As the age old stereotype goes, many artists do struggle…our work is largely undervalued but also expected from us, we are often taken advantage of, mocked, expected to work for free and in places like Australia, our government has a total lack of respect for what we do and continuously cuts funding for the arts (but somehow a bunch of men chasing a ball for hours on end, oh now that is worth millions of dollars and is a very serious affair indeed).
There is also the perception of laziness, that we do not work…cue, “no, so what is your actual job?” I had a friend say to me more than once things to the effect of “Some of us actually have a job”, I don’t think she realised how hard artists actually do work, for myself personally a day metalsmithing could involve eight hours soldering, sawing, hammering, using chemicals (wearing uncomfortable respirators and other safety gear, which especially in summer is not pleasant), that is just the physical aspect, which really takes a toll on your wrists, hands, back, and eyes.
Then there is the design time, problem solving, lesioning with clients, design meetings for custom work, the constant research, upskilling and perfecting our craft, then there is the fact that we are also our own marketing team, accountant, and customer service consultant…we wear so many hats. This can easily add up to seven days a week, 14 hours a day, plus most of us also have a “normal” job on top of this, and care for a family.
Please ask me again “What is your real job?”, artists especially take these attitudes to heart, because while a job for the most part doesn’t define us and is a means to an end (I detest this importance we put on a person’s means of survival in this monetised hellscape, as if it overrides what really matters about someone) but for artists, it is not what we do, it is who we are.
The reason I titled this piece “Do you feel as an artist, that you are screaming into the void?” is because it is something that I have heard a lot of late, from others in the creative realm, largely because many artists rely on social media for advertising, and with most platforms now becoming “pay to play” you are literally being shadow banned if you do not line the coffers even further of companies making an enormous profit, and profiles and accounts flagged as being a creative business are being targeted.
There is also a huge amount of theft and plagiarism within these platforms, with companies in China going as far as using the original images of an artists or jewellers work and making cheap knock offs to send to the consumer who wants a bargain. Even platforms like Etsy are no longer handmade, with an ocean of cheap mass produced rubbish taking over, along with their high fees and not so subtle pushes to force handmade artisans to work like we are a factory, with prices so low, I have heard of some jewellers being shocked to find that after all the fees have been deducted, they have only covered cost of materials, and worked for free!
All those hours and physical strain, all the photography, time marketing listings, liaising with the customer who treats you like an Ebay shop, packing orders, taking them to the post office, bookwork for taxes…for free! Etsy has even set up their policies in such a way, that even if a customer has received an order, but claims they haven’t (even with proof of delivery) Etsy will always side with the customer, leaving the artisan not only out of pocket and time, but having to pay the fees on top!
It feels like social media wants our content for free, wants us to pay them for advertising on top of that free content, and everyone wants art in their lives, but hates artists…or at the very least wants to pretend we are faceless machines that can “just whip that right up” at a minimal cost.
I know for me that I started getting extremely exhausted by the struggle to keep up with promotion on top of actually creating my art, trying to make enough to survive, and also be a full-time mother. I also just could not afford to pay for adds, just to avoid being shadow banned by places like Facebook and Instagram, I won’t lie, I also hate seeing so many adds everywhere, we are constantly bombarded by the damn things! I remember a time when organic reach was still a possibility, and I was getting enquires as a performer and artist without even having to try, that is now long gone, a relic of the past that will never be again.
So where to from here? Because I, like many artists can’t take the financial hits of any more outgoing costs and still keep my pricing sellable. Recently I re-visited a book I have been slowly making my way through, called “Craft in Australia” by Allan Moult, published in 1984, it is sectioned out by mediums used, from leather work to jewellery and glass blowing, and everything in between. Each artist has a few pages detailing their own experiences, pathways, and process of their craft, and it is actually very candid.
They talk about the looming oversaturation of craft, and lack of real skill, by hobbyists who want to start selling their wares, they talk about the lack of awareness at how much time, effort, cost, and research goes into their work, but they also discuss how difficult it is to be seen and to get exposure. Most of them had to work on multiple collections a year and then try and get accepted into exhibitions in order to get this exposure. I thought to myself…our struggles have not changed so much, but just morphed a little.
They had the luxury of bigger houses and cheaper spaces to actually work in, something I can only dream of, in my tiny run-down rental, but they did not have the benefits of an online portfolio like we do. I started to change my view, and contemplated how online media can be used as a minor tool, not the big detrimental necessity they want us to rely on.
I could start carrying business cards again and having them on hand for passers by who ask me about my bold statement jewellery, and on those cards, I can have my online exhibition, my portfolio at the tips of their fingers.
As artists we could make those steps back to the world everyone has become so disconnected from, start talking to cafes about hosting our work, approach small galleries, even put-up flyers if we have to.
We are creators, we have depth, we source inspiration from nature, from human engagement and experience, the online realm is not our space, it is just an energy sucking sea of overstimulated, triggered people seeking either validation, to vent or fall into oblivious avoidance, this is not the contemplative, slow, appreciative space for art.
It might be time for artists to forget online media as a way to connect, and start doing the legwork again, by connecting with real life people, in real life situations.
Because I promise you, it is a lot less work than dancing like a monkey around your workbench, for zombies doom scrolling reels.
