Does the World need more artists? (aka Why am I waisting my talents drawing when I could be doing something that would help make the world a better place?)

[VibrantFox]

echoing some sentiments here art really is an intrinsic part of everyday life because you need art skills to come up with design concepts, to sculpt product models, blueprints for architecture and so on nothing we have would exist without art in some form and even the more obvious mediums we pass by or interact with on the daily have artists involved on some level

plus art has also served as a historical marker why else would historians and archaeologists and other folks look at things like ancient pottery, hand crafted sculptures or figurines, even cave paintings

art is something that's overlooked at lot (especially as of late) but people forget just how intertwined it is with the human existence. it's literally a part of us whether we make it or observe. plus like a lot of people have said you can totally do both in terms of finding ways to help the world around you but also continue to create. a perfect example i think is something i'd seen on the local news recently where an artist is dedicating his earnings to building affordable housing for local artists that come with studios so that they can have a space to create and bring in members of the community to share in and explore craft that they maybe haven't interacted with before.

plus you haven't got to do something huge, it seems like an odd thing to reference but sometimes i think about the dollars and how one of it's core things was using small acts to uplift folks like leaving a small envelope with a couple dollars in it and a word of encouragement on the outside or picking up trash or doing volunteer work. it's easy to put things under a microscope and think "oh it's so small and meaningless" but even the tiniest things can create huge waves, you've just gotta put things into perspective

that's like on quote that comes to mind often was in a discussion between oprah winfrey and maya angelou where oprah was talking about the kind of legacy she'd like to leave to which maya responds "you have no idea what your legacy will be" which is true. in some cases a persons legacy can be all these huge impactful things they've done in their community or in the world and sometimes if not most often it's the person we made smile, the word of encouragement that motivated someone or the piece of artwork that inspired someone. but again you never really know so the best you can do is try to leave a positive impact in the ways that are accessible to you

art absolutely has a place in the world and always will so there will always always be a need for more artists in the world even if there may be oceans of voices that try to say otherwise so there's no reason to doubt the value of your pursuits. and yes no one denies that the art world is looking really really messy as of late but so long as people continue to create and continue to push for change it can get better it's just about putting in the work and getting the right kind of people involved

[TheLemmaLlama]

Art is like the best medium for philosophy and leadership. If you think those things are going to fix the world, then art is certainly not any less useful

That said, if you're being an artist just for the sake of being an artist, I can totally see existential dread creeping up on you if you're just sticking to it as a career. If you're just the hands doing grunt work to manifest a project you find no meaning in.

I'd suggest getting into art with something specific you want to say. Use your art as a medium for philosophy and leadership.

That's not to say there's anything wrong with just being an artist and not worrying about whether it's what the world needs; it's not your duty to save the world. What you want is not lesser than what needs to be done.

But if this is less of a guilt thing and more of an existential purpose thing, I won't lie; the path of a career artist can indeed trap you in a sense of existential purposeless. I'm saying this as someone who's also invested a lot of time into pursuing a 'useless' career path

[LostKelp]

It's ok if you want to step away from art. Many artists find that over the course of their career that they loose their love of the process due to personal fatigue or creative stagnation or the personal pressures we put on ourselves to make the best thing we can even when it's not fun anymore. If you're finding that the search for a creative job is making you miserable or the act of creation makes you miserable then it's ok to let it go and peruse something else.

A lot of people in this thread are saying that art is important because it helps people through the problems of reality through escapism or through confrontation in a safe environment and they are right. but if you don't want to keep on making art because commercializing it makes you miserable, then you don't have to commercialize it. you can slow down and make the stuff you enjoy making and you can do something else that makes you feel more fulfilled (monetarily or existentially).

The world doesn't need more artists, it needs more joy. and if being a professional artist doesn't bring you joy anymore, then you can try something else and see if that makes you happier.

[river121693]

Read up on Soft Power. Art is absolutely necessary for you as a human being, and for the world.

