image by Elaine with Grey Cats

Yesterday I was having a great time at my mastermind meeting discussing future goals. As we were sharing with each other our goals for the next few months, I had the realization that these people were functioning at a whole-brain level. Everyone in my group is an artist of some sort. Musician, actor, dancer, photographer and more – we are all artists who have a passion for succeeding in business as well as in our art.

I’ve come to believe that artists aren’t necessarily well served by just learning how to turn their art into a business.

Art is More Than A Job

There’s a lot of negative reinforcement towards artists. I remember in college when someone asked me what my major was and I responded, “Theatre.” The first follow-up question was, “So, which restaurant are you going to wait tables at?” I shouldn’t have been offended, but I was.

Another one of my friends tells me that when she tells people that she’s going to Art School, they make fun of her ‘easy’ major. Last semester she spent dozens of hours on a single sketchbook that was her final for one class.

On top of that, people argue about the value of art, while at the same time unconsciously paying huge sums of money for work by renowned artists in their consumer products.

There’s a disconnect in the conscious appreciation of art in every day life. It seems that the general population places the most value on art when it’s disguised as something else – something that has more practical uses. Art disguised as non-art.

Then it becomes apparent that if those around us value art when it’s disguised as something practical, then perhaps artists have an opportunity to make practical art.

What does practical art mean?

Turning the mundane into something transcendent. Isn’t that what Art is really all about? We create something out of rather mundane tools: brushes, pigments, a hand, a voice, a step, a look. The whole is much greater than the sum of its parts.

In a study release by the University of Michigan, fully 58% of Americans said that they think often about the meaning of life. In an age of unprecedented abundance, there is more opportunity for Art than there has been – perhaps ever. Even considering that we are in the midst of a terrible recession, there is a tremendous amount of wealth in the world. Even those in the USA who are having a hard time aren’t starving like people were 100 years ago. In spite of this new abundance and wealth, there is a dearth of spiritual awakening.

Robert William Fogel, a Nobel-prize winning economist, said, “Spiritual (or immaterial) inequity is now as great a problem as material inequity, perhaps even greater.” As a race, we are looking for meaning. Our spirits are longing to be filled.

As artists, how can we fill that need? I do believe that it is our calling to fill that need, for what else can fill it? Religion offers hope of salvation and comfort in this life, but even though I am devout, I find that my day to day life is enhanced immeasurably by being surrounded by beauty and meaning.

How do we, as artists, create that beauty and meaning? It might not be in the way that you think you should.

As artists, we tend to think that if we just create the best painting, the best play, the best movie, the best sculpture that we know how to create, then we will reach people, really affect change. I think doing that work is good. It provides meaning for us – but it doesn’t always provide meaning for the non-artist. Without context and hours of Art history study, a regular person will  never comprehend the Abstract movement. Jackson Pollock’s genius is lost on the masses – and that’s not necessarily their fault.

Creating meaning may be very different than we think. And it may be easier than we think.

Make Art Out of Life

Where do most people spend most of their time? Usually at work. 8+ hours per day, 5 days per week. Unfortunately for many, this work is drab and unexciting. As an artist, can you turn that work into a piece of art?

Can we, with our unique abilities and insights, turn the mundane office cubicle into a piece of art that a person can live in and actually increase happiness AND productivity?

We know that children learn how to interact with the world by playing. My wife was babysitting our friend’s daughter and she wanted to play house. Come home. Kiss the dolly. Make dinner. Clean the kitchen. Clean the bedroom. Hours go by and she was entertained.

Can we turn a boring class or job into something that is akin to play?

Why hasn’t Wal-Mart crushed Target yet? They both sell household goods. Stuff that we need for our day-to-day lives. Part of that answer lies in the fact that Target signed deals to get the best designers to make their stuff. You can buy designer toilet brushes at Target. Housewives everywhere rejoice in the fact that every aspect of their home can be something that looks nice and is functional.

Can we create every day objects that are beautifully functional?

An artist who wants to live an abundant life has a few options. They can turn the creation and manufacture of their original works of art into a business and become good at marketing. They can hire an agent and a manager to grow their business for them. They can also create a side-business that relates to other skills that they have which generates income to support their art.

I think, for me, I’d like a combination of those choices, where I have a business that takes the core principles of what I know how to do as an artist and teaches others how to learn and implement those skills.

What do you think? Do you have any interest in creating Art in other areas besides a traditional artistic medium?