No One Cares (Now What?)
If you do not express your own original ideas, if you do not listen to your own being, you will have betrayed yourself.
Rollo May, Psychologist
No One Cares (Now What?)
Artists spend the bulk of their time in the studio creating work that no one else cares about… Until they see it.
How’s that for a thought.
At first, a thought like this might seem sobering or depressing. It might seem defeatist. And it could very well seem like a, “Well then, whats the point of even making art?”, kind of a statement.
I prefer to see this thought as an empowering one.
What the what!?
It suggests to me that my job as an artist is to create my art and put it out there so people can see it, and so they can care about it. Or not.
Of course, people are not going to care about my art, if they never have a chance see it.
While I am alone in my studio, I am the the only one who needs to care about my art. In the studio, I create my art for me, first and foremost.
If I genuinely care about my work while I am creating it, then when I put it out in the world, others will care about it as well. The work will find its caring audience.
Of course, some people, even after they see my work, will still not care about it. But, I can’t do anything about that. I can’t make people appreciate, care about, or even love my work. But, at least I can give them an opportunity to form their own opinion.
I would love for everyone who sees my art to to like it and care about it. But that’s not up to me.
But, again, I can create my art and give people the opportunity to see it, so they can make up their own minds about it.
The only control I have is to choose to make my art, care about it, and put it out there.
The rest is up to the people who see it.
Best,
David