I prepared my various tax envelopes for mailing the other day and fell into thinking about the IRS’s definition of “artist”. Actually, the IRS doesn’t have a definition of “artist”, just a definition of what is a business. This time of year finds me thinking about what an “artist” is in more functional terms. What makes someone an artist functionally is different from defining them based on their work itself. Functionally, I, and the IRS, think of an “artist” as being someone who actively creates and engages in selling their work. More specifically, the IRS expects that an “artist” also make a profit from selling their work (at least at some point).
My functional definition of an artist in total is probably a bit different from that of the IRS. I think of artists as also studying their medium, exploring their vision with that medium, and sharing that vision even if not offering it for sale (but I’m more likely to think of someone as an artist if they do sell their work). I think of an artist as being passionate about what they do, passionate about art in general, and passionate about interacting with other artists. At some level I even care if the work being produced is good , but it doesn’t seem to be a requirement for me to think of someone as an artist. Is that weird?
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NOT wierd at all. If one were to define who is an artist only by whether the work is consdered good, one then has to factor in who is doing the judging. We’ve been around enough contests to know that the official results of a contest vs other viewers’ opinions are often light-years apart.
What seems to tip it for me is whether the “artist” would continue doing…whatever…regardless of whether it is being favorably received. Obviously, positive feedback is a wonderful thing (& hopefully profitable). Conversely constructive criticism assists someone to re-evaluate what they are presenting & possibly lead to refinements &/or other approaches to communicate. But at some point, (using photography) someone will put out an image & love it even if it isn’t meet with positive raves. They will not be upset that the “heathens” didn’t get it, they will be satisfied knowing the value of what they did, & move on with their lives probably to try it again.
I don’t think it is wierd at all either. In fact, I would think a majority of artists don’t sell their work. This weekend is taxes for me.
No, it’s not weird. “Art” is soooo subjective it’s often hard to judge what’s “good” on more than a personal scale. Art should be celebrated, always, IRS be damned.