A few years back, some graduate students were having conversation about the impact of "fear" in making and doing art. Particularly in relation to "risk".
that night, I went and got some Thai food and and beer and wrote these thoughts. here you go...
The root of the word Artificial is art. In other words, art is not real.
Jumping of a real cliff would be fatal. Jumping off a metaphorical cliff would feel fatal.
Make Art that doesn't challenge the conventions of Art and your opportunities will cease- slowly and quietly like boiling frogs.
Are you worried about "wasting time"? If you feel you are risking your time by doing Art then you should be doing something else with your time. Do something you take pleasure in. This may be more productive in the long run.
One time, a student of mine spent a couple of days sketching, and re-sketching, ideas for a painting. The fear of messing up the freshly stretched canvas was paralyzing. A few days later, the same student came to class with a freshly inked neck tattoo. The student sat down and began sketching more ideas.
As an artist, you are swimming off mainland to a distant island. You've already swam to far to turn back. Pace yourself. Take long confident strokes. If you dog paddle you will eventually sink.
Signing up (and paying for) an Art degree proves that you are not afraid of taking the big risks. So why get conservative now?
At the casino, a series of small bets will inevitably lead to a total loss. The house will eventual clean you out. Make really big bets. You’ll have a better chance.
You are not surgeons or airline pilots. You can fuck up.
Thousands of people would gather to see Evil Knievel jump his motorcycle. If the jumps were safe- nobody would care. The spectators want to see somebody crash and burn. That is how art works.
If an art institution creates an environment in which Fear and Anxiety about doing art is present in your mind, don’t question your mind– question the institution.
All art you ever put out into the world will be misinterpreted. Thankfully.
Great artists pose great questions – not statements. If you need to make a statement, with no space for misinterpretation, you should hire a lawyer to draft up a document for you. No legal defense would ever make a painting, sculpture, or performance work for the judge and jury in effort to articulate something clearly.
Waiting until you are in a safe comfortable place in your life before you can afford to take risks is nonsense. You can make bigger bets when you have nothing to lose.
Each year, thousands of MFA students graduate and enter the field. You are part of this stampede approaching the cliff edge. You must jump and trust yourself. Most won’t jump off the cliff - but will stop and remain safely on land. They will only peer over the edge, in admiration, to watch you and a few others fly through the air. They will become spectators. Fans not players. They will both criticize and applaud you simultaneously.