Quotes

"The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude." -- Friedrich Nietzsche

"The thing I hate the most about advertising is that it attracts all the bright, creative and ambitious young people, leaving us mainly with the slow and self-obsessed to become our artists. Modern art is a disaster area. Never in the field of human history has so much been used by so many to say so little." – Banksy

I ran across these two quotes recently, and they have my head spinning in numerous ways. What's particularly interesting to me are the reactions that those who I shared Banksy's quote with had. Most of these individuals  mentioned money in one way or another, which I more or less expected. What I didn't expect was how divergent their money-specific reactions would be. On one hand, there were those who felt it makes sense that the young flock to advertising because there is no money to be had by creating art in the traditional manner. On the other hand were those who agree with Banky's summation but feel a strong urge to somehow make the two words meet--to somehow stay true to their art while coming to grips with having to "sell out."

I believe his viewpoint is flawed, or at the least, narrow-minded in its execution. I mean this in the sense that if you choose to have a family, for example, as countless artists do, you're choosing to give up certain benefits, namely the freedom of living a single life that's mostly independent of others. In other words, you have no direct, physical responsibility for the well-being of others. Precisely, children. You're free to pursue your art with far less conflict. If you do have children but manage to remain true to your art and all that entails, most likely you're living the proverbial "struggling artist" lifestyle (as most artists never achieve great wealth or fame), which means so are your children. It most likely also means you're consumed with your art to the point it takes precedence above everything else, translating to you're probably not a terribly good father or mother. At the least, you're probably not terribly attentive to the needs of your children, if you're even aware of their needs at all. That's probably too harsh and sweeping, but I think it's accurate to a great extent.

At any rate, sometimes, the desire to succeed has nothing to do with wanting to achieve financial wealth or fame or distinction. Instead, it has everything to do with contributing to the happiness of those you've purposely or purposelessness chosen to bring into your life and this world.

In the end, I think Nietzsche's summation that the essence of beautiful art is gratitude holds more truth for me. What Banksy find beautiful, I may not, and conversely. For me, an artists economic status has nothing to do with whether I find his art instinctively beautiful. I don't believe that because an artist participates in advertising he's necessarily bright, creative, or ambitious. I see this firsthand. I also don't believe the slow and self-obsessed are all who remains. I see this firsthand, as well. I do completely agree that today, so much is being used to say so little. I know this firsthand.