why would anyone only want to make a little money with their art?

I could see wanting people to see and enjoying your work in the old days when phones were rented from Ma Bell and stuff - but when people pay $200.00 to $500.00 for a cel phone - and $30.00 to $60.00 and more for the monthly service on those phones - a new car can cost say $25,000 to $35,000 and everyone who can get to a computer can see your images for free - so who says that everyone should have all of these goodies and not the artist who works at perfecting his or her art for most of his or her life?

So what gives - you don't think that you deserve some amount better than a few dollars for your work - because you don't think that your art is worth it - your are not worth is - do you feel like a fraud - you would rather be poor for the rest of your life - or you only want to sell to those people who are hungry and poor - because they more than anyone else will "appreciate" your art while no one else in the entire world will -

how much do you pay for the internet service you use - your computer - your camera or paints and canvas - brushes - travel time - food clothing shelter - you know the basics to do anything at all - ?

people have called me whacky - crazy out of my mind - all of that stuff - but I think that I am the only one perhaps maybe a few others - who are dealing with the realities of the world at least that I am living in -

and forget about the materials and all of the basics - how about the fact that I have been photographing for 52 years now -

and I am not asking for any critiques of my work - if you don't like my work - don't buy any - or even better yet - don't look at it -

but for the person who likes my work - think about the fact that for most of my life - I had to drag myself to Manhattan - pay a fee and spend time to look at the Museums that many people of the world come to - spend about a half hour and then wait in line to buy a sweat shirt from A&B - sounds ridiculous - but that is what the majority of people go for - a sweat shirt - a pair of sneakers for Nike Town and a lot of walking around getting tired -

even the museums are receiving less viewers to their spaces - galleries say they are not selling work - and well why should anyone pay for something they can get for free - like TV for all of the years that it had been free - but now you pay the cable bill - get all the shows and a few extra dollars and you have all the art that you want on your screen - get a few people to purchase your prints - and your an artist - yes - but make something significant that will be of any value down the line - well - get enough people to pay for such piece or pieces and you will see a self reinforcing spiral or cycle or whatever it might be labeled by then - you will definitely see people jumping on the band wagon buying up all sorts of stuff with your images - because just as on Fifth Avenue when I am handing out my cards:

Fifth Avenue Traffic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSpK0PUv_LY

when one person does something - others begin to do it - and then a whole bunch of people follow them -

it takes a great deal of persistence - perseverance and energy - conviction and vision to succeed - and I am not saying that everyone should do the same as I - each and every person is different and has their own vision and ideas of how things should and should not work - but that is what makes this world so fantastically interesting -

so back to my question -

why would anyone only want to make a little money with their art?

does anyone go into their job every day whether they studied for the job or not and say - well I only want to make a little money or pay me what you will - I will do your books - your accounting - your sales - your typing - your sewing - your sweeping - cleaning the toilets - teaching - doctoring - nursing - any of these things - for a little bit of money - ?

I say - change your thinking - change your mind set - put all that you have into your art - *(if you really love doing it) and treat that work that you have created as valuable or even more valuable than anything anyone else does for their living - since if you are creating art seriously then like Renoir - Van Gogh - Gorky - Picasso -DeKooning - Pollock - or any one of thousands of artists - your work will be influencing people for many years to come -

this of course is my take on the matter -



ALICE PIRES 2-B by Walter Paul Bebirian