Pressure Point

Pressure.  It is sort of a taboo subject.

Professional sports is one of very few areas where it is ok to say that a player missed the shot or dropped the pass because the moment was too much to handle.

But pressure is a huge factor in the arts as well.

It's one of the reasons that I advise people to use caution before they try to make a full time living through art.

There is a huge difference between the group of friends putting up a play for fun/beer money and the group putting up a play and trying to make enough money to pay rent or buy groceries.

They are entirely different things.  And the difference is pressure.

The reality is that you can be a talented artist that simply can't handle the pressure that comes with trying to pay bills through art.

That isn't a character flaw.  It doesn't make you a bad person.  It just makes you human.

Before you even consider trying to make art a career you have to consider how you handle pressure.  If you work with a team, you need to consider how all of them handle pressure.  This is a moment for extreme honesty.  You can't let your ego get in the way of the analysis.  You've got to look at your own history and your character and REALLY think about it.

Because if you can't handle pressure, this isn't a land that you should depend on for paying bills.

 

Comments

[Don Hall]

It's true. There is a different kind of pressure involved in relying the arts to feed your kids. No question.

But the "either/or" proposition you set out (if you can't make a living as an artist, it is because you can't take the pressure) is false in it's limitations.

Some people make a choice to not make a living in the arts because, in order to succeed, artistic autonomy is threatened by the pressure to make money. Some people care less about "making a living" than simply "creating the art." And that doesn't have a thing to do with the ability or inability to handle the pressure.

[Adam]

I didn't intend to frame it as either/or because it isn't. You're right, some people do care more about creating the art. There are people, however, that are trying to make a living through art and that's when the ability to handle pressure becomes vital.

Oh, and good post on your blog this morning.