An artist's life

“You are young.” “It takes time.” “It’s a bad market.” “Art is a commodity.” “Artists are only acknowledged after they die.” “They want to see if you’ll stay in the field.” As an artist, I have heard these things so many times, it now sounds redundant and mind-numbing, and has become trite. However, I find myself blessed with a refusal to give weight to these statements, agree, and accept defeat. I am indeed young, being 28 years old, and can actually say I am very lucky with the success I have had in the business. I have shown my work frequently- albeit I started at a very early age - and in many types of venues, including five official art galleries to date. I have had many accomplishments, and my paintings are becoming relatively well-known. I remember telling myself a few years ago to be prepared for the fact that I could paint my whole life and possibly never show in one real art gallery. But now, having encountered triumphs and failures, I have found that my will has reached its quota of let-downs for that same lifetime. This business definitely takes a thick skin. These achievements are wonderful and could be deemed excellent, considering my field. But therein lies the problem. In my opinion, and this being an opinion that has grown from the numerous experiences in my career thus far, there exists another level of success that I am very intent on achieving. An artist can dream of exposure and recognition, but this should lead to the happy conclusion of having a career at which you can work full-time, progress your talent, and support yourself. This dream includes being able to work at your creations, and transmit your message, vision and passion to others. In my art specifically, this message is about nature and the value of respecting it, which could very easily be deemed a valid message given the prevalence of this topic in current society. I like to think of myself as a person who is intelligent, ambitious and hard-working. This has translated itself into the various aspects of my life, as it is a part of my character. But I have a specific refusal to believe art has to be a discipline where these things don’t make that much of a difference, because of its infamous impossibility to “make it”. I don’t agree with this impossibility, and believe it is deeply rooted in societal attitudes towards art. Art is often considered a lesser endeavor, or not a valid life’s pursuit. I remember encountering this in my family when I switched from the academia science route to the fine arts one, still within academia nonetheless. Often artists’ work is also seen as something that can be taken for granted, and received freely, as if it doesn’t stem from the same hard work and talent it takes to do other types of work. Try simply perusing online ads in the arts sections, and you will encounter endless “offers” where people want artists’ work for free, for the artists’ supposed benefit. Not to mention the infinite “offers” that would very quickly deprive a so-called starving artist of their money, because of their strong need to have someone show their work. Are artists expected to produce a richness from which everyone benefits, without rewarding them within their careers and aspirations? Art can effortlessly be seen as one of the foundation stones of culture. It tells of history, questions contemporary issues and life, and shows poignant creative reactions. It is something that comes of fertile creative thought, and thus endures in our minds. One can think of the first cave paintings, the pyramids and art of Egypt, the great historical paintings of Europe, or our treasured Group of Seven. So why do artists have to encounter such difficulty? Why does it have to be that way? Does this serve people? Why must artists be “starving artists”? Growing from my experiences and career, I have found these questions occurring to me naturally, as if I am seeing something obvious that perhaps we are too accepting of and accustomed to. I recently asked these same questions to the National Gallery of Canada, our biggest art museum, at their annual meeting in December: Why must something that could be deemed so vital be at the bottom of the barrel? Even they could not reply.

As mentioned beforehand, my artistic ambitions aim for the top, and so this has included a high regard for the National Gallery which I have visited so much since my childhood. This fall I sent them an enquiry through their website, thinking I had nothing to lose by asking. “How does one get the attention of the curator of the Contemporary Arts Department?” They replied that I could send in a proposal for acquisitions, which means a professional dossier explaining and showing your work so that they can consider it for purchasing. I enthusiastically went to work, intent on sending them my best. This past week I received back a very polite letter stating that they would not purchase paintings at this time, but would like to be kept up-to-date on my career, and were happy to be introduced to my art. My dossier included much biographical information about me, my work, its intent, and other materials. I was shocked to see that they were not returning all this work, but storing it in their collection for the Library and Archives. You would think an artist would be happy at this prestigious event, but once again, and since I had not been forewarned, it instantly occurred to me that they were keeping and appropriating my hard work as if I had given it to them for free. If this under-appreciation and respect of a lifetime’s work goes all the way to the top, where does that leave artists? Despite all these discoveries, and experiencing the trials and successes of the life of an artist, I am still trying to pursue my work and career. My attitude is one of being very devoted to my painting, but I have had to change and adapt as well. I am, however, inclined to take a look at how the system functions, and question it.

Alicia Surveyer’s work can currently be seen on her website, www.aliciasurveyer.com, at Centre d’Art Kirkland (3634 St-Charles Blvd.), and at Precious Ekelektik in Toronto (201 Queen St. East). Precious Eklektik is holding its opening party Wednesday, Jan. 28th, 1-9 PM. She is also the youngest member of the Lakeshore Artists’ Association.