The Starving _________

The blank in the title is filled in one of two ways. 1). The starving student. Yes, sometimes they go hungry because they are trying very hard to work while going to school, and all of that money goes to school-related costs and rent. This is sad, but understandable. I want to talk about the other way to fill in that blank.

2). The starving artist.

Let's play pretend for a little while, okay?

You are passing out business cards at a job expo for your new work as a private accountant. Your business is something that you have worked extremely hard to create; you have gone to school for years, you have worked hard to build your resume, and you are finally licensed. This is something you are very proud of, and you have a talent for numbers. You're very excited, because a lot of people have been talking to you about the possibility of calling you and giving you work.

A very well-dressed woman comes up to you and looks at your card, then looks at you. ... Oh no. You know that look. It's the look that your roommates in college gave before they asked you to help them figure out their accounts and come up with a budget for them. This woman gives you the once-over, and you know that she's noticing that you're young and probably inexperienced. She knows that you're excited and that you're probably talented and a hard-worker--you wouldn't be here if you weren't, right?

"So," she says, "you're an accountant?"

As if she didn't know that.

"Yes," you say politely. "What is it that you do?"

"I am a business owner. I own the large grocery store on the corner of Main Street."

"Oh! That's wonderful! Congratulations." What else do you say to that?

She smiles somewhat smugly. "Thank you. You know, I was just thinking about getting an accountant to help us out at the store--we have had a good year, but there are some places that we need to figure out how to better use our money within the business."

You're getting excited now. A business might want to hire you! You do your best to look interested, but not horribly excited. "Oh? I would love to be considered for the job." That sounded good. Good job, you!

She smiles. "I was hoping that you would. How long have you been an accountant?"

"I have a resume ready, if you would like to see it." You reach to your table and pull out a resume, which she glances at. You see it on her face--a kind of smug smirk that flits across her lips before being replaced by the smile. You know exactly why this happened, and you try to cover with "I graduated recently, and I am just starting out."

"Oh, that's perfectly fine." She continues to smile as she looks up at you and says, "Since you are looking for more business, I would like to offer you the job in exchange for notoriety." 

Your blood freezes. "Excuse me?" you ask, hoping that you misheard. 

You didn't. And she's still smiling. "Well, the store gets a great deal of business now, and I can offer to put your business cards on our checkstands as well as your name on a small plaque."

This is a joke. She must be joking. Isn't she? You realize, as she waits for an answer, that she isn't. Seriously? She, instead of offering you the business she knows you are looking for, is telling you that she isn't going to pay you. She thinks that she can get away with compensating you for doing hard, private work by letting you leave your name in her store! Instead of yelling at her ("Do you know how many people actually take business cards or even coupon books from checkstands? Hardly anyone, that is how many! I can't buy food with business cards on your freaking checkstands!"), you simply and politely say, "No, thank you."

I think many artists feel the same pain I feel when I see this.

Now, some of you may have read this and thought, "Okay, this is stupid." I agree. It is. However, this happens in an artist's life a lot. It continues to be stupid. I have found, however, that many people feel like artists don't need to be paid. It's as if people feel like they are doing artists a favor by "letting" them do the art for their company's poster for such and such an event, or "letting" a graphic designer design a business card, or "letting" a newer actor act in a play. I am here to tell you that we artists cannot put food on our tables with you "allowing us" to do something that you need us to do. Artists are used a great deal, and I think it is because we love our craft. I think that people assume that because artists enjoy what they do so much that we will do whatever it takes to have an excuse to do what we love.

Another argument I have heard is that art is a hobby, no matter what form that art may take. That is something I hate hearing very, very much. You wouldn't walk up to Richard Sherman (Pacific Northwest girl; deal with it) or any other member of a major sports team and say, "Look, Mr. Sherman, I think sports are a hobby, so you shouldn't get paid for your work." You sports fans all are hypocrites if you think artists shouldn't be paid because what they do is a "hobby". There is a very large difference between something done as a hobby and something done as a vocation. Miss Business in the opening story might paint in her spare time. Does that make her an artist to be paid for her work? Nope. It's her hobby--she isn't trying to sell her talent or her work; she does it as a pastime. That isn't her living. There are people, however, who paint all of the time and sell their work. There are photographers who spend a great deal of money on their equipment and training in order to sell their photographs. There are cellists who practice every day and have paid a great deal of money in lessons and school in order to be paid to play in a professional orchestra. Et cetera, et cetera.  People who have honed their craft and artistic talents have worked hard to be able to make a living off of their work, just like the people who run small businesses or work in the accounting business have. I have two separate degrees in artistic fields, and there is no way that you can tell me that I didn't work as hard to get those as the person over in the school of math and science did for her degrees. The type of work is different, but the effort is the same. I would argue that we artists may spend more time on our schooling than many other professions do because of the amount of work that has to happen outside of the classroom. Artists work hard to get where they are going, and if they don't work hard, it shows.

