The burdens borne by artists

“I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process.”

Are you among those who believe that anybody can make art and become an artist? For some, it is not merely about becoming an artist, it’s about living as an artist and enduring the diverse challenges brought by this lifestyle. 

The visionary artist Vincent Van Gogh who perceived the world in his distinctive style left us with a poignant quote, “I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process.” Van Gogh’s art and his quotes often exemplified the quintessential struggling artist combined with a burning passion for beauty, the human condition and life itself.

Artists have a tendency to be misunderstood and misjudged by society, curators, critics and even other artists, especially if their expression of art is unconventional or unique. For reasons like breaking societal barriers, artistic ideas about controversial subjects, having cultural differences and promoting progressive ideas, artists are often persecuted and misconstrued. 

Despite taking up the extraordinary role of entertaining their consumers, artists struggle with feelings of being unremarkable. Here are some of the major problems faced by creative artists:

Unstable finances:

The huge impact that artists have on the cultural and entertainment industries might give the false idea that they have plenty of opportunities and are getting handsomely paid for their efforts. Behind the alluring veil of the art world, finding consistent and rewarding work can be extremely challenging for most artists. They are usually underpaid, overworked and exploited for their content. 

Whether you’re a musician expecting to perform regularly at events or an artist waiting for your next commission, your creative endeavours may not bring a steady source of income that’s enough for sustained living. To combat this shortage in finances, artists tend to take up other jobs to earn more money to support their art. They are often stressed out from juggling multiple jobs and struggle with financial instability.

Social media platforms enable artists and content creators to reach more diverse target audiences but it also forces them to work without compensation for their efforts. The efforts behind maintaining and engaging with an online audience can be exhausting and revenue is generated based on likes, shares, promotions, advertisements, paid subscriptions, and premium services. These are factors that are not under the control of the artists and the constant network pressure and also produce results can be gruelling.

Some media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest monetize art and digital content without compensating the labours of artists or content creators.

Many artists, particularly those beginning their careers, are required to take unpaid internships to gain experience in art galleries, museums, publishing companies, magazines, remote-work organizations and production companies. The unpaid labour churned out by these creators and artists is neither recognized nor appreciated. The incentives are either limited or non-existent which can be a demotivating and brutal environment to work in.

When consumers who appreciate and buy any form of art offer monetary support along with motivation, it can make an artist feel valued for the time and effort taken to painstakingly perfect their art or craft. As a sign of respect, we can avoid asking them for free commissions, even if they are our friends or people we know. Instead recommending them for performances, commissions and other opportunities would boost their confidence.

Capitalism:

Due to the dominance of capitalism, artists are forced to showcase their art as a commodity rather than as an expression of their creativity or passion. For example, writers are expected to deliver their work based on stringent deadlines and almost non-existent incentives. Their work is evaluated based on quantity rather than based on the quality of their writing. This can be demotivating to artists and lead to issues like writer’s block, burnout and excessive stress.

The art world is mired in racial, political and economic injustice. Combined with capitalism, it can make artists feel alienated from their peers. As a result of capitalism, artists tend to feel conflicted between wanting to satisfy commercial expectations and a persistent desire to get recognition for pursuing or expressing their own art style or art form.

Limitations:

Although being a naturally diverse and limitless field, the world of art is typically constricted by categories, labels and limitations based on demographics, economics, geography, gender, politics and lifestyle. As artists are constantly evolving and pushing boundaries in terms of style, form, and function, it would be demoralizing to pigeonhole them. When they encounter unsavory limitations, there is a heavy impact on their creativity and inspiration as well as their capacity to grow and experiment.

For some people, art is a sense of adventure. They would rather disrupt the status quo and explore new avenues to express their creativity. When given the space to experiment, some artistic adventurers are likely to produce art that is based on progressive and diverse themes.

Frida Kahlo who is revered as an iconic artist today, did not conform to the societal limitations regarding gender such as how a woman is supposed to look or behave during her period. She disregarded those regressive expectations and continued to keep her natural uni-brow and upper lip hair. She also made it a point to emphasize them in her famous self-portraits, exhibiting her self-acceptance.

