Art and Plastic Surgery
Image credit "Pizza Delivery" by Mike Svob
A recent trip to Mexico to teach an outdoor painting workshop and do some further on location work provided some interesting insight into one of the intriguing dichotomies of calling oneself an artist/painter. It is more related to the side of trying to make a living selling your art than the creative side. In San Miguel de Allende a sign for one establishment advertised Art and Plastic Surgery. These have to be the extreme opposite ends of one long thread. The Canadian artist I was with wryly commented, "When I retire, I think I will take up plastic surgery as a hobby." Plastic surgeons surely must meet some sort of standards of practice to safeguard public health even in Mexico, where regulations are somewhat more lax than Canadians are used to.
Artists on the other hand need not meet any standards to practice their craft. Absolutely anyone can (and millions do) take up the moniker of Artist. There is absolutely no "barrier to entry", it is a totally open field, the ultimate free enterprise market. Virtually every other occupation requires some sort of license, union membership or something that says you are qualified to do this. Not the arts.
In addition, contemporary artwork moves duty free to almost any country in the world. The open nature of the art business makes being an artist extremely competitive on all levels.
Many artists bemoan the reality of this competition. Some artists say we should make artists jump through educational and regulation hoops, like a plastic surgeon. Some feel we should go the communal "heaven on earth" route, i.e.: All art and artists are created equal and their work should be held in equal esteem. Of course neither outcome is likely or practical. The wide open nature of any truly creative artistic endeavor is one of its most important virtues, and one of its harshest realities. Only the most determined, hardest working, capable and creative will make their way to earning a good living by their art craft.
Yet the vast majority of people who call themselves artists and dabble in paint seem to have no intention of pursuing painting as a profession or selling their creations. However, the student, the Sunday painter or the seasoned professional all share one very important attribute which bonds them together. Almost all practice their craft for the pure pleasure and satisfaction they derive from moving little bits of pigment until they say something of personal importance.
Mike Svobs' next outdoor plein air painting workshop will be in September 2007 in Florence and Venice. For details please visit www.mikesvob.com For reservations, call Cindy Horton at Travel Concepts at 604-986-2262, or email cindy@trvlconcepts.com
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