If Artist Statements Were Honest
I am tired of artifice. I am tired of figuring out what transcendent, exaggerated, dramatic language is needed so that my writing can properly be promoted. All artistic people find themselves in the precarious, obnoxious position of having to turn even our most meaningless works into something that is socially responsible, inspiring, and/or emboldening some sort of marginalized community.
It turns activism and human compassion into a commodity, and the system is so effective that we are not supposed to call it out for the nonsense it is. Self-promotion, narcissism, and exagerrated self-importance is not new to the arts world, but since the advent of social media, those qualities have not only become essential to promotion, but also raising funds for arts projects. As an artist of color, who can fit into one of those vaunted “marginalized” groups, I have to pull out every ridiculous statement imaginable in order to get funding for my projects. I have to emphasis the social import of my crazy stories and make it seem like everything I do is for the betterment of society.
Let me ask you, if white-made art like “There’s Something About Mary”, “Love Actually”, “Top Gun: Maverick” had to promote themselves with the level of social import that works by artists of color have to utilize to qualify for funding, advertisement, and the backing of the public? Imagine the sorts of artist statements that would have to be made for a piece of escapist entertainment like “Top Gun: Maverick”. Here could be an example: “Top Gun: Maverick will inspire communities across the nation by portraying male bonding in a manner that combats established narratives of toxic masculinity, in order to demonstrates that a young men can aspirte to be leaders without exhibiting behavior that is harmful to marginalized groups.”
That’s the kind of bullshit writers of color have to write in order to be taken seriously! This is the height of prejudice against us. We cannot simply tell a story. We cannot simply be entertained. We have to MATTER in all caps.
So here, finally, is how I wish artists had to talk about out work. In a way that is honest and direct:
“Dear (organizing body that has the money to make or break my career),
I made this story because I thought it was cool. I grew up idolizing people like Denzel, Brando, Pacino, some of the coolest motherfuckers who ever lived, and I made a story as entertaining and as bad ass as the best work of those people. Why? Becuase I can get laid easier being a creative than just being myself. In all honesty, my every day personality is just ok. It gets by. I can be charming at times but more often than not I’m an asshole. But goddamn do I have some artistic skills and I can do an argument, an action scene, a fucking climactic battle, better than some pampered white guy who has done nothing but steal shots and sequences from more talented directors because they have no ideas of their own. You should invest in me because if I don’t get this opportunity I might be homeless, or I have to give up my career to work some boring 9–5 I don’t give a shit about. And that would affect me personally. Literally, I could be homeless or at the very least, crashing in the bed of my girl who is kinda sick of me and my promises. I really need a win here, so how about you give your boy some funds so my girl stops talking shit about me not providing. I wanna marry this chick one day and that won’t happen if I can’t get this movie/book/play/arts project off the ground. Your decision will literally determine whether or not all of my plans and dreams will go up in flames, or if me and my fine ass honey get a house and her father finally respects me. Yours truly, an artist of color.
And that , my friends, is what the arts world is really about. Making beautiful things to cover up the fact that we aren’t very beautiful people.