Thursday Aug 07, 2003
Artists and Hacks
An artist carves out new territory with no preconceived notions about pleasing a public. Until the artist’s work is recognized by his audience, creating can make for tough times in the marketplace.
A hack (you know who you are) produces something he feels the public wants, which is inverse to the artist’s nature. Like Damocles, the hack works with the sword of a focus group dangling precariously overhead. A hack can have the potential to be a great artist; it is fear of exposing his true self that keeps him in the land of mediocre.
The true artist knows that a visceral reaction to his art is better than a lukewarm comment. I love it, or even I hate it is better than hearing: “Oh, it’s interesting.”
