∞ possibilities | give more than you get.
∞ possibilities | give more than you get.
Understanding artistic citizenship, the social responsibility of producing and creating.
We were going to make this article for paid subscribers, but we think the message is -really- important for everyone participating in an art community of any kind.
Exploring your inner artist and developing your outer artist is HARD. Especially if every blossoming artist takes without giving.
This article explores what it means to develop yourself in any artistic community, and how to engage responsibly and fruitfully.
This article won’t answer what is art? Frankly, that conversation has been had for centuries and has a lot of subjective measures to it. We’re excited to dig into it another day, another time.
We love art as expression.
We love art as intention.
We love art as an extension of human creativity.
We love the opportunities created through generative art, with AI augmenting human imagination and facilitating expression.
We’re going to explore heavier topics like “What is Art” in the future, with panels of people who can share more perspective than ours alone, including tomorrow’s guest, Dash!
Today, we’re exploring something we’d suggest is more important than burning precious time arguing about subjective perceptions.
These things are true:
If you’re a writer, you write.
If you’re a painter, you paint.
If you’re an artist, you art.
Maybe more important than defining what is, or isn’t, art, is how you define yourself as an artist.
If you’re going to call your verb “art” - then be an artist - and give more than you get. A starving artist is a starving artist, but many starving artists are a starving community.
Jokes aside, any art form is as much of a communal process as it is a singular one. Practicing artistic citizenship is essential in any artistic pathway. If you use AI in your process, connect with people who don’t.
Teach them something about your tools and learn something about their tools.
Collaborate with them and build each other up through your respective audiences.
Reach out to fledgling artists who are just finding their wings in this world.
We deeply understand the energy commitments that come with social interactions, which is a component of artistic citizenship. We also understand these activities are like skills you develop in time, and they get easier as you do them more.
Start small.
These components are considered through the lens of social media, where artistic citizenry is accessible from your couch. You can extrapolate these ideas and consider your local community: visit your Library or an area where community events are posted. Go to reading events, art shows, exhibitions.
Give yourself permission to use your energy in these ways.
Connect with artists: Reach out to artists who inspire you and connect with them through direct messages, comments, and interactions on their posts.
Support their work: Show your support for the artists by liking and commenting on their posts, sharing their work with your followers, and purchasing their artwork if possible.
Collaborate: Consider collaborating with artists by commissioning a piece of artwork or working on a project together.
Learn from them: Use your interactions with artists to learn new techniques, get fresh perspectives, and expand your own creative skills.
Encourage and motivate: Offer words of encouragement and motivation to the artists you engage with. Let them know that their work is appreciated and valued, and that it inspires you to be the best you can be.
We had an opportunity to connect with @cat.ladies.ai of Instagram fame who shared her beautiful perspective with us on this matter.
She says, “we live in such an amazing time, where art is so accessible, and anyone can share their vision without a formal jury deeming their expression ‘art.’”
“We can connect so directly with artists now, all of us spinning this incredible reality of soul sharing,” she adds.
“New to this era is the ability for anyone to share glimpses their soul, their inner reality, via what they create, and actually be seen by hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands.”
“Whether you paint it with oils or prompt it with pixels is immaterial from the perspective of seeing. Now anyone can exchange vision with others, see and be seen, all day long, a perpetual stream of seeing and being seen,” she says.
“I so appreciate AI art not only for its quality renders but for its speed, allowing so much immersion in beauty, and then from that delightful pool of pixel-light rises a connecting of all the souls who are expressing.”
Giving more than you get is a crucial principle that can be mutually beneficial.
When we give without expectation of return, we cultivate a sense of generosity and compassion that can lead to greater happiness and fulfillment.
By giving more, we foster strong and meaningful relationships, build a positive reputation, and inspire others to do the same. Giving can create a ripple effect of kindness and generosity that can have a lasting impact on our communities and society as a whole. Giving more than you get is a selfless act that can bring joy, build relationships, and create a better world.
A community of givers can only lift each other up and help each other grow in ways that might be impossible on an individual level.
Well said! We should live our lives in a spirit of generosity, lifting up those around us. Life is not a zero sum equation. If we live as though it is, our own lives are the poorer for it.