On quitting something I loved and returning to it 32 years later
Did I peak as an artist in high school? Stories from an art school dropout Ep 3.
Anyone can be an artist. Not everyone can make a living from it.
At some point in my young art school career, I decided that the art world wasn’t for me. There’s a whole lot to this story, including my growing disillusionment when I learned just how much the art world is gate kept by the wealthy and powerful. This is a real mind fuck when you’re a naive kid who goes from doing art for fun to getting thrown into the NYC art world where gallery representation and the value of art is decided by the people in power—the museums, collectors, the ones with money. It was an eye opening entry into a world I realized I had little chance for.
Keep in mind that this was thirty years ago when an artist’s circle of reach was small and immediate, and when money and family connections meant everything. It still does, but the internet, at least, has acted like an equalizer and has made art more accessible. It’s also commoditized art in a way it never has before, and while this has made earning money as an artist much more possible, I do sometimes wonder if the commodification of art in our capitalistic society puts too much value in what and how much can be sold and not enough on ideas.
By my sophomore year in college, I was far more interested in the life and East Village community I was beginning to build outside of studio walls. Art school began to feel like I was pretend playing in an elitist world of the privileged, where only those who came from money could sustain after they graduated.