Thank you. I would be interested to see a graphic of the trajectory for Self Taught Artists. Also, it would be incredibly constructive to also posit a list of concrete solutions.
The only way to see a a career trajectory of a self taught artist would be to interview a few and that is something I would love to do and work towards. As far as concrete solutions are concerned, I feel that is different for different artists. Again, asking successful artists about what worked for them would be a good start. This is getting some ideas rolling in my head. Thanks so much!
This has been a serious topic of study for me my entire life. I had a successful career in video games as an artist. It was a good intersection between art and science/technology. Here are some other resources that you may find useful: https://artfacts.net/ , https://youtu.be/n_gHDPK6i9k?si=fIemr4O-PMXKiFPP , and The Formula: The Universal Laws of Success By: Albert-László Barabási (Book). The youtube link is to a video with Albert-Laszlo Barabasi explaining the math on 'What makes an Artist successful'. Based on this I have plotted a path. Here is my website/ art business that I just launched a few months ago. www.franksilas.com .
Thank you Shagun. I really enjoyed this research based article. Anecdotally it aligns with my experience and that of other artists I know. It would be interesting to learn how other artists, especially those without traditional art school education, build a network/community that help perpetuate the element of identity throughout the challenges of an art career. Or what helps build that piece of identity that makes it all worth it. Thank you for your work and sharing such thoughtful content.
Thanks Deborah, your comment means a lot to me. I will look into examples of building a network/community while not being a part of a school network. I know there are examples like nycrit and others that are purely focused on out of school network building and support. I also think there are two parts to this identity - internal and external. The internal identity usually comes from within. I still struggle with this in our my own career and prefer calling myself a designer vs an artist. I'll do some more digging into the identity building bit. Thanks for the feedback.
This is very interesting and helpful. Thank you. I think a lot of your points resonate with my own lived experiences, especially in the sense of artistic identity and the interruption caused by motherhood in career trajectory.
Same here, I stopped working on bigger commissions when I had my children. I just didn't want to travel as much. My work also involves physical labor, and that was harder to do with little kids around. I am getting back to things slowly and have been looking back and wondering how I could have maintained more consistency in my work.
On a related point, I visited an art gallery a few weeks ago, and had a long conversation with the artist in residence there. She and I are the same age, similar artistic interests, themes, and media. I showed her some of my work, apologising that I wasn’t anywhere near her skill levels. She said she thought perhaps the only difference between us is that I am a mother, and she is child free. She had the past 20 years to focus solely on her art. I spent the past 20 years as a stay at home mum. Now my youngest is an adult I finally have the freedom to prioritise my art and writing. I can only hope that I can make up for the lost time.
I really appreciate you summarising the research on this topic here. I’ve made a few notes in my journal to remind me that it’s not *my* failing as an artist, it’s my fitting a sociological pattern. It is very helpful to reframe it like this.
I am so glad that you are able to prioritize your art and writing now. I am with you. Even though my kids are younger, I feel the fog has finally lifted and I am more like myself now. I am restarting my public art studio. I also recommend reading this article that I wrote about second acts. I pulled it up after I read your comment. I need to read it too - https://shagunsingh.substack.com/p/creative-reinvention-the-power-of
All the best for your returning to public art! I will have a look at your other article. I appreciate the time you've put in to compiling this research data. I cannot express enough how helpful it is.
Fascinating article. It seems like a self created artist has a greater chance at staying an artist than those who may think of themselves as artists because of a degree. To me that indicates an understanding of the world of art and an ability to navigate it successfully influences how long an individual stays an artist. I would also add from your previous article. Finding a cluster and maintaining it over time greatly adds to the longevity factor.
Absolutely, a network is important. Paradoxically I don't have a network. I also don't identify fully as an artist. I see myself as a designer and a researcher, not even a writer. It is funny that my own research is in conflict with me.
You’re a solid researcher. The detail you picked up on the studies is impressive. Similarly I don’t think of myself as an artist. I think I am a writer who can draw enough to make comics, and explore storytelling on the platforms available now, like social media.
Thank you. I would be interested to see a graphic of the trajectory for Self Taught Artists. Also, it would be incredibly constructive to also posit a list of concrete solutions.
