All the Bullsh*t Artists Believe: A Conversation with William Deresiewicz, Author of Death of the Artist

Video version here: https://youtu.be/v1pvdmWkQ90

A spirited chat with William Deresiewicz, author of /Death of the Artist: How Creatives Struggle to Survive In the Age of Billionaires and Big Tech/. This book argues that artists have a harder time making a middle class living today than in previous generations – but is this true? And how does it effect the art and entertainment made today?

00:00:00 Intro: The two stories told about being an artist
00:01:05 Why did /Death of the Artist/ need to be written now?
00:02:31 But hasn’t it ALWAYS been hard to be an artist?
00:05:03 How is all this unique to artists? Aren’t a lot of middle-class professions in danger?
00:06:08 What is Art with a capital “A” and why is it under threat?
00:09:06 The TV Renaissance is Over (Amending the section on TV in /Death of the Artist/)
00:11:06 Is it helpful for individual artists to look at the bigger picture of the arts industry ?
00:13:21 Is the sample of 140 artists used to write Death of the Artist really representative? How were they selected? What about other research?
00:15:37 What are the goals of the book? What does William Deresiewicz want artists to know?
00:17:49 Is art really “boring” now? And why does William Deresiewicz not watch movies in movie theatres?
00:22:49 The chilling effect in the arts – is THAT why everything is boring?
00:27:24 What if you’re depressed after reading /Death of the Artist/? Is there an actionable takeaway?
00:30:59 How do you value an arts education? How do you repurpose creative skills? And why William Deresiewicz would encourage you to go for the artists life despite everything!
00:38:09 Accepting that some art just doesn't have much market value.
00:40:16 The 1000 true fans model – does it work?
00:41:45 “Everyone is an artist”: The Romantic myth that led to the Silicon Valley myth (ft. David Graeber and Nicka Dubrovsky’s essay “Another Art World”)
00:46:41 The lifecycle of an artist and how artists are discouraged as children

Links to stuff we talk about:
The Death of the Artist by William Deresiewicz: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250125514/thedeathoftheartist
“We’re all Bored of Culture” by William Deresiewicz: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/bored-of-culture-william-deresiewicz
“On Not Drinking the Kool Aid” by William Deresiewicz: https://salmagundi.skidmore.edu/articles/434-on-not-drinking-the-kool-aid

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