ARTISTA NEWS! – Business meets Arts

Beyond Artista – beyond art …

Hello and welcome to my second ARTISTA NEWS in 2024!

Nice to have you here.

“Our greatest glory is not never to fall, but to rise again every time.” – Nelson Mandela

Ready for my fuckup story today?

I’ll keep it short: after just over four weeks I had to cancel my trip. I’m at home again. Instead of the Amalfi Coast, there was stress with banks, conversations with police officers and frayed nerves. Because shortly before Naples, our bank account fell victim to an online attack and was wiped clean.

Admittedly, it’s almost ironic that we went to great lengths to protect our rolling home as best we could and were afraid of broken windows. Now we know that you don’t need a hammer or weapons to „penetrate“. A PC and a few clicks do it too.

We definitely wish our thief all the best with our hard-earned money and all the start-up capital for our new project.

Thanks to this incident, we can now continue the „Crazy Heart Tour„, which is just getting started, from home without a budget.

Failure has to be learned

In my last newsletter I wrote that I would like to share with you all sides of my artist journey – and I stand by my word.

If you asked me how I am currently, I would probably just laugh hysterically.

It’s totally stupid, but I would rather have driven the car into the wall and caused my own misery than to find myself in this situation, simply because I got the a* card somewhere. Does that make any sense?

If I’m being honest, I’ve been through a lot of crap and I can have a say when it comes to failure. This is somehow even a bit more depressing. But maybe this is simply life, which doesn’t take our human sensitivities into account. Sometimes you’re lucky, sometimes you’re unlucky. That’s it. The quicker we learn to cope with it, the better.

As artists, we are used to taking risks, but we obviously tend to forget from time to time how fragile everything is and that there is no guarantee for anything. Ironically, I am encountering more and more people in our society who have a deeply rooted sense of entitlement that has no reality whatsoever. Nobody owes you anything.

I know that’s a bitter pill to swallow. Nevertheless, I believe – especially in crisis situations – that this knowledge helps you stay sane. Because ultimately, what is it that we need if the hut burns? – Keep a cool head. And we don’t have that if our focus is on sensitivities, emotions and strange demands.

I really notice how my mind has been trying to throw me off course for days. My thoughts regularly revolve around how unfair it all is and how I’m not to blame and still have to bear the consequences.

However, these thoughts don’t get me one millimeter further. On the contrary, they actively prevent me from doing important things to keep the damage to a minimum. And there is a lot to do right now. I just can’t afford to mope around right now (literally!).

It is important to me to share these lines with you. My newsletter distribution list is not large and only a fraction of them read my newsletter, but I am still happy that there is any interest in my content and my story. In this respect, thank you if you read along!

Do you want to support me? Really?

Anyone who knows me better knows that I never ask for help. No matter what shit, I usually deal with it myself.

Since I deal with many things publicly very directly, I now often get the question online: “How can we support you?”. To be honest, the question overwhelms me. On the one hand, because I have the impression that it is not really meant seriously and that many people want to appear as social or friendly as possible in front of their own community. Funnily enough, support rarely follows when concrete measures are mentioned. On the other hand, I ask myself what kind of answer the other person expects. I was robbed, I’m broke. How can you possibly support me? 💸

During the Corona pandemic, I was able to see very clearly what solidarity is like in our society. And there have also been situations in which we have actively called for crowdfunding or similar – and not out of an emergency situation, but always for charitable projects.

Conclusion: People get very strange when it comes to “giving away”, “donating”, “supporting” something. In short, when it comes to your own wallet.

That’s why it’s very exciting to see what this means for our new social enterprise – the Crazy Heart Tour. The entire company aims to promote cultural participation in our country and to give disadvantaged people access to culture. It’s about equal opportunities and breaking down barriers. Poverty plays a big role here.

Ironic that we are now basing this on our own kind of concern. Because at the moment we are not that far away from the people we actually want to support. But when I think about it carefully: as a society, we are all directly or indirectly affected by a lack of participation.