Every creative thing you make is you expressing your existence. Every comics, TV show, books, songs, and film you consume tells you something about the world and move your belief . Art is what historian use to learn about past society, and what different groups use to create political and social narratives. Art is what people use to inspire and organize protests-- that's why artists are always the first to be silenced when an oppressive government is in power.

Rather than "does the world need more artist", the question should be "what kind of art should more people be making." There are a lot of art doesn't better society and art that further oppression. There are also a lot of ways to make art that amplify its impact-- you can connect with grassroots orgs and help them design posters for example.

[esquarecomics]

Being an artist doesn't seem that important when you compare them to other jobs like being a doctor or a lawyer but there is a reason why countries like North Korea, China, or even currently Russia filter and censor the media that their citizens consume. Art is a form of communication and the art and media we consume. Like @river121693 said, art is now currently an asset of soft power. We can see this with America, Japan, and Korea which have a large influence on other cultures through their media. Thats not to dismiss or antagonize the artist that works on the project rather it emphasizes the value of art.

Also, I've watched a lot of videos like that. I saw the thumbnail of that video a while back. I highly recommend taking a break every once in a while from those videos or even YouTube in general. As informative as they are, they also give you this feeling of helplessness. When I draw I usually listen to those videos but every once in a while I listen to an audiobook just to balance things out. Maybe you can listen to music or something? I don't know.

[Shanny8]

I'm like this: while I do have the knowledge and the capacity to do other things, while those other things DO make me a nice penny, for the most part I'm not exactly happy or peaceful...the only time that I feel happy or peaceful is when I'm working on my art, or selling the results of my art at a convention; coz then I feel like I'm making the world a better place coz my work is contributing to someone else's happiness- while their support is contributing to mine.

Heck, even if I'm just posting my webcomic online it feels good when someone is really engaged in my story...or I inspire them to make a comic.

[Ordinaryaverageguy]

I suppose one might say that the question implies that simply living your life to the best of your abilities and treating others like you'd want to be treated is not actually making the world better. Should we simply accept that as a given?

[Flug]

@KennethLopezJr921 So did you make up your mind? I hope we could help you a little?

[TroyVSTheWorld]

The industry sucks but that shouldn't be what prevents you from creating art. How many people do you think are still around because art exists? I would say its saved the majority of human lives, because without any form of art in our lives, I'd rather be dead myself.

In my opinion, Art Is Rebellion. When you create, you fight back, so, don't stop.

[NellieVP318]

I posted my response on Discord so I don't think I need to repeat what I already said there. I do want to say that " Art is one of the few things you can do to help shape the world.". Sometimes I think what hard for people who are creatives or artists is trying to find how they fit in into this world. It's up to you to find your place to fit into this world whether it would be using art or not.

[RedLenai]

I personally believe that we as humans have a terrible habit of feeling guilty, of being considered lazy and being put in a place where "where the ones at fault".
The things happening in the world, are not necessarily our fault, there could be generational things, a bit line of previous actions from other individuals who created nowaday's circumstances.

I had my period of time back in high-school where I stressed over climate change, politics and whatever. Trying to do something sadly, is limited, by time and money... but there is a factor a lot ignore, influence.

Why celebrities or well known content creators are the ones mostly doing donations to benefic causes? Because of how well known they are, if one of them, let's say The Rock or Misha Collins were to get involved in politics (Besides their Go Vote campaings in USA and like other things like voting for a less-likely coup president like it happened in Brazil) then they'll have a higher influence and a bigger network that'll allow them to do stuff without as much limitations as some unknown rich individual that has no influence and is not known by anybody and the most common logic of the people is "Better work with a known devil than a devil to know".

Otherwise, ask me why a Contemporary artists associated with the populist politic party, not known by anybody but the elites because she also works for the Government and the Ministry, manages to make political art of said politic party and hang it in museums despite of being talentless and also a plagiarist? (This is the Fatima Pecci Carou case from my country)

I don't think we need spiders or mosquitos, but they are also essential to mother nature, they are essential in the chain food even if I see no value in their diminute lives.