As you can tell, this topic is one that really hypes me up. I am not alone in my anger at those who don't think artists should be paid, however. Maria Brophy wrote a rather angry piece about it, though her definition of "artist" seems to only refer to those with a paintbrush in hand. She mentions a couple of other kinds of artists that get paid for their work (specifically interior designers and musicians), but I don't think she realizes that many of those artists hardly ever get paid for their work unless they are employed by large corporations or organizations. As I have mentioned, artists get used. Do other people get used? Sure! I mentioned that in my little story; the young accountant was asked by college roommates to do work for free. It happens to everyone... but I would argue that it happens a lot more to people who work with their hands for a living.

The UK seems to know what is up. I applaud this video below. While the statistics may not be exactly what they are in the USA, I have a sneaking suspicion that they are probably very close.

Look, I know that many of you may not care about this. You know what, though? That is part of the problem. I mean, why does everyone accept the phrase "the starving artist" as a job description for those trying to make a living doing what other people may do or see as a hobby? You want to know what one of my hobbies is? Budgeting (and, yes, I actually mean that I like to do that). How is it that if I had taken that hobby to school and received degree in accounting that nobody questions that I would (and should) get paid to budget money, but I shouldn't have to be paid if I want to act in a play after having worked for years to get a degree in theatre?

That is stupid.

That is wrong.

I had really hoped that this would be taken more seriously.

Art is incredibly important in society. When archaeologists are on a dig in a city, what is it that they usually find and cherish? What lasts long enough for them to find and study? Art, my friends. Art. Pottery, paintings on the sides of caves, carvings! All of these things are beautiful and incredibly telling of a culture. We, as people, value art more than we sometimes realize. If you think of a "civilized society", you usually think of some form of art being created in that society. Music, visual art (I am going to include architecture in that category, actually--some architecture is visually stunning), culinary trends, theatre, film, and dance are some of the easiest ways to discern what is important to any given society. We, as people, love art; have you ever been in a house with absolutely nothing on the walls? It's depressing. Empty. It doesn't feel like a home until there is something up on the walls to give it life. Heck, even in the Sims games know that it is important--your Sim will get extremely depressed if you don't put any art in the house. Go ahead. Try it.

Art is important! If we do not pay people to contribute their art to society, we will end up with even more drones getting paid to do things that they don't want to do, like bagging groceries or working at a clothing store as a clerk instead of doing what they really are talented at. Artists should not have to make their art a side business while they work to survive in a job they hate. Nobody deserves that fate.

ALL OF THIS BEING SAID: dear artists, stop accepting nothing for your work. Stop being bullied into thinking that your work or talent is only good enough to do as a hobby. Stop worrying about the people who ask "oh, so what are you planning on doing with that degree?" and go on and DO something with it!

A very successful artist of the writing variety, Neil Gaiman, spoke these very inspiring words, made into visual art by Zen Pencils: make good art. Take a look, no matter who you are. It's pretty awesome. And here is the video of the speech from which the text comes, which should be watched by any artist:

He does mention that you should never do work just for the money, and I agree; but you shouldn't accept a pay-less job.

In the end, nobody deserves to starve, and if someone has practiced for incalculable hours and spent time as a starving student in order to get somewhere with his talent, he as sure as Earth's gravity doesn't deserve to starve simply because nobody wants to pay him for his hard work. There should be no more starving artists. Art is important. Society knows this, though individuals within that society may not. The artist behind the art, therefore, is even more important. That is the maker of the thing that society needs in order to be considered cultured. That is the outside-thinker that offers new ideas. That is a person, dang it, and that person deserves to be paid for his work.

Get this button on the "no more starving artists" link I posted!