Because neediness and existential concerns are taboo topics that lead to us becoming insincere and lacking in solidarity with one another. If no one dares to ask for help because they are afraid of being judged and things can only be communicated through the flower, then something is going terribly wrong. Conversely, it is no better when people in more privileged positions naturally demand that people in emergency situations please express specifically what they need. People in distress don’t owe anyone anything. Your situation is already hard enough.

It usually doesn’t take much to read between the lines the urgency and need or listen when people talk about their problems (and hold certain things back). Nobody wants to have to express their suffering and literally reach their hands out.

„Be the change you want for this world“ – that’s what Gandhi once said.

The Crazy Heart Tour strives for a paradigm shift in his spirit. It shouldn’t be about those affected on the one hand and those not affected on the other. It should be about breaking these boundaries and creating active solutions and meeting spaces on an equal level. Cultural participation doesn’t need warm words, it has to be lived.

I’ll be honest: this is a big project. We have ambitious goals. And without multipliers and supporters it doesn’t work. We are a small team of artists who bring the idea into the world, but for it to become reality we need money, resources, contacts and people to support us.

In that sense, if you really want to support me, then support the Crazy Heart Tour. Bring the project into the world, give it a like, become a sponsor, send a small solidarity contribution if you can and want – and/or whatever else comes to mind.

And please pay attention to your fellow human beings. If you feel like someone is holding something back, offer help. If you would like to help but can’t, then communicate that. Don’t make those affected feel like you don’t care about them.

Thanks for reading, Maria

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Beyond Artista – beyond art …

Hello and welcome to my first ARTISTA NEWS in 2024!

Nice that you are here. I’m taking the new year as an opportunity to calibrate my newsletter a little differently. Anyone who follows me or regularly looks around my website will not have missed the fact that I am currently reorienting myself and that a lot of things are changing.

„At the same time taken from life and at the same time typical – that is the highest art.“ -Christian Morgenstern

Everything from scratch

Here we are again. Somehow in the same place and somehow not, at the same time.

I’m currently sitting in my van on the Italian coast, thousands of kilometers from „home“, it’s dark outside, it’s drizzling and I can hear the wind and the sea roaring. This isn’t my first time on the road, but this time it feels like I’ve left everything behind for the time being.

At the end of 2023, after a lot of back and forth, I decided that I had to give my life a new direction.

I was established in the German events industry for over 10 years and earned my money from it. Somehow I have always struggled with being both an artist and a service provider. Because ultimately, that’s who you are when you start selling your art as a product or service. To shorten the story a bit: there is a lot that no longer fulfills me. I increasingly lost the joy in my artistic work due to the circumstances. For years I have been trying to adapt remotely and gradually gain freedom.

In 2024 I’ll still be starting at zero. If you come from the service industry, then you have skills and know how the market works, but it won’t help you much. No matter where you go, you are initially unknown. You are one artist among many who is vying for attention and needs to find an audience. It’s tough. And there is no guarantee that you will be successful in your cause. It’s similar on social media now. You will be overwhelmed by the mass of music and art that is being pumped onto the internet every second in the hope that someone will be interested in it.

Why do I choose such a bumpy road? To be honest, I don’t know. Deep inside me there is a feeling that I still have to find the place where I belong. I don’t know exactly how or where that will be, but I’ve done enough in my life that I know very well that it isn’t. Curiously, a “secure” job is part of it for me, although I am aware that this might be more comfortable. But I’m not interested in comfort in life.

I’ve always been an outsider who adapts beautifully. The stupid thing is that you never really get to the core of yourself because you’re always busy trying to fit in somewhere. Sounds contradictory, but it is true.

Well, my current situation can probably best be described as a search for myself. I know that I want to leave something of myself to the world and that I want to express myself creatively and artistically. I would like to connect with people about what I do and who I am. „Artista“ was the first attempt to find my role outside of stage characters, to be more personal and to represent not just art, but being an artist. With “Artista Mentoring” I have provided a small platform that can support artists. In perspective, however, I imagine even more and “bigger” things. But I had to start somewhere. I am the type of person who is so self-critical and questioning that I regularly come to the point where I have to reinvent myself. I don’t know if I’ll ever get anywhere. But striving for it is my constant companion, although for years I was able to distract myself wonderfully with other things and repeatedly let myself be dissuaded from this path. But that should now be over.

