitution, but actively campaigned against by the majority of the public and the artistic community. There may be a strange and very small cult following who actually like the work, but unlike with cult followings from the positive side of the scale where non-followers simply aren't interested, an artist at -40 or below attracts actual derision from non-followers. Artists who attract very polarized love/hate reactions in equal numbers could be considred simultaneously + and -40 or above. Lastly, an artist who is infamous, and perhaps beloved, for work that nobody considers good, belongs here.
LE and DE: Ed Wood, Jr., of Plan 9 From Outer Space. -75 or so.
Most filmmakers whose films end up on Mystery Science Theater are probably around -40 to -50.
Leni Reifenstah, who practically created the modern documentary but happened to do so while working for the Nazis, is probably a +90 -90 case due to the subject matter, even if her artistic influence and power are undisputed.
Florence Foster Jenkins, the famously bad but popular singer. -60 to -70. In her own mind, a +60 to +70.
Uwe Boll, near-universally reviled filmmaker of bad video game adaptations, rumored to have gotten the work in order to get tax breaks for overseas investors. -60 to-70. In his own mind, he's between 90 and 150.
Webcomic artists: Jennifer Diane Reitz is about -40, and David Gonterman is about -50, though in both of their own minds they seem to be, like Uwe Boll, anywhere between 90 and beyond 100.