Emotional Turmoil:

Artists undergo tremendous emotional turmoil due to the pressures and challenges they encounter in the art industry. Artists may measure and compare themselves with others or get compared to other artists, causing heavy feelings of envy, shame, guilt and sadness. Artists might feel inadequate and can also struggle with impostor syndrome. Impostor syndrome is characterized by feelings of insecurity that make artists question their abilities, combined with the fear of being discovered as unworthy to be an artist.

Another common factor contributing to emotional turmoil is perfectionism which causes artists to set unrealistic standards for their artistic prowess. This obsession to appear perfect or deliver perfect results can cause excessive levels of anxiety, self-doubt, stress and shame. In the uphill battle to achieve perfection, they might procrastinate their work until they are faced with more pressure to perform or express themselves. As a result, they are stuck in a loop of perfectionism, procrastination and performance paralysis.

It is not uncommon for artists to feel periods where they lack inspiration or feel drained. These periods of drought can make them lose confidence in their creativity and cause a lot of self-doubt and insecurity. When artists are not being recognised and their work is not well-known, they tend to feel demotivated and also experience emotional turmoil. 

On the other hand, some people in creative industries thrive on being released from the pressures of conventions. Some genres of metal music are considered obscure as they have a distinctive subculture. Metal music and artworks often delve into topics like spiritualism, folklore, fantasy, and mythology and also explore diverse themes like religion, death, rebirth, grief, war, violence, occult, literature, history, politics, revolution, hope, power and many more.

Plagiarism

In the world of art and content creation, plagiarism is a long-standing concern that raises ethical conundrums among artists. It can range from directly reproducing any content (visual or other forms of art) to unauthorized theft such as copying or stealing an artist’s expression, techniques, concepts, styles, content and creative work.

When an artist discovers that their art or content has been refurbished or reproduced by either artists or consumers, it can impact their professional reputation, personal growth, sense of integrity and overall performance. In the modern era, there are multiple instances of plagiarism being practised, with the use of tools and artificial intelligence on various platforms. Artists usually inform their consumers of the consequences of not crediting the original artist and for not using proper citations. 

Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence

For modern artists, the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) has stirred mixed emotions about its usage in the art scene. When using AI to generate art, issues regarding copyright infringements, plagiarism, accountability, trademarks, etc tend to be ambiguous and complex to resolve. Art and content that are generated through AI can make artists feel like they are losing control of both their creative decision-making and the personal touch that they usually add to their artwork or content.  

The fear of being replaced by AI systems is prevalent among artists and content creators. For many artists, the fear of not being able to sustain themselves in this modern area can affect their creative process and is a topic of common discussion among themselves.

Did you know? 

A lot of illustrious artists struggled with mental illness and neurodivergence. Their personal experiences and lifestyle strongly impacted their expressions of art.

Van Gogh known for his famous painting “Starry Night”, suffered from depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and temporal lobe epilepsy. His thoughts and emotions are often reflected through his art and also depict the chaos and turmoil in his mind. Despite the tumultuous state of his mind, he resonated with beauty, and nature and used vibrant colours and swirling brushstrokes in his artworks.

Edvard Munch, best known for “The Scream” painting, had a life marked by family tragedy and suffered from anxiety and depression. His personal challenges and emotional turmoil often permeated his works of art. Sylvia Plath, a poet and writer of the famous book “The Bell Jar”, was diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder. Her personal experiences and struggles with suicidal ideation were reflected in her writing and art.

Beloved actor Robin Williams was believed to have neurodivergent traits about ADHD and Autism. Robin was also struggling with anxiety, depression and a neurodegenerative disorder called Lewy body dementia. He is famous for enthralling the audience with his empathetic, humorous and expressive performances.

Conclusion:

The profound anguish experienced by artists can come in the form of external pressures as well as internal conflicts. The loss of their artistic identity is the most common fear among artists. As artists tend to be in touch with their emotions, they are more likely to be burdened by intense feelings of fear, shame, guilt, sadness, and anger which are often mirrored in their expressions of art. 

The journey of an artist is fraught with pain, frustration and other burdens. Artists are pioneers of revolution and transition and strive to explore multiple facets of life such as identity, representation, culture and diversity.To remain resilient in the throes of chaos and emerge as a beacon of inspiration for others is one of the many purposes and roles of an artist.