I have decided to focus on myself and my life from 2024 onwards. I’m going to write more about my artist/life journey and tackle things that have been on the back burner for sooo long. I hope that in this way I can reach people who can identify with my story and person and who can take something from it for themselves. Because ultimately that’s somehow what I miss in life: sincere and enriching interpersonal relationships.

What can you expect from Artista in the future?

I think some ups and downs, lots of thought merry-go-rounds and emotional rollercoasters. Let’s face it: turning your back on the local service industry and trying to build something for yourself as an unknown artist in a foreign country borders on madness. But extremes can bring out both the worst and most beautiful sides of life… In any case, I will share with you all aspects of it.

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“Life does not support art. It’s the other way around.” – Stephen King

Hello and welcome to my ARTISTA NEWS!

Today’s newsletter will be about a personal topic. I share with you my thoughts and experiences on collaboration and individual struggle as an independent artist in the cultural sector.

I am a lone fighter

Spoiler: at least that would be my summary when I think about my life so far. Most of the time I didn’t want to be that way. Huh? Then how can that be? So let me back up a bit.

How introversion and lack of self-confidence made me a loner

Throughout my school years, I was one of the more introverted, quiet students. I stood out little and was invisible to most of those around me; many may not even remember me. I was friendly, unobtrusive, reserved. There was nothing polarizing about me. Most teachers and students had nothing against me. How could they? I was basically air. A few people who didn’t like me (yes, there were!) must have had their own personal reasons, because my almost invisible presence presented no target whatsoever.

Although I already had the desire to come out more and be the center of attention back then, I didn’t really dare to do it. I didn’t know how to grow beyond myself. Unfortunately, my parents were neither much help nor good role models in this regard. So I hung around in my own “comfort zone” for quite a long time and let various opportunities (and classmates) pass me by. And not because they were better, but simply because I fell short of my own potential. A motif that would be found again more often…

The dogs bite the last one (german saying)

Be it friends who implemented ideas that I had secretly confided in them or opportunities that I simply came too late for because the process of overcoming them always took me far too long. I was a hesitant pile of misery. When I think about why I always put everything off for so long and thought it through a thousand times, it’s based on a deep perfectionism. I always wanted to do everything completely right and perfectly. I never wanted to get out of the way with (in my eyes) „half-finished“ things… Well, I was always the last one to do that.

Hesitation is bullshit. At some point I understood and learned that. The other names paid no attention to the fact that I was a hesitant, unsure thing. They just went their way. Let’s take a look around: this is our world. But at the time it left deep traces of disappointment in me. Any friend who stole ideas from me or beat me to something I wanted became a rival to me. At some point I guarded the thoughts and things I had in mind like a treasure. That was the birth of my individual fight. If you have the feeling that you can no longer trust anyone and that everyone is betraying you, then you will withdraw further and further. A few repeated, negative experiences did the rest. If I had experienced more tailwind, motivation and „collegiality“ in my childhood, then I would probably have developed in a different direction. But of course: childhood experiences don’t excuse everything. They are also no reason to hold on to old shit.

Kill your darlings

When I was old enough to reflect on all of this, I was able to let go of a lot of it. By the time I was a student, I had made a 180 degree turn. I took advantage of the new environment and the open environment to completely reinvent myself. I found my communicative, open-minded nature. I had finally managed to externalize my strengths – and my rough edges. When I tell people today that I used to be quite shy and reserved, most people laugh and think it’s a joke. So all’s well that ends well? – No, not quite.

Let’s zoom out from my youth and into my first years as an independent artist. Shortly after completing my studies, I threw myself into freelancing full of enthusiasm and enthusiasm. I was motivated and ready to conquer the world. Yes, admittedly, I was of course still green behind the ears and quite naive. But if I had known back then what would happen to me and what hardships I would have to endure to this day, I either wouldn’t have believed it or I would have run away. Sometimes it’s good not to know the consequences that lie ahead.

