#234 – If not praise, what is worth working for?

There's a question creators ask one another often – what is it for?

Although it's a fair question, which can bring depth to any creative endeavor, I believe it's often misunderstood. It's easy to make the question mean: "how do you need to adapt your creation so that it pleases your audience and they buy it from you?"

Here, I see an important distinction between "craft" and "art."

Business books, and literary books.

Functional design, and pure art.

Corporate speeches, and poetry.

From the audience/user's perspective, where "craft" serves a specific, utilitarian function, "art" pursues catharsis, revelation, self-revolution.

From the creator's side, "craft" is made to be sold, while "art" is made because it has to be made.

So, when you create things to sell them, you indeed need some degree of listening and adapting to your audience's taste. If they don't like what you make, you need to change something (your audience, or your work).

But when you "work for the muse," as my friend, artist and fellow Substacker Al Wyman put it, it's not about pleasing the audience but about being true to yourself. Expressing your inner vision in the outer world.

If that's your purpose, it's never your job to make things that people will appreciate or approve of – even if you charge for your work.

As choreographer Martha Graham put it,

"It is not your business to determine how good [your expression] is, nor how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly (...)."

What do you work for?

Love,

Carolina