If you feel art is useless, then... what you do with art will feel useless on your own standard. Maybe you'll need to seek another career and do both, one that is "benefitial" for the greater good, and the other to be "selfish" so you won't be in said dilemma or won't feel completely devastated and a culprit of something that is out of your hands, you're not responsible for that, I highly doubt you using your internet, or your electricity, the gas to cook up your meals or using the shower is what it is actually destroying our world.

What you're feeling is not wrong, in fact it is totally valid, it also comes from a sense of inferiority and insatisfaction in a very saturated field, pushed by the pressure of a society that constantly demands you to do more and better, because nothing is enough and nothing has no longer value except in numbers. It demands you to be an overachiever yet treats you like a parasyte, yet, we know that the ones that consume resources the most are those with power, the ones "investing", the ones "going to war", the ones "in charge" and sadly, or at least how it is in my country, in order to achieve such a big position you kind of have to get your hands dirty, become corrupt yourself... but when you reach said "top" then, maybe there's nothing left from the original you either and so the cycle repeats.

There is always an incident going on in the World that'll make humanity back down and slow down the damage or restore certain resources, sometimes at big or small scale, another Dark Age or the collapse of the Bronze age could happen for all I know or simply humanity as a collective in the very overpopulated countries or where not even the sun reaches thanks to pollution could do something, but personally, I have no control over those places nor it's citizens, there isn't much I can do from Argentina to, idk China...

[KennethLopezJr921]

I did not realize how much traction this thread got. I apologize for not really responding or saying anything up till now. A lot of my time this week was spent working on projects and assignments for school since my semester ends in a couple of days, along with inking pages for my comic so I haven't taken the time to read all of your replies. Also, I did post this on the tapas discord server (I'll read those too) and I did get a reply that did partially make me a little hesitant. The reply is pretty much validating my doubts and I dont want to say this person was wrong or bad but apart of me was hoping I wouldn't get that answer but anyways, I've read all of your replies and Im jsut going to give my own large reply since I feel like replying to every individual message would be reduent as I feel like I would be saying the same thing over and over again.

For me, I've never really thought about art being used in anyway outside of entertainment and escapism. That's not say I haven't watched or read anything that made you think the world in a way something like a Marvel would (not to say that their bad, just given an example), but practically for comics and my reasoning for become an artist, I found it difficult to see art being used for something greater. And I was unfortunately one of those people that thought art shouldn't be political (unless your views are extremist, than art should be political). But after reading these replies, I realize how wrong I was. For me, the reason I wanted to become an artist was because I could draw stuff and entertain myself and others. Something that was important to me at 13. But I realize that it I can do a lot more with it, and probably am doing subconsciously. There are a lot of issues I feel are important that should be talked about. The one thing that comes to mind is racism, and although its been something I've felt strongly about throughout my life, watching "Do The Right Thing" in film class this past week energized it. Coming from a racially diverse PR family and growing up in a very diverse suburb helped me connect with the film in a way that I don't think I've ever before, and its what made that final the more heart breaking and tragic. That even in a very diverse neighborhood, you'll still have racism, you'll still have resentment on both sides and its something that's not going to go away overnight. I will admit, I did actually cry after what had seen in the film had sunken in. I do suggest giving the film a watch but the final act can be upsetting so watch with caution. Okay Im getting side tracked. I do believe in racial equality and its something I want to root for in my art. There are other issues but I dont want to get side tracked again.

Im really glad that I switched from wanting to become a train driver when I grew up to being an artist because yall are right, art is a very powerful tool to influence change. Especially for someone like me who doesn't really have the skills to become a politician or an inventor. Like you may not be physically be able to make the world a better place but you can help in your own special way.

