I often wonder to myself if anyone (in their right mind) would consider becoming an artist if the illusion of celebrity didn't exist? The reason why I bring up this particular idea is because of an interview I read with Sean Penn (In an action sports magazine, of all places!) where he speaks to this idea:
"Part of me feels that one of the biggest fights I have to fight has nothing to do with the excessive hype of the illusion of celebrity. I mean, even if we paid teachers the same wage as actors--i.e., if we lived in a fair world--you'd still have to wrestle with your performance as an actor. I mean, you're trapped in your own nature, your body, your own rhythm and weaknesses."
Now, while very few (if any) writers today achieve that level of success, ALL writers are subjected to their own illusions of success, or more specifically, public success (successes acknowledged by the public). So, I ask again: would anyone in their right mind consider becoming an artist if public successes/acknowledgement were removed?
To a certain degree, the argument is moot because the public cannot be removed. It seems pretty obvious right? It's akin to the old thought experiment: If a tree falls in the woods, and there's no one there to hear it, does it make a sound? If an artist creates a work that no one experiences or cares about, does it even exist? Does it even matter?
A very wonderful and talented writer friend of mine told me recently that genre writers search for an audience, while literary writers search for their ideal reader. A more insensitive way of putting it is: you have writers who only give a shit about the money and the public, and you have writers who only give a shit about the art/experience. Now, I'm not assuming that one approach is more correct or virtuous than the other. In some cases, both approaches can be very right and very wrong. However, here's what I believe to be the most important lesson that a true artist can gain from what Sean Penn said: Even if you remove the illusion of public success, you (the TRUE artist) still has to wrestle with your own performance. It's really a matter of currency types. For some, the currency is money. For others, the currency is simply living an artistic life.
An artistic life is an autonomous life: we take possession of our own sovereign territory, and monopolize it with our imaginations, inspirations, growth, digressions, etc. We're trapped in our own natures, our own bodies, our own rhythms and weaknesses." It's a fool's paradise, I know. But, it's ours nonetheless.
More to the point: they are not yours.
