The title is the sad, tragic truth friends. It always has been that way and it always will be. It does not matter what the art medium may be: music, painting, writing, acting, and etcetera. That is simply the result of mixing creativity, self-expression, and passion with financial gain. The business world is the world, sociologically speaking of course. The world is more than that, but, our daily hamster-like participation that makes society spin? That most assuredly is the world.

There are a few who have succeeded in showing the world their craft, their heart and soul as it where in its purest form, and still managed to turn a profit. But, those businessmen behind that artist made a hundred times more, never doubt it, fact is fact. That’s the system. That’s the economic hamster wheel for art, for every one of the unwashed masses really.

I just feel that the loss is more poignant in the art world. The generations all have names that echo through history: Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Mozart, Van Gogh, Beethoven, Dickens, and on and on. The thing is creativity requires such of level of sensitivity, such a level of devotion if it is to remain at its peak, that those names were probably not the truly greatest of their time. The Masters of any craft were only those that waded through, fighting, and persevering over rejection to have their works known. The artists form of winning the lottery. The others, the names we don’t know, but were most likely superior in talent simply gave up. The rejection that any artist must face can be cruel and harsh (most often needlessly so), but the very creative, the very sensitive cannot suffer the onslaught of rejection all artists must face, so they fold, quit, bury their dream … and the world is deprived of another genius because the men with money didn’t find that creative soul in time, or that soul didn’t want to sell. The result is the same either way.

Think for a second. It has only been the last century or so that we have started to add some women’s names to that echoing list, isn’t it? Does that not seem odd? Does that not scream my point to you? For the entire history of mankind’s creativity, only in the last hundred years have women become artists worth taking notice of?

It is about the sale. It is about money. And those of us who don’t cave to business corruption in our crafts suffer. We starve, but, here is the point to stress my good artists, my many brothers and sisters in creative arms, if you are starving because you refuse to pander your work to the masses, to change it, to pervert it, so someone with more money than some African countries can make another billion? Well then, you aren’t a starving artist. No, you have your honor. Your empty belly rumbling is your choice. That makes you an anorexic artist, a small comfort when you watch what the populace is told by the rich men is quality work in whatever craft you express yourself through, but a comfort none the less.

Caricature of Trump by the very talented Court Jones. Check out his other works at http://www.courtjones.com