The cost of being an artist...

The Scream

I recently came upon two articles that seem dissimilar at first but are actually linked to a thought I had. The first article is about a rare Cezanne painting, a watercolor that fetched a cool 19 Million dollars. The second is about a very famous artist who's work I see constantly in peoples homes. His name is Thomas Kinkade and though I personally find his work a bit cheesy and kitsch, I cannot deny his popularity with people who do not necessarily care for art that much. What was Particularly sad about Kinkade is that he actually overdosed on alcohol and valium. What relates these two things is the sad plight of the artist... getting recognized and having your work bought for large sums after you have died.

Thomas Kinkade

There are a staggering amount of artists and musicians who have died at an early age, only to have their work regarded in high esteem later. For rock musicians, there is a term for those who have died at the age of twenty seven. Many Jazz artists lost their lives succumbing to heroin and alocohol. For artists who spend most of their lives creating art, it is a sad ending that even if they have lived a long time, may never get recognized until they die.

Cezanne

 

 So is that lack of recognition the cause of so many artists succumbing to depression and drugs? Is it that creative people tend to be a bit manic? Is it actually normal for any job, and artists are just more well known and so more exposed? It's very hard to come up with a straightforward "Yes" answer to any of these questions. I have a book on one of the most self-destructive artists whose name is Vincent Van Gogh. Van Gogh is most famous for cutting off his ear, drinking absinthe, ending up in mental institutions, and finally shooting himself in the chest. Yet the ending of the book I have did not believe this life and eventual suicide to be so cut and clear. Instead, the author had a theory based on the intelligence of Van Gogh and his own self-awareness, in which the artist consciously killed himself in order to raise the value of his work, and help his starving broke brother. (Sadly if that was the case it didn't quite work out, as his brother died only a few months after.)

Have you seen my ear? I SAID HAVE YOU SEEN MY EAR? HELLO TALK LOUDER!!!

So maybe its a lifestyle choice for the artist to be a crazy suicidal person. Any press is good press I suppose. Yet, there are some artists, actually most artist who don't choose this path. One of my favorite artist is Henri Matisse.

Woman with a hat- at the SF MOMA

Matisse was the only person during the lifetime of Pablo Picasso who was seen as an equal to him. Matisse did not indulge in the extravagant lifestyles that sometimes is stereotyped of the artist. He lived a long and fruitful life, making art until his death. The same can be said of Monet, who although was going blind towards the end of his life, was still painting at an amazing rate. I don't have an answer for this riddle of the self-destructive artist. It is sad when the lifestyle choices overshadow your artistic achievements. Just a random thought

Monet