The Creative Conundrum
While the “starving artist”‘ archetype is attractive in contrast to the often villanized one-percenter, like most people in this creative headspace I want wealth from my work too. We live in a digital age that presents boundless opportunities to convert ideas into capital. It almost seems too easy to post Instagram photos and collect a check, so why isn’t everyone doing it?
I mull over these ideas all the time with my friends. We are all endlessly talented, smart, and scrappy. However the creative community is evolving – and at the same time being compartmentalized – so rapidly that it’s hard to find our footing. Fashion wunderkind Tavi Gevinson, founding editor-in-chief of Rookie magazine, summed it up best – “there was such a clear line between “alternative” and “mainstream,” and now there isn’t really privileged information about what’s “cool,” so a lot of those lines don’t exist anymore.”
In the past five years we have redefined what it means to be a creative. There is no longer a certain look, a specific field of work, or even acceptable/unacceptable subject matter required to be a member of this thriving community. So, in a space where there isn’t much to be “anti” against or “alternative” from, how do we make our projects stand out from the clutter?
It’s mind boggling but ultimately I have to tune all of these questions out and just create.
xx
Miss Suber
Follow Me: