Sharing one's own Art - discussion.

[Animal]

These first two comments were moved over from the "Share your Original work" thread. Since that thread is about sharing work, the discussion of "Should work be shared?" or "Am I comfortable sharing work? Why or why not?" Can be moved here.

So what are your thoughts on sharing work in public? Do you think people who do this are self-indulgent, just looking for applause? Do you think it's a beautiful style of communication? Why do or don't you share yours? Where is the line between 'too personal' and sharing it?

[ledyanoy]

[Animal]

It's not about raring stars. Art is communication and for many people, it's the most accurate way to share their soul. Humans are social animals and we also have big brains full of ideas, feelings and passions. We have the capacity to think about things like identity and meaning. Art is a much easier way to communicate complex thoughts of this nature, for many people. And the desire to share what's inside isn't about getting more stars than the next person, it's about wanting to know what others are about, wanting them to know you; wanting to communicate something inside; a cycle of inspiration where one person's self-exploration inspires the next; and just.... creating beauty.

Art has been around since the beginning of mankind. It's ancient. There must be a reason, biologically, why every culture places some importance on music, arts, and festivities in which to share them.

If you don't want to share your art, that makes sense since it seems you're pretty private about sharing what is sacred or personal. Totally makes sense. But still I would be careful about reducing other people's timeless communication to Uber stars. Or at least, any assumption that this is the only reason people do it. Modern Hollywood might give that impression but most artists I've met just want to create beauty and share their soul.

[Animal]

Another thing to keep in mind is that for art to have any integrity, it takes hard work. An artist might produce something in 10 minutes, but it took 20 years of practice, sometimes schooling and grueling repetitive work - to get the end result to come out that way in the first place.

For my projects, the songs took me years and I can't even begin to explain how hard I worked for it. I dedicated my entire childhood to practice music, sacrificing anything else. The illness took everything from me, even my voice - and when I had a period of slightly better health, I moved to the city to pursue my music while I still could, and sing through my whisper. I knew it wouldn't last. But for five years, I had to endure an extremely rigorous lifestyle to get ANY sound out of my voice. I had to vacuum constantly to deal with allergens, work out daily and eat perfectly, avoid socializing or talking in any loud place so I wouldn't lose my voice (which meant I mostly stayed home), wear gloves on the subway to avoid germs because I get sick so easily etc. On top of that, I wrote the songs and put together the band. I managed, produced, booked, advertised, and paid - often by myself - for rehearsals, which were $60 to play in a tiny cubicle for 2 hours. I kept up shitty jobs to afford this. I had to teach each band member the parts, and I couldn't pay them much, if at all. In NYC, the venue charges the audience and then keeps the first 20 or 50 people's money in full. After that, the band gets half of it... but the venue doesn't advertise. So I had to rally a crowd unless I wanted to LOSE money simply from paying $60 to park my car outside the venue, with all my instruments in it. Several band members had to pay this fee because all of our instruments couldn't fit in one car.

I will mention here that "playing just for yourself" is not always an option. Equipment and rehearsal time requires a big financial investment, especially in a city. It's unaffordable for anyone, let alone a sick person, to find a space where no neighbor can hear my instruments and I can just jam. Let alone with a band. So it's wise to try to garner an audience and make some money back from it, from a purely pragmatic point of view. But also, performing keeps the band interested. The band was willing to play with me and play the parts exactly as I wanted them for free, just for the thrill of the shows. As for myself, there are few things more fulfilling than sharing my soul through music in a performance, when that energy comes over the audience and we're all deep in this cathartic space. It's just beautiful. Keeping up a band was difficult, but so worth it for these moments.

And let's not even get into the cost and toll of recording. I couldn't afford recording in a half way decent studio in the city so I traveled upstate , driving 1.5 hours in heavy traffic there and back, in order to record the album.. and I had to transport band members too.

So maybe I wrote that song in my post in 30 minutes (which is possible only because I practiced music for several hours a day throughout MY ENTIRE CHILDHOOD, giving up any semblance of a normal life)..... but how it got recorded and posted there was no snap of the fingers. The least I could get after that is to share it with the world, with people I love; and invite them to share their own hard-earned labor.

People believe in all kinds of things. The government, which is supposed to be secular, charges citizens money to pay for taxes, which they use to prop up churches and give them tax breaks. But when you're in the arts, you're on your own. If you believe in your vision, it's up to you to make it happen. The world will try to take you down at every turn. There is no reason to go as far as I did, except pure, unbridled love for the music. The prospect of actualizing this vision through a show or an album makes life worth living, when all else is hard work, illness and toil.

And then, why shouldn't I share it? I've had people contact me from across the world telling me they found my music on last.fm and it inspired them to keep going and fight for their passions, after they had lost everything to some illness. (This moved me to the bone, every time.) I've had people tell me they thought of my song when going through a breakup, and it gave them hope. An artist whose work I absolutely love, told me she was afraid to sing and that my singing inspired her to do it anyway. Though I don't have a lot of fans, some of the people who have been touched by my music have found it life changing - a symbol of fighting through tremendous odds to live your dream. So why should I keep that to myself?

My simple 'desire to share it' is enough reason to share it. I don't need to justify it by saying that I worked hard or it helped other people. But really, no matter how you look at it, there's genuine meaning to be found in sharing that which is most sacred to us, if we want to. If we do something that means something to us, then it might also have meaning for someone else.

[Mahat]

[Animal]

With that being said, I have a certain visceral reaction against 4ishness and certain expressions of Fi - the need to constantly express and restate one's identity to an obsessive degree to the point that I see it as self-obsessed and indulgent, as well as the overt self-referentiality.

Yes, this is the 'issue' with four that is not talked about nearly enough. Four is always glorified as some kind of deep-feeling genius whereas it needs to be acknowledged that there's a tendency to over-indulge in their own narrative, even while others roll their eyes. And I hold myself accountable for this.

To me, a forum like this is inviting people to share their own selves too. Before I joined Perc I didn't really talk about this stuff in words , only in art. I wanted people to see my work, not 'me,' per se. My work IS me.

I actually forced myself not to post any original art for the first three years on perc so that I'd learn to communicate in words and get better at writing, so I could execute my project. But then people on perc told me that my personal sharing inspired them to look inward etc. Even as I look inward and work on myself, at the moment I still feel this forum is an appropriate context for personal sharing because it was kind of.... built for that. Like 'what's your archetype, who are you?' But you have helped me become conscious of this tendency and how it may affect other people, and I really appreciate it Not that it's something I would change over night nor would WANT to completely change, but there's always self improvement to be done. The forum is an 'outlet' for it, perhaps a good use for it.

Part of my repulsion is my own stifled line to 4 and the way I relate to it, and how I envy others (or more specifically 4s) for their nuanced way of expressing their identity. I feel stifled in my own expression in that my own sense of self isn't well defined, so I tend to downplay my own presence while also desiring it to be acknowledged.

I have always admired your honesty about this. And without this type of honest reflection, the message about fours would be meaningless, but it's your own honesty that gives it meaning and context. Which, strangely enough, is along the lines of what I hope to achieve with my art.

[Mahat]

And you have helped me looked more inward but in not in a ruminating way but direct in a more essential way with your art and presence

[Animal]

<3 <3 <3 I love you so much <3

[Mahat]

D"AAWWW I love you too <3 <3