why we are burning out in the arts
There's too much to keep up with. When it comes to actually writing in this journal, I just never seem to find the time. Or it's just so much easier to share on the fly (i.e. facebook/twitter). But there's value in the longform and value in putting the time into it.
I'm newly addicted to an app called List (http://li.st)
Check it out and add me if you're on there. It helps me embrace the longform *and* it's on the fly.
Anyway, I came here to share this really good article I read: http://performing.artshub.com.au/news-article/career-advice/performing-arts/madeleine-dore/why-we-are-burning-out-in-the-arts-249582
I think the #1 cause of burnout for artists is a negative relationship (i.e. having someone else steal your work, or having a partner betray your trust. I've had paintings physically stolen off the walls of my art shows (12 times - in san francisco each and every time), I've had galleries not return my work, I've had my work copied by corporations and individuals alike, sometimes even friends. and I've had trusted licensors steal my ideas, underpay me, stop paying me, miscommunicate, stop communicating, or any number of things that all add up to feeling low. there's also the social media component, and the pressure to keep people "engaged" instead of actually doing your work. and the personal aspect of it, too. getting friended or followed, then unfriended or unfollowed.
eventually you sort of start to feel like your existence doesn't matter and your work doesn't matter and you'll never be respected or appreciated, and it will always be a struggle and it will never stop being a struggle, to make things and to actually give a shit about what happens to it while you try to pay your bills, and you try to share what you do with those who care, and you try to do more of it, and you try to just keep up and try not to let things hurt you too deeply.
i'd love to hear from an artist who's been working full-time as a freelancer for longer than me who doesn't feel this way, and i'd really love to learn how they do it. is it just a complete detachment from the work itself, like any other job? are you somehow treated so differently than me, respected in every business relationship and treated with some kind of reverence? are they just paid very handsomely?
if it's you, please comment or email me at susie (at) boygirlparty.com
dead serious.
here's a quote from the article i particularly liked:
I'd say a major pressure in the arts comes from living a life of constant financial insecurity. Artists work very hard, usually in multiple ways on several different projects, but this labour seldom gives you a regular income, so you're coping with stresses that don't have to do with your work, but are a result of it.
and here's a picture:
and here's a poll:
Poll sometimes don't you feel so super tired?