If you can’t pay for a thing, don’t buy it. If you can’t get paid for it, don’t sell it. Do this, and you will have calm and drowsy nights, with all of the good business you have now and none of the bad. If you have time, don’t wait for time.
Yes, I’m quoting a Bohemian Communist. I’ve learned to take wisdom wherever it is found, and frankly, the first quote doesn’t really sound very Communist at all. Some may say it sounds Objectivist or Libertarian. I just think it sound like common-freaking-sense, something the world seems to be sorely lacking. No, I’m not here to venerate the guy, so don’t start digging out counter-quotes to prove to me what an evil bastard he may have been. I’m well aware of who he is. This is the problem with sound bites and pull quotes, and their lack of context. I want you to just read the words, and meditate on the message there. No more, no less.
In a decaying society, art, if it is truthful, must also reflect decay. And unless it wants to break faith with its social function, art must show the world as changeable. And help to change it.
These are going on my quote board, and I’ll be applying my own context to them. This is not part of a political manifesto. They’re going to be both akin to business adages, as well as creative guidelines. “If you can’t get paid for it, don’t sell it” doesn’t necessarily mean “don’t make it”. There are other, personal reasons to create, and “make it and give it away” remains an option. This just serves to remain me to assess why I’m creating, when I’m creating.
As for the second quote, rather than rant about the things that frighten and annoy me I’ve been trying to channel it into fiction. First, it does inject some social function into my art. Second, well, I’m creating art, rather than just ranting. Third, by expressing myself in this fashion someone might actually read it and get something out of it. One can always hope.
I’d argue the only way for a person to “buy” something that s/he can’t pay for is to take advantage of a foolish seller, or when both parties are stretching the usual meanings of “buy” or “pay”. Instead of government assistance (stereotypically a foolish seller who gives away things that should be paid for?), I’m thinking for example subprime loans, where lenders gave out money to people they knew/suspected could not pay it back. In this case, the lenders were not necessarily foolish because they knew of ways to profit still, or to sell the ticking debt-bombs they had created to other suckers. They also had an expectation of getting bailed out if/when it fell apart. It’s certainly an example of stretching meanings of buy and pay, though.
The statement can go different ways depending on our premises about what kinds of things should be bought, sold, paid for, or given away. Glad to see your note about giving away being a viable option in some cases.
Posted by Rob | May 31, 2011, 9:49 amMy definition of “Can’t sell”: 1. no one will pay money for it, 2. people will pay, but not enough to recoup the costs of doing it, 3. it is morally and ethically wrong to charge people money for this. This assumes a primarily financial motive.
Again, there are other rewards. Sometimes, the act is a reward unto itself. I can’t sell it, but that wasn’t the point; the point was the process of creating. The goal may be to spread a message; that warrants giving it away, and the reward is your work being seen. Sometimes, the reward is finding a handful of like-minded people, not mass popularity or financial success but the connection with others.
As an example of the latter, I think I lost my way as a blogger when I started looking for ways to increase my audience and monetize my blog writing. I lost more than I gained. I suffered a bit from definitions 2 and 3. I feel I could have made it as a commercial success but only if I were willing to give up the less concrete rewards.
Posted by Berin Kinsman | May 31, 2011, 10:04 amFor a boho commie that guy knew what he was talking about. Here’s a corrollary to the first quote that’s served me well: “Don’t lend anything you expect to get back.” Lending is out, but giving is okay. If you get it back, well, you can give it to someone else next time.
I like the second quote too, but I think it needs, “but not celebrate decay,” at the end of the first sentence and, “for the better,” at the end of the last sentence.
Getting paid is great, no argument there. The workman is worthy of his hire, muzzle not the ox, etc. But if you want to be happy as an artist, never make a choice that helps you financially but hurts you artistically. There’s nothing wrong with money but there’s nothing wrong with the old ars gratia artis either.
Posted by Xose Lucero | May 31, 2011, 7:05 pm