[KennethLopezJr921]

YES! Y'all did help. Sorry if this response is super late. Been busy with college

[KennethLopezJr921]

I don't usually watch those types of videos, especially because how emotional they make me. Like I do find the information in those videos very valuable but not all at once. The night I made the top post was after I had watched just ONE of those types of videos, but I feel like how emotional I felt was influenced by stresses from school and my comic

[TheLemmaLlama]

But I realize that it I can do a lot more with it, and probably am doing subconsciously.

I wanted to emphasize this point; that you don't have to deliberately set out to 'do a lot more with it' in order for your art to mean a lot more! If you make something that speaks to you, your values will shine through; especially if what entertains you are also the kinds of things that bring you catharsis :]

You don't have to treat art like a speech or a manifesto or a philosophical essay, because it's not; that's why it speaks to people in a way those other things don't. That's the strength of art

[powerplantanimations]

I remember having an existential crisis like this. Most of the animators I know are just doing animation as a side-hobby while they have full time jobs.

I think I had my "Okay, I'm committing to this writing thing" was after I saw some writers outright saying they purposely make a show bad so they can get off to the comments (and stick with me here). Like.... why?!? WHY would you do that?!? Make whatever you want sure, but you're working for one of the biggest franchises on the planet. You're giving the finger to the fanbase for your own self-pleasure. And it wasn't anger I felt, I felt bad for the writer in a weird way. And I think I'm beginning to know why. I always felt like writing is this wonderful gift, and I know these writers have the capacity to write great things but they just use it for cynical reasons that benefits no one.

And then I'm just thinking "Damn, these people who made these great franchises are probably looking down from Heaven... or.... some of the people we THOUGHT were good are looking up, looking at these people and being like 'Nya-nya-nya-nya. I can do whatever I want with this property". I'm just thinking it's disrespectful to the dead.

Yeah, the world needs more artists but they need artists that actually SAY something. Drown out all the noise with stuff with meaning. It could be whatever you want. As long as it has a message and as long as it guides a person. Even the smallest little thing can change a person's life.... or do random stuff. I don't care. As long as you don't bastardize other work and don't get off to being cynical.

As for the stuff you're freaking out over:.... I can't stress this enough. STUDY HISTORY. I was like you when I was in High School (I'm probably like two years older so I can def relate). You start getting a clearer picture on life and a lot of this noise (again with that) will fizzle out. It's helped a lot for me.... you'll also find out that it's never been "left vs right" but "rich vs poor" (but I'm gonna stop there because I don't want to type an essay either lol).

[Flug]

Recommendation of an Impressive and enlightening social realist/non escapist comic (entertains all the more): -le combat ordinaire- Manu Larcenet.
The protagonist is a photographer becoming involved in the class struggle around the ship yard of his father.

[Mallory]

Every author and artist who does it long enough usually has a story that pretty much always unfolds the same: they're at a convention, or an autograph signing event. They get approached by an unassuming-looking fan who asks them for an autograph, and then says "You know, your book saved my life. I was in a bad place in life, and I stumbled on your work by accident, and it gave me hope/strength/drive to pull through." Sometimes they were very physically sick, sometimes they were contemplating taking their own life, but somehow, for some reason, this writer/artist's work resonated with their despair and gave them power to reach for their own recovery.

And, like... There's VERY few professions that can have this kind of reach into another person's life. Medical professions, yes. Teachers. Social workers. Notice how these are all undervalued and underpaid (except for doctors, but that's a whole other can of worms). Art is powerful, and profound, and it's what makes as human. Like all other powerful and profound things, it's severely undervalued. But that doesn't make it less important.

Note that I spent my whole life preparing to go to medical school, because that's what my family expected of me. My whole family is full of doctors and all my college friends are doctors now. My degree is in science. But I realized that I wanted to work with people differently than what medicine would entail, and I'm pretty confident that if I persevere, I can impact just as many people.

[nkapit]

In the bigger picture, everything is temporary— people, societies, the planet, everything— and the only meaning there is, is whatever meaning we attach to things. Whatever you should or shouldn’t do doesn’t matter unless it matters to you.

[system]

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