Transcript:
So, I want to have a little chat with you, my fellow artists, (and by the way, when I say art, I mean all forms of art including music, writing, dance etc) about the absolute love/hate relationship we seem to all have with social media!
Let’s talk about content creation. Sorry if those words sent shivers up your spine or reminded you that your manager told you to post a Tik Tok today. Read this first.
For all of time, humans have created. We have invented, and problem solved, and told stories in ways that transcended language and cultural barriers. We have communicated through all creative expressions, out of necessity for the wellbeing and survival of not only us as individuals, but of the human race.
With the recent change in Instagram’s algorithm and the increasing pressures on people pursuing creative careers to churn out endless content into a saturated ocean dictated by the decisions of a mass audience whose attention must be captured in under a second, I realised I needed to work out how we got here (and so quickly) to calm myself and work out a rational route forward.
Let’s talk about the documentation of the process and the outcome. At the turn of the century, we waited for bands to release music, and we waited in the dark. We didn’t know what they were up to, we knew they were working hard, and we couldn’t wait for the final results. The finished outcome came to us fresh and vibrant; it came soaked with anticipation. The documentation of the process followed later, sometimes years later, in the form of interviews or autobiographies, or unreleased tracks and versions. This documentation (early versions, explanations, stories, diaries etc) existed not for the purpose of sharing to an audience, but as authentic processing for the artist. All artists process emotionally and document the process of their creating in unique ways that work for them and don’t hinder their workflow but enhance it.
I know musicians who film moments in the studio, who keep the scribblings on napkins, and the voice notes, and I know painters who take polaroid photos of the stages of a painting for a small archive. This is without the intention of sharing, it’s a vital part of their process. These private moments are natural and not dictated by what an audience wants. It is a privilege for people to then see this documentation at a time of the artist’s choosing, the inner workings of the creative’s mind, after the outcome has been achieved and received by an audience. We see examples of this in major retrospectives in art galleries and museums. There is no way I would have broken down in tears faced with an abundance of David Hockney’s early drawings, unfinished studies, and sketchbook notes had I have seen his day-by-day workings in 15 seconds clips on Tik Tok. I cried because I was suddenly privy to this artist’s process, I understood that he created in order to survive, not financially but because a life without creating was not a life he could live. I had seen his outcomes, and now I saw the process. All artists in history have sacrificed, have grafted, and have borne their souls to audiences who they hoped would fully consume the outcomes that they produced.
Artists now are being told that success will not come solely from the outcomes (which may be produced every few months, or years, artists face blocks and sometimes it takes years to get something right, and that’s ok. Painters of old spent decades on paintings. It’s normal.) but if they can capture attention daily, by revealing process: unnatural and disruptive documentation. All artists know that to constantly churn out work on demand to a captive audience like performing monkeys is a) impossible and unsustainable and b) disillusioning and degrading to the creative process. The audience isn’t being told to wait… like it used to be. We have been taught to expect and demand entertainment 24/7.
I guess what I’m saying is you’re not going mad. The way that artists’ are being expected to create on demand is draining soul and passion from the industries and it concerns me that we are not honouring the time, the emotional and physical labour, and the importance of our creative’s wellbeing when we don’t give the process, let alone the outcome, the time and respect that it deserves.
When Instagram was created it was seen as such a quick way to share the process, and document creative endeavours. It’s gotten too fast now, and the fickle demand is too great. The question is, how do we slow down the documentation process so that it is as useful as it used to be, and it isn’t a chore and solely for the entertainment of a largely uncaring audience. Artists’ need to survive, financially, we are arguably making it harder because all this content creation is largely unpaid labour and often, the artist doesn’t even benefit… sales don’t increase dramatically, streams aren’t overwhelming, not in a way that would make the emotional and physical labour of content creation worth it for the artist. Who benefits? Instagram, and Tik Tok. They make money when we give people a reason to keep scrolling, endless content, endless scrolling, that’s just not comparable to waiting months for your band to release an album, running to HMV or waiting patiently as it downloads onto your phone so you can listen lying down in the park over and over with your friends all summer. It’s not comparable to seeking out your favourite artists, where they’re currently showing, and sitting in front of their works in awe. It’s great that we have made art more accessible, that’s really important, but somehow, we’ve lost the respect, and time that we once gave our artists. It is a great privilege of life to experience and enjoy the creations of others, and it is vital that artist’s are supported and encouraged. Being an artist is really hard, and all this just makes it harder. Don’t give up, create because you need to create, make music because without it you’d be miserable, paint because how else can you express what you need to express, and don’t feel bad when your tik tok doesn’t go viral. It’s no reflection on the worth of your art.
Thoughts for artists…
THE WORTH OF YOUR ART, AND OF YOU AS AN ARTIST, ISN'T BASED ON YOUR MOST VIEWED TIK TOK
August, 2022
5 mins of me explaining the importance of private documentation, process, and emotional processing during the creative practice and why the insatiable demand for content is damaging and disrespecting artists.