Projection
I was listening to an interview of Belle and Sebastian and they were discussing how their studio work has become refined and more precise and that they have learned to project more. This is attributed to playing for larger crowds. I thought it was a very interesting point to raise and that it had that significant (in their opinion) of an impact on their growth and continuity as artists.
Later, I was talking with a friend of mine who is a computer programmer and we were discussing this idea of professionalism. My head has stared tolling these two discussions together. The idea of being a professional at what you do is easier for me to grasp when it came to, firefighter or doctor; you go through training, you become certified and then you hang up the proverbial shingle. While I have always intuitively connected my work as an artist with ideas of having it be my profession, it has been difficult for me to draw the line in my head as to when I would be a professional. This is the same issue that my friend , the programmer (who ironically has no website or I would link it!) has been struggling with. From my vantage point today, I have begun to appreciate that it involves a great deal of projection and belief in what you do. Of course we know this from the classic "sleazy salesperson" who assertively and quite believably assures us they know what they are talking about and this is the best money can buy. Yet I have never wanted to connect that sort of energy with what I consider to be my more Nobel cause, the creation or organization (depending on your perspective) that I undertake. My art (I can hear mark Gleicher telling me this word is dead and I think I agree, art is dead) is not about making money it is about recording a viewpoint that is able to account not only for the physical reality of the world that is evident, but rather it connects that world with in a new way with the perspective that we (the human collection) don't yet know. Sort of a combination of reinterpretation and foresight. And who wants to mix that with greasy sales tactics?
Which brings me back to the beginning point of this little rant, projection. When I use that word, I am able to think about extending my vision in a genuine fashion, that will inherently serve the business side of my profession.
Or... so it all seems today.
posted by christopher jette at 9:18 PM
2 Comments:
I found your point of when are you a professional an interesting one. On the surface I was thinking prehaps it has to do with the passage of time a person performs on task, but this is not sufficient and vague. Then I went to dictionary.com and read the def. of professional. Ahhh....I think you will find your answer. Professional has nothing to do with talent, time, what you do, or a frame of mind. If I wanted, I could be a professional dog walker, lawn cutter, or even professional grocery bagger. To me, professional is just something you do, you do it a lot, and it is your livelihood. You can be a professional certified with a piece of paper or not. Think about this, professional does not have to mean you are good at something, you must have run across many "professionals" in your life that are no good at what they do in your eyes, it is a matter of perspective.
I deliberately desided when I wrote this blog that I would not look up the definition and rather that I would reflect upon what the word meant to me or maybe more acurately what I believe it should be. Looking at it now I realize that I chose the wrong word and it might be more acurate to say I was discussing "mature artist" not professional. But even that seems incorrect.
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