I'll let you into my life so I can make art and money
Do we all have to become influencers soon?
I recently listened to an episode of a podcast called Girl Historians (a chatty history podcast run by two comedians), and they were talking about a bookshop in Toronto, which has staff-run a TikTok account, where they promote their books. As one of the podcast hosts said “because now you can’t just be a bookseller, you also have to be a TikTok’er”. That hit me, because I also have come across videos on Instagram (I’m not on TikTok, because I feel like I’m too old and I don’t need another thing to get mindlessly addicted to) of bookshops, libraries, etc. creating catchy content about their books – and yes, I’m sure there are bookshop employees who genuinely enjoy it and are also very good at making funny or interesting videos about their work, but it still makes me think: What was life like before everyone had to start posting on social media on top of all the other work? I’m genuinely asking.
Of course, bookshops and libraries are just one example. One of the reasons it hit me, is because I also feel like I can’t just be an illustrator, if I want to make a living off of it. I have heard from the beginning of my career, that it’s important to have an Instagram profile for visibility and that it’s a big bonus if you have lot of followers because then potential art directors, publishers, etc. will take you more seriously. It gives you leverage and clout. I see endless videos of artists on Instagram or YouTube (again, I’m too old for TikTok but, of course, there too) promoting their work, showing their process, their daily life, how to get more followers, how to get people to buy your work, the list goes on and on.
I can see that I risk sounding like a grumpy old person who thought everything was better in the olden days. No, I don’t think the internet is bad. Yes, I think it’s great to be able to directly connect with people who enjoy and are interested in your work. I think there’s something kind of beautiful about places like Substack or Patreon, where people can directly support you, no matter what you make or who you are. But that’s exactly it, isn’t it? It is kind of about who you are now. It’s not just important how good your work is but also how funny or pretty or relatable or intelligent you are. People subscribe mainly to personalities, and vibes, don’t they? I know I do. Especially with the way the Instagram algorithm works now, I don’t get any attention for just posting my work (except from the few followers I already have, most of whom I know in real life). If I want my work to be seen by new people, it has to be a video that grabs your attention. I am not just making art but also performing what it looks like to make good art. Or how it feels to have made good art.
I know that working and making money, specially in the arts, has not really ever been easy. That’s the reason we have the whole “starving artist”-stereotype. The stories of Hollywood actors who were waiting tables for years before having their big breakthrough. It’s not an easy career path to make art. But when even booksellers and librarians have to become influencers in order to keep doing their work, isn’t that concerning? Will it ever stop? Especially with algorithms seemingly running faster and faster?
I guess I have grown up with the idea that yes, going into a creative path will not be easy, but, most likely, there will be a point where you earn enough from your illustration work to quit your café day job and then it will be fine. I’m starting to think that might not be the truth.
If I could, I would love to mainly make art and get paid enough for it. But that’s not the world we live in, at least not most of us. And if I have to choose between a minimum wage customer service job for 25+ hours a week (which I have had, and barely had enough brain space to pick up a pen when I came home) or trying to have people online find me and support me through making content, I think it will choose the latter. For now, at least. But I hope I can do it my own way, that’s not solely based on algorithms and analytics. That’s partially why I’m here on Substack (but also because I like writing, reflecting and connecting with people who think about things). And it’s why I’ve started a YouTube channel a little while ago. If I’m going to lean in, I would like to be honest, reflected and authentic in the content I put out. I want to share videos and posts that connect with people and feel sincere. If that’s something you’re interested in, you are warmly welcomed. If not, there are no hard feelings whatsoever.
And listen, I find it super interesting to see what other people are making, how they are doing their work, what their lives look like. I am not at all against sharing things online. I am actually enjoying making content for Substack and YouTube. It just sometimes feels like it’s not fully a choice anymore, at least in my field. I want to know that it’s something I can opt out of, if I don’t feel like it anymore.
I am still at the beginning of my illustration career. I may be but a foolish babe, a wide-eyed child, who doesn’t understand the whole scope of things yet. Perhaps I’m spoiled and presumptuous in thinking I have a right to make art and make a living from it. Maybe I just have to accept that making a living as an artist or illustrator always comes with a side of a customer service/office job, a teaching gig, or being your own brand strategist and marketing manager. If you’re lucky maybe getting a nice grant every now and then. Or maybe, I will eventually have enough people who know my work in the industry, that I keep getting more work and can focus mainly on making the best illustrations I can. It might all work itself out.
I fear these are all jumbled thoughts, but I think my point is tied to the never-ending grief of art not being particularly valued by society. Monetarily. The rise of AI-”art” reminds me of that (if you’d like to read my thoughts about AI, wrote a post about it here). I wish there were more systems in place that supported artists and creatives, by giving them enough time to create good things. Art takes time.
Maybe it’s an illusion that it used to be possible to create art or sell books without having to do a whole other job of top of it. Maybe it wasn’t being a Social Media marketing director, editor, producer and actor/host but something else you had to do instead. I might just be a complaining gen-z who is lazy and hates working for capitalism. If you are older than me and have been working before social media ate everything, I’d love to hear your perspective.
Are you working in the arts? Do you have eight side jobs or a social media following? Both? Neither? How do you feel? If you consume content about art/artists, which aspect of it do you enjoy? I would love to know.
Thank you so much for reading,
Lots of love,
Signe
Just to really hammer home the point:
You ask, "What was life like before everyone had to start posting on social media on top of all the other work?" Such an interesting question. I'm old enough (at 71) to look back into the mists of a pre-digital time, before computers let alone social media. I was at art college in the 1970s when everything was drawn on paper, cameras used rolls of film, and a telephone was a thing attached to a wall. And you want to know what it was like....
I supported myself through some sort of visual art practice throughout my life though not as an illustrator, and I did plenty of other jobs in-between and at the same time, some of them part of marketing my work and some of them just to get by. But it felt like a very different world. Above all, I think, the difference was that it was quiet. I don't mean it was a less noisy world, I mean it was quieter in my head, and there were plenty of times in the day when I would just live quietly in my mind, thinking and imagining and daydreaming. And I do think this is a terrible loss, because nowadays it's hard to do anything creative without thinking about whether or not it's something that I could or should be posting on Instagram or whatever. Which is so performative. There are so many reasons why this is a terrible way to be!
If you can avoid falling into that habit, my advice is, do. And I'm so glad you're asking such good questions!
I was writing such a long comment on this article, that I ended up turning into a piece of my own! Thank you for the inspiration.
https://tashagoddard.substack.com/p/do-we-have-to-make-art-that-sells