Within the first few months, a lot of things hit me. I slowly realized that being self-employed is hard. Running a business requires many skills. The cultural sector is a great field, but it comes with its own challenges. Being independent in art is a fight for survival.

Network, network, network!

Like all young, motivated self-employed people, my project partner and I jumped in at every local and national networking event imaginable in the first few years. We told everybody from our project, wrote hundreds of emails a month and made cold calls like world champions. We wanted to make our art and our programs as known as possible. The odds: 100 to 1.

We learned relatively quickly that the world doesn’t revolve around us and that to outsiders we were „one service provider“ among many who was looking for customers. The conflict between being an artist and selling art slowly emerged.

We learned that networking meetings aren’t really for networking because most people just want to give you their business card and otherwise have very little interest in you. A fellow artist once said, „Everyone wants to talk to you, finds what you do exciting, but they will never book you.“ – There is so much truth to this saying. Especially as an artist, you are an exotic figure at many business meetings. If you say you do performing arts for a living, people are more interested in whether you can make a living at it than in learning about your programs. Your very existence is viewed with suspicion. You have to get used to it first.

Collegiality – where are you?

Exchanging ideas with “artist colleagues” is also a difficult topic. Our attempts to reach out to other professional artists in a collegial manner were either ignored or seen as an attempt to spy on us – unfortunately there is a lot of knee-jerk thinking in the art scene. I don’t want to say that all artists are like that, there are certainly exceptions, but unfortunately we only got to know them very rarely.

In short: my experiences with collegiality and potential network partners were rather poor and fed into my inner negative experiences from childhood that I had left behind. My inner loner slowly emerged again and transferred to my independence. True to the motto „If there’s no team spirit here, then we’ll just do it alone.“ – And that’s what we did at mitossi, until we were exhausted.

Disillusionment, hello

I stopped feeling overwhelmed for the first time after about 3 years. Our rehearsal rooms were robbed and equipment worth €10,000 was stolen. It took the insurance company weeks to pay for the damage. During that time we were unable to accept any orders and had a loss in sales that almost drove us to ruin. My colleague and I were out of breath. There was also a personal crisis. At that point everything was just shit.

As soon as we had fought our way back onto a green branch, the next knocker came. Dry spells became our regular companions. The corona pandemic a few years later capped the whole thing off. Now everything came crashing down on us: ban on events (for us: professional ban), tight reserves, no social network, no friends to talk to. We were completely alone and isolated. At that point we had been self-employed for 6 years. We had already experienced all sorts of rollercoaster rides and had always picked ourselves up, but this was something new. All the uncertainty and existential threat was just too much. But somehow we swam… We were two drowning people swimming for our lives. I have no idea how we managed to be creative during these shitty times. I have to say, even today the Corona period is still breathing down our necks. The whole thing left deep scars.

We managed – once again – to save our business and get back to what it was before. But it still won’t be the same as before. When there is a crisis somewhere and people have less money at their disposal, we “cultural workers” are the first to notice it. Therefore we have to rethink and juggle. As an artist you are constantly changing anyway. But if you want to finance your life with art, then you have to think not only artistically but also economically. 2023 will be characterized by many new ideas and visions for the future. What it boils down to is that we are once again completely reinventing ourselves. A friend put it quite aptly a while ago: „Either we go under or we become big. We chose the latter.“

Attention, attention, attention

Nevertheless, not a day goes by when we don’t talk about the „missing community“ or something similar. Despite a globally connected world, the Internet, social media, public appearances, etc., I have the feeling that it is more difficult than ever to build a real community. It’s all so fast-paced and non-binding. Does true, sincere interest even exist anymore? Society is saturated with everything. Art is not enjoyed, it is consumed. Dealing with us is like dealing with disposable goods. The tricky thing about being an artist is that you can’t afford to be solitary and ignore the public – your success as an artist depends on an audience that loves you. So you are dependent on the attention of others, whether you like it or not. Generating attention these days is no easy feat.

