This is where fear of selling out comes from. And it is reasonable. Before we even had the internet-birthed homogenising buzzword, the fear of selling out was rooted in the artists concern about degenerating into a mere 'content provider.'
The ensuing filthy lucre is to the artist a mere symbol of the descent, not the cause of the problem itself. It's symptom and not disease, byproduct and not root cause. It's only a rare artist who wouldn't want to be rich if they could gain the wealth on their own terms, without having to compromise the work or themself in some way.
I think also, incidentally, that when people dismiss certain genres of art (visual or otherwise) as being crap such ideas are at the root of it. I don't believe that audiences particularly care about the level of objective talent and skill it takes to make a piece of art. But even (or especially) an unsophisticated audience can smell BS and can sense when something that calls itself art is really a transactional money-grab.
Hence why all of that YBA art was peddled by an Adman like Saatchi and why your Everyman instinctively dislikes it. The Everyman senses that someone is trying to pull the wool over his eyes and that there is no meaning to it because the gift-giving mechanism is absent. And he's not wrong.
The Triumph Of The Shill
I want to avoid misunderstanding now that I have gotten onto the subject of money. I say art is a gift and content is a transaction. And I stand by this. But the distinction is rooted in intent and not what the respective creators bank balances look like at the end of the quarter. Understanding this is crucial to understanding my point.
It's possible to make content and make no money. Further, it's possible to make mere content without even the aim of making money. But there is always a transaction being sought- usually in the form of fame or internet points.
Don't forget to smash that like button.
Content wants something from you, that's what defines it. And there's nothing inherently wrong with that. It's just a question of domains that is the issue, of content masquerading as art- or at least as being art-like- while still seeking that transaction to take place.
This is the downside of the death of the gatekeepers. You as artist have to hock your own wares now. You as artists have to make content to advertise the art. You play the gig but you also print off the flyers beforehand. And the commingling of these two domains gets very blurred and very confusing and that is how so many would-be artists slide down the slippery slope of becoming jaded hacks and cynics (I believe the labelling of oneself as a 'creative' or 'content creator' are two common ways of inadvertently signposting this sad slide).
In the bad old days, you would be exploited by a rapacious and comically lopsided contract but at least the marketing department took care of the 'content' side on your behalf. You just had to show up- invariably wasted and/or disheveled- to some junket or press event once in a while.
Now we are all our own marketing departments, for good or ill. And 'how do you aggressively sell something you are offering as a gift?' is more zen koan than brainstormable business problem.
Hence why content ascends and the shills triumph. Because I'll scratch your back and your scratch mine' is easy. It's sellable. The fact that in such a transactional world everyone ends up sore and bleeding and itching is an unfortunate side effect.
Like I said above, content is a procedure and the procedure creates a worldview. And that worldview is centered around the quid pro quo. Around the idea that everything and everyone is out for themselves and that they are selling you something. They have motives- money-making motives- which they wrap in the mesmerizing, criticism-erasing techniques of ad-copy.
And that might be objectively true. Everything might essentially be for sale. But a worldview such as that is damaging. A world like that is hard to live in.
And in a world where all backs are red and raw and bloody from the scratching the only salve is art. Because a gift asks for no gift in return.
Art Therapy
So you see the problem. As the engulfing amoeba of content grows the conditions for art become less likely. Reticent gift-givers are crowded out by the stentorian carnival barkers with their content sideshows.
But there is hope. Awareness can set you free. As consumer, simply understanding the two domains means you have won a fair portion of the battle. Realizing that you are oversaturated with content (something that exists to get something from you) and are undernourished with art (something that simply is) is a quick fix. You just amend your inputs and see the difference.
This is why I am dismayed whenever I seek book recommendations via my twitter account (I know, I should know better by now) and rather than being pointed in the direction of art (novels, poetry, stories) I am given well-meaning but infuriating suggestions for book-bound content (self-improvement and self-help nonsense, pop-psychology, rampant TED talk friendly best-sellers and their ilk).
I realize that so much of my own content (up to and including this very piece you are reading right now) is concerned with pointing people away from content and towards art. Which in the list of activities sits somewhere between fools errand, rank hypocrisy and those slightly-too-on-the-nose karmic punishments that are the preserve of the type of classic fiction that the Content Brained are sadly oblivious too.
You can call me Tom Quixote.
Yes, I am an artist in the gift-giving sense. Yes, I do realize that making content- to a greater or lesser extent- is a necessity for the contemporary artist, as unfortunate as that may well be. Yes, this thing you are reading is an example of content. Yes, its implicit aim is to get you to subscribe and maybe even give me money.
No, I don't feel bad about this because I am at least being honest and primarily trying to entertain you here. Yes, I will be focusing more on art from this point onwards. Yes, I do feel good for having gotten some of these concepts and distinctions and qualms off my chest, thank you for asking.
And Yes, I do think this piece has now gone on for long enough now and yes I am aware that ending this on a 'sign up to my newsletter' call to action would both undermine my point but also be pretty amusing.
So perhaps that's what I'll do as a final reminder that content can be great but content is transactional and it wants something from you. Enjoy content from time to time, but keep it in its place, in the background behind actual art and actual attentive experience in the world itself.
And if you agree with this make sure to smash that like button and let me know!
Until next time,
Live Well,
