You just don’t get it! You don’t understand the spirit of the artist. You might know what you like, what sells, and what works for you as a promoter—but you’re missing the essence, the heart of what makes art art. You’ve got your acid test: “Do I like it? Do I think it’s good? Does it send an important message?” Sure, those questions are part of the equation, but there’s so much more.
When you promote art, it’s not just about whether it checks the boxes or fits into some mold. You can love a message or a style, but if you throw out the artist’s license—their freedom to create from the gut—you lose what makes art powerful in the first place. Art isn’t supposed to cater to the market. It’s not about mass appeal or aligning with what’s trending. That’s not why artists pick up their brush, strum their guitar, or chisel marble into something you’ve never seen before.
What you, as a promoter, often forget is this: What do I want to paint? What do I want to promote? What does the artist think is good art? That’s where it all starts. The artist has a vision, a feeling, a story they need to express—sometimes in ways that don’t make sense to anyone else. But that's the point. It doesn’t always have to fit into a neat little package that sells at a gallery or makes the rounds on social media. Good art can challenge, confuse, provoke, and even piss people off. It’s supposed to make you feel something beyond just “Oh, that’s pretty” or “That would look great on a t-shirt.”
The spirit of the artist is raw, it’s rebellious. It’s about taking risks and creating something true to the artist’s vision. But all too often, that gets crushed under the weight of, “Will it sell?” or “Is it popular?” That’s not how art should work, and it’s definitely not how artists should be thinking when they sit down to create. The artist’s job is to make art for art’s sake—to paint, sculpt, sing, and write what their soul needs to say, not what the world expects to hear.
So next time you judge a piece of art, ask yourself: Am I seeing this through the eyes of a promoter, or through the spirit of the artist? Because if you’re only seeing the market potential, you’re missing the real magic. The spirit of the artist is wild and untamable, and that’s what makes art matter.
by Dan and Bonkers
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