The only way to see a a career trajectory of a self taught artist would be to interview a few and that is something I would love to do and work towards. As far as concrete solutions are concerned, I feel that is different for different artists. Again, asking successful artists about what worked for them would be a good start. This is getting some ideas rolling in my head. Thanks so much!
This has been a serious topic of study for me my entire life. I had a successful career in video games as an artist. It was a good intersection between art and science/technology. Here are some other resources that you may find useful: https://artfacts.net/ , https://youtu.be/n_gHDPK6i9k?si=fIemr4O-PMXKiFPP , and The Formula: The Universal Laws of Success By: Albert-László Barabási (Book). The youtube link is to a video with Albert-Laszlo Barabasi explaining the math on 'What makes an Artist successful'. Based on this I have plotted a path. Here is my website/ art business that I just launched a few months ago. www.franksilas.com .
The website is a small start-up business I do in my spare time when I am not at my day job doing database work.
Thank you Shagun. I really enjoyed this research based article. Anecdotally it aligns with my experience and that of other artists I know. It would be interesting to learn how other artists, especially those without traditional art school education, build a network/community that help perpetuate the element of identity throughout the challenges of an art career. Or what helps build that piece of identity that makes it all worth it. Thank you for your work and sharing such thoughtful content.
Thanks Deborah, your comment means a lot to me. I will look into examples of building a network/community while not being a part of a school network. I know there are examples like nycrit and others that are purely focused on out of school network building and support. I also think there are two parts to this identity - internal and external. The internal identity usually comes from within. I still struggle with this in our my own career and prefer calling myself a designer vs an artist. I'll do some more digging into the identity building bit. Thanks for the feedback.
This is very interesting and helpful. Thank you. I think a lot of your points resonate with my own lived experiences, especially in the sense of artistic identity and the interruption caused by motherhood in career trajectory.
Same here, I stopped working on bigger commissions when I had my children. I just didn't want to travel as much. My work also involves physical labor, and that was harder to do with little kids around. I am getting back to things slowly and have been looking back and wondering how I could have maintained more consistency in my work.
On a related point, I visited an art gallery a few weeks ago, and had a long conversation with the artist in residence there. She and I are the same age, similar artistic interests, themes, and media. I showed her some of my work, apologising that I wasn’t anywhere near her skill levels. She said she thought perhaps the only difference between us is that I am a mother, and she is child free. She had the past 20 years to focus solely on her art. I spent the past 20 years as a stay at home mum. Now my youngest is an adult I finally have the freedom to prioritise my art and writing. I can only hope that I can make up for the lost time.
I really appreciate you summarising the research on this topic here. I’ve made a few notes in my journal to remind me that it’s not *my* failing as an artist, it’s my fitting a sociological pattern. It is very helpful to reframe it like this.
I am so glad that you are able to prioritize your art and writing now. I am with you. Even though my kids are younger, I feel the fog has finally lifted and I am more like myself now. I am restarting my public art studio. I also recommend reading this article that I wrote about second acts. I pulled it up after I read your comment. I need to read it too - https://shagunsingh.substack.com/p/creative-reinvention-the-power-of
All the best for your returning to public art! I will have a look at your other article. I appreciate the time you've put in to compiling this research data. I cannot express enough how helpful it is.
Thank you!! Glad it is helpful.
Fascinating article. It seems like a self created artist has a greater chance at staying an artist than those who may think of themselves as artists because of a degree. To me that indicates an understanding of the world of art and an ability to navigate it successfully influences how long an individual stays an artist. I would also add from your previous article. Finding a cluster and maintaining it over time greatly adds to the longevity factor.
Absolutely, a network is important. Paradoxically I don't have a network. I also don't identify fully as an artist. I see myself as a designer and a researcher, not even a writer. It is funny that my own research is in conflict with me.
You’re a solid researcher. The detail you picked up on the studies is impressive. Similarly I don’t think of myself as an artist. I think I am a writer who can draw enough to make comics, and explore storytelling on the platforms available now, like social media.
Thats very kind of you Jay! I have been enjoying your posts too. I like the flow and ease of reading.
Thank you so much for your generous feedback. This is very encouraging to know.