I like to look up to old bands that enjoy a thriving fan base that every artist only dreams of. At the same time, I see various influencers who can entertain and inspire hundreds of thousands of followers on social media. Some people do a really good job, but there’s also so much crap out there that I regularly ask myself how the hell it is that these people get so much attention while others like us pursue passion projects that no one cares about seem. What a topsy-turvy world.

While we didn’t know how to buy something to eat during the corona pandemic, some Instagram hipsters with engine damage collected thousands of euros from their Instagram community overnight for a new engine so that they can continue their „everyday travel routine“. … How can one still believe in something like “team” or “collegiality” in a world like this? So this is where things come full circle for me:

I am a lone fighter because I often had no other choice. Society made me this way. And yes, I know, that’s not meant to be an excuse, more of a statement. I’m not an elbow guy per se. I can’t do anything with rivalry and competitiveness. I still believe that community and humanity make more difference. And I won’t give up hope that I too will find a positive environment at some point – but at the moment I’m still looking.

Conclusion:

Why all the talk about lone fighters? Is this my reckoning with the past? No. I realize that I am just a single example. But I’m sure there are many more like me out there who are struggling alone because they simply can’t find connection and/or are in a completely barren environment.

What I’m trying to show you is that sometimes things are more complex than they seem at first glance. Lone fighters often have negative connotations. It is associated with egocentricity, elbow thinking and rivalry. You probably wouldn’t suspect a friendly person behind it, would you?

However, my example makes it clear that not only selfish assholes are intentional lone fighters, but also normal people like you and me can find themselves in this position. The reason is usually structural and not personal.

I follow a really great systems theorist and researcher and enjoy reading her blog. A while ago I came across an article about dos and don’ts when dealing with artists & (Cutting Edge) researchers. Only then did I realize how much art and research have in common. The article quickly makes it clear that innovators – like artists and researchers – are very lonely fellows. Not because they want to be, but because they are often not understood and looked down upon by society. I can highly recommend the article: https://gitta-peyn.de/dos-and-donts-im-umgang-mit-cuttinge-edge-forschung-und-kunst/ (german language)

I hope I was able to give you some food for thought with today’s newsletter.

And now you!

I’m looking forward to your perspective. How do you feel about that? Were you able to identify with what was written or did you have completely different experiences? Feel free to share it with me!

And if you have any further questions, please feel free to ask. If you have any topic requests or suggestions for future newsletters, I would of course be very happy to hear them.

Thanks Maria

New: I have a translation button on my website now, so you can read all of my blog articles in English, French, Spanish and Italian. If you want to take a look in my blog list, here it is: https://www.maria-chiariello.de/uebersicht/ (dont forget to hit your language button!)

You like what I am doing and want to give something back? Buy me a Coffee on Ko-Fi. Thank you.  (No registration needed)

„Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and do the work. If you wait for the clouds to part and for lightning to strike your brain, you’re not going to get much done.“ – Chuck Close

Hello and welcome to my ARTISTA NEWS!

And a warm hello to my new readers.

Today’s newsletter is about something that is often underestimated when it comes to building something artistic: the investment.

Which investment?

If you’re wondering the same thing, then this newsletter is for you!

It wasn’t that long ago that the scales fell from my eyes: most people who want to build something up with their art sooner or later fail. They are neither fundamentally incapable of building something up on their own nor bad at what they do. Nevertheless, they drive the tree because they simply do not understand/underestimate/ignore that they have to invest in their independence as artists. There often seems to be the strange notion that throwing a few works of oneself onto the art market is enough and then one can watch as interested parties greedily throw themselves at them. The truth is, however, that initially nobody is interested in you and your art (this is not only the case with art, by the way, but also applies to all new products/services). Every startup has to invest time, work and money if it wants to advertise its products and sell them to the man (or woman). It doesn’t work without a promotion. What sounds like business studies for elementary school students obviously seems to be completely new territory for aspiring artists. I’ve had many conversations with „artist wannabe“ and thrown my hands up in horror afterwards. There is an incredible amount of ignorance and naivety among aspiring artists. And I’m not a bad place to go, because I can eliminate exactly these blind spots. But it often doesn’t even get that far, because those people either look discouraged after an initial interview or decide to try it alone – without mentoring. But if even a profitable cooperation is rejected (because you don’t want to afford it), then I don’t know what to do anymore…

