Career

Anyone else hear Patti Smith on Soundcheck yesterday?

She talked about CBGB as a place to fail and flail--a place for kids to focus on what they were doing. She said that she wasn't thinking that it would go anywhere, and that nobody she was hanging out with was career oriented. That success was a bonus, but that nobody dreamed of it in a million years.

And this made me laugh so hard that my tea almost came out my nose.

I am not going to get all sentimental and say that artists should take a page from the CBGB playbook or anything... times have changed. It's harder to pull this bohemian shit off and there is more money everywhere. The only way to be independent from this drive to career is to be independently wealthy.

But I wonder if there's another way to drive the career train. I am sensation-seeking. I like failure and risk. I was talking to HighLow about this oh, months ago. And he was sage--he basically said that the power the art market has right now that is somewhat intoxicating and also very put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is. He seemed a little entranced with the high stakes of it.

X-Treme Art for X-Treme times? Maybe. Sure beats Safe Art For Whorin' Times. I mean, if artists aren't somehow thrilled, by something, then what is all this for?