THE ART FART

I think that many galleries and art events are either laundering money or scamming the artists, when they want money up front especially. Recently i was part of such a show, via a friend of mine, who paid $75 to exhibit. 

Although the space is nice, well decorated, it was filled with the eager artists awaiting for the mythical crowds which never materialized, who were visiting in despair each other's areas, paying compliments, networking at least, though most i talked with were there for the first time and had no idea what to expect, aside the gradual sinking feeling of counting the incurred financial losses and the disappointment. 

At the end of the night the artists had to dismantle their elaborate setups, making way for suddenly appeared out of nowhere dance party crowds. The next day the event page was promptly removed as scathing. heart broken. reviews started to pour in. 

As i have warned my friend prior to the event, he knew that it was highly suspicious, risky affair, however he decided to gamble anyway, in vain hope of making a sale, which he didn't. It was a last straw, i suspect, as he has sworn not to paint anymore, and has not yet since.

I guess the perseverance pays off for some. Although i am against artists making living from art in the current criminal financial system of command and control. Talk to your politicians about the Guaranteed Minimum Income. 
Art is done in celebration of something, as an inspiration for self expression, for articulating novel methods, ideas, and concepts, as traditional pass time and community building... 

... and not done to please the potential buyers or to entice a potential sale in order to stay alive, that's an outsider art by definition and has nothing to do with the actual art and real artists. 

"The term ‘Outsider Art’ is sometimes misapplied as a catch-all marketing label for art created by people who are outside the mainstream "art world" or "art gallery system", regardless of their circumstances or the content of their work."*1

However, the traditional employment of real artists by the establishment, i.e. the Rich, the State, and the Religious order, to deliver the work done in good taste, skill, and sound aesthetic, philosophical judgement, at least on the surface, continued until starting around the 20th century, when the "mainstream" art world and media begun to create fake superstars by popularizing the "outsider artists" to the general public, basically telling them that the ugly is now new beautiful, or that an idiot is now an expert, or crazy is now new normal.

Meanwhile the real art done by the real artists, who are actually good at self-expression for the sake of art and not doing it to get paid, or to get famous, or to feel better about themselves as a form of a therapy, such as when art done in the drunken, drugs-infused frenzy... or while trying to recover from the addictions..., the true art done in the spirit of art is ignored or hidden. 

The real artists are pushed to the brinks of extinction, aside a few still employed by the rich, although it seems even the rich have a hard time finding a true artist nowadays, or else they keep good artists in secret for themselves only, although I doubt it since the artist's spirit is free, or maybe the art spirits are leaving humanity altogether, disappointed, disgusted, and dismayed.

As for the "Outsider Art," it is a valid use of art, get it out to feel, get better, but that does not make the residue to become the "fine art," since the intent of why the artwork was created in the first place would define if it is a contender for consideration of being a good example of a style or expression which the world of the so-called "fine art" purports to protect and represent

“The independent, "ousider" artists, the creative type, marches to the beat of their own drum, not driven by the traditional incentives typically doled out in a cookie cutting sterile corporate workplace devoid of anything human. Sure, everyone’s got to make enough cash to pay the bills, but the sensitive creative souls are not particularly motivated by money or flashy perks. More important is that they receive satisfaction from their creative work and are appreciated for their contribution to human experience and expression of what being human is all about.”*2

So, all those supposed so-called artists and so-called galleries of the art industry are nothing more than imposters and parasitic opportunists, usually lacking any creativity hence the enormous amount of crap they create then trying to sell it to each other as the next big hot art.

However, i understand the sentiments, everyone wants to make a good living, by way of art or any other morally palatable manner, and if an opportunity, circumstance, or stamina got you in the position of making a living from doing so-called art, well, good for you, but it still does not mean that you are an artist and good at it, that would be for me to decide, as too everyone else, in the personal preferences of taste and aesthetic judgement.

As for a friend of mine, well, i am an artist and he was my art dealer, studio manager, whom i have convinced to start making his own art, which he did, however, being an outsider, he had unrealistic expectations of himself along with the art market demand for his spews of creativity, and hence that pretence of being an Aartis didn't last very long, as I was expecting and predicting it. Thus it came as no surprise to me that he had quit his theatrics of being an artist after the first few failures.

I see these sort of artists and web designers everywhere nowadays. They have learned how to use FrontPage or Dreamweaver and poof they are now expert web designers, or learned to use Photoshop and poof they are now expert graphic designers, except they have no clue what they are doing and everything they do looks like mediocre soulless corporate crap.

It is no secret that most galleries in Toronto are laundering money for the mafia, it's been done so for centuries. You got to be very naive to think that the galleries in Toronto are actually interested in the art, they don't and never did, as i said, most of them, with the rest being super rich private collectors or some other spiritual perverts, Lord knows.

If it is working for you, good, count your blessings, but it is more of a lottery system than a systematic approach to the culture, art, and nourishment of the creativity in society, which only indicates its success by how its most vulnerable members are being treated, artists, the delicate sensitive souls, being part of it. The rest is rhetoric, and as you am sure can tell, i am least interested in it, i got plenty of my own to share around with little humans.

Live! Prosper! Be Well!

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*1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outsider_art
*2 - slightely edited, plagiarized from: https://bornforthisbook.com/results/the-independent-creative