Art for the People

Everything that's "hot" and trendy in the mainstream had its origins in someone's art. Yes, it's true. I went to an art college/film school for 4-years where the collective consciousness in the atmosphere could be described using words like pretentious, pessimistic, and cynical. If your ideas weren't 100% original, you might as well be labeled a "sell-out". Mainstream was in essence seen as the root of all the evils in the world. I once heard a fellow film student state, "I don't make films for an audience." It had to be one of the most idiotic and snobbish statements I have ever heard. That would be like the sun saying, "Hey man, I don't shine to give light." Art is meant to be seen, shared, and experienced by others. It doesn't have to be a private thing. Creative expression is just that. It's EXPRESSION! Do you creatively express to a wall?

After graduating from college, I struggled to enter the entertainment business. During this time I heard some wise words from a musician that has enjoyed a comfortable level of success over the last 30+ years. He said,

"Appealing to the mainstream doesn't mean you have to compromise your art."

This is coming from a man who is an absolute artist in his own right and has various platinum albums hanging on his walls. Those words of wisdom have impacted me greatly. They are also words that sting a lot of the cynical "art student" folks out there. When you think about it and unpack exactly what that statement means, you come to realize that everything that has ever been popular and mainstream has had its humble beginnings in an artist's work. The big corporate emperors and suits didn't create the "vampire craze" that we're currently experiencing, they're only trying to capitalize on the fact that it grabs a large number of the public. If an artist (filmmaker, author, musician, etc...) creates a work of art that touches a large number of people, the suits will take notice, seeing the $$$ and attempt to capitalize, thus creating the new trend. This is the mainstream at work. The reason these trends in the mainstream fade is due in part to oversaturation. Suits are like robots that cannot be reprogrammed. If the art continues to collect $$$, the suits will continue milking it until the public becomes overwhelmed and grows tired of it. At that point, the suits will try to find another new work of art that is grabbing the people, continuing the cycle. The suits don't make the trends. They're only interested in business.

An artist becomes a true sell-out when they try, much like the suits, to bend their art to emulate the current mainstream trend in order to capitalize on its success. Because of this, many of these artists quickly fade into obscurity once the trend has become exhausted. Living in Nashville has allowed me to witness different musicians carry out this very practice. Some young musicians in-particular sacrifice what made them unique and stand out among others in order to capitalize on the current trends, essentially becoming nothing more than a cookie-cutter shape or emulation of dozens of others. These musicians will find themselves wondering why their careers have already ceased by the time they reach 30. Had they continued with the art that made them authentic, unique, and garner tons of fans on a grassroots level, they could have achieved a greater level of success and career longevity.

It's ultimately about the people. If you create works of art that grab the people, you're heading down a path to success. The more people you grab, the more likely the suits will take notice, and before you know it, you'll be the originator of one of the hottest things on Earth. You didn't compromise anything, you just spoke to the people, and to me, that is what creating art is all about. It's about connecting with people. There are over 6-billion people on Earth. Connect with them!

"But Bill! What if I don't want my art to connect with lots of people." Don't expect to be successful then. Get a cubical job and do your art as a hobby.