The reality with which nowadays most, if not every artist, is confronted when trying to make a living selling their art is, in the best scenario, disbelief, and in the worst one, mockery.
Is art still considered a profession nowadays? We live in a meritocracy based on commercial success. Each and every person is just a cog in the machine of society, and we are supposed to work until we can. In return, we receive a regulated salary, health insurance, pension, etc.
For people who have decided to live in this system, it can seem strange that someone would give up all these securities just to pursue their passion. Artists are often considered as dreamers, who are just too lazy to pursue a “proper” or “ordinary” job. However, an artist often works just as hard as someone with a regular job. With the difference that there is no “free weekend” or “closing time” for the artist. This is because this society has made us believe that only the work you hate is real work.
However, art is actually everywhere. We are surrounded by it because art does not only mean a painting or a statue in a museum or in a gallery. Art is also a movie in the cinema, or the advertising billboard, or the design of the new sports car you have in the garage: somewhere in the manufacturing process, there was an artist involved, without whom it would have never existed. Unfortunately, many forget this and therefore cannot imagine how an artist could earn money in modern society.
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