Art is making yourself public

A friend of mine published this painting last night on Instagram. This piece of art is the second he released after his “Mask in a mask” sculpture two years ago – a Covid reference which he was awarded for.

In the same post yesterday, he also apologised for being lazy, as it took him time to create. The reality is, apart from painting, he is a real estate agent, and he can’t allocate his whole time to art.

Maintaining a professional activity in parallel can be a real dilemma. It challenges the total dedication artists are supposed to have with their art. Our main source of revenue is not our artistic accomplishments, but a regular, full-time job.

Embracing art was a very unassuming process for him, the same as it was for me with music. We never claim to be artists, mostly because we are not sure of what it means.

When do you start being an artist? With the first financial deal you get from your art ? When you cannot contain anymore this part of yourself which needs to thrive? Or when an external eye tells there is something unique in what you do, and that it may well define you?

There are many levels of maturity in growing and perfecting an art. Making it public is to me the first step and the right way to enter the game, as it connects your releases with the society of your time. A character of the series Sense8 once said: "Art is love made public", and I believe it is true.

In this weekend's international edition of T, the New York Times Style magazine, the editor-in-chief Hanya Yanagihara states: “You don’t need to be young to lead a creative life. All you have to do is start. Start – and then never stop”.

Does this mean that art should take the whole space and replace all the rest? Life is not exclusive, and for some of us, balance may reside in versatility. Doing art on these terms is fine with me, mostly because I have a strong conscience that I can be creative, although differently, at any moment of my professional life. And this is far from easy.

Two years ago, I have been patronized with condescension by one so-called manager, who said making music was merely sticking pre-recorded loops (probably some reminiscence of his own DJ attempts). Some other colleagues thought I was just signing songs that I did not write – they thought I could not have the time to make these songs (although managing my time is something I am good at).

All believed I was naively chasing worldwide success – their definition of art, probably.

I have faced massive lacks of understanding, but I never thought I was wrong. It has not pushed me to give up my corporation life because, in essence, artists do not give up.

Creation is the way you can give meaning to your life and within, to a corporation life. I believe artists can use their specific vision of things to throw gateways between the professional and personal worlds, in conquest of the perfect work/life balance. Moreover, at times of Artificial Intelligence, corporations claim to need creative people. It comes at a price. It comes with personality.

Hanya Yanagihara again, about artists: “Their collective perseverance is a reminder for all of us that a creative life, that all life, takes nerve. It takes humility. It takes a kind of arrogance that sees you through the most barren periods.” Aren’t there valuable interpersonal skills? Put artists in your staff and you will create value. This is a shift that corporations should definitely take.