I understand that creative people don’t swim in money and that’s why they often play with the idea of monetizing their art. I say nothing at all against someone who cannot afford to work together for cost reasons. I founded myself in 2014 with an extremely small budget and could not afford expensive consulting, advertising campaigns or similar. Because I didn’t have an advertising budget, I had to invest even more time and work. At that time I had to continue my education in almost every area imaginable that had anything to do with „self-employment as an artist“. Over the years I have become my own bookkeeping, advertising agency, designer, photographer and videographer, promoter & co. It was tedious, exhausting and challenging, but in the end this was the only way I could keep up and pursue my path as a professional artist. I have never questioned this investment. It was always clear to me that if I wanted to be an independent artist, then I had to work hard for it. It was also always clear to me that I would probably hardly be able to make ends meet, especially at the beginning, because nobody would know me and I first had to establish myself. That’s why I had a second job for a long time, with which I was able to cover my expenses. I couldn’t make big jumps. Becoming self-employed as an artist and making a living from art full-time was difficult and involved hardship. While others had their regular income and could spend money on free time and slack, I had to turn over every penny three times over. It took 5 whole years until this phase was over and I could slowly start to call myself „established“. And even years later there are still dry spells in the year when the order situation is declining and I have to tighten my belt at times. This is the price I pay for being a freelancer and doing what I love. – No fuss, no cookies.

Overall, I have the feeling nowadays that while most people have dreams and want to achieve certain things, they shy away from the effort involved and therefore prefer to stay in their comfort zone.

In my environment, I miss the willingness to put everything on one card and – come what may – throw yourself in at the deep end. I see almost exclusively people who have chosen a comfortable job because they need the security of a regular income. The fear of no longer being able to afford amenities and a certain amount of luxury obviously suppresses any desire for an alternative life model and a meaningful job. In short: people shy away from investing.

With such an attitude, self-employment is of course not an option. I miss the people who feel called to do their own thing, even if it’s going to be difficult.

I’m tired of all the phone calls where I already know after 5 minutes that this person will throw in the towel anyway because it will be difficult and the expected success will not come in a timely manner.

I’ve seen so many artists give up after a few months and look for part-time jobs due to running out of work. That was to be expected! Building your own customer base is work. I find it strange that for many it is still more convenient to work for others and earn money there than to build something up for themselves and try to get their own orders. There are obviously wrong ideas around the topic of founding, self-employment and above all in the artistic-creative area.

To make this clear: Self-employment in art is in no way comparable to a salaried job! The profession of artist cannot even be compared to other services. Any notion of what to expect is therefore in most cases wrong or an understatement. This is one of the reasons why I do my job as an art mentor. The art market has its own rules. For example, the relationship between demand and supply is extremely imbalanced. Hundreds of artists come to isolated requests. In addition to the competition, there is also a price war. There are always „hobby artists“ who dump the prices.

In short: Becoming self-employed with art is no picnic. Surviving in such a niche requires staying power and the right attitude. It doesn’t work without passionate devotion, uncompromisingness and love for the cause. Because it is precisely this love of the thing that lets you keep going, even when things get uncomfortable. The „why“ you keep coming back to, even when you despair at times (and believe me, you occasionally do).

I regularly read on social media about people who „would love to do art if money wasn’t an issue“. Aha. So it should be pretty easy. I wonder how people with that kind of attitude can even survive in our world. When and how did such people lose their fighting spirit?

If we want to achieve something in life, then we have to put in work and effort. And that’s really nasty: there is no guarantee that our work will bear the desired fruit. All we can do is strive for it and know that what we do is valuable.

In any case, one thing is certain: if we don’t even dare to try it, then we can’t expect anything. As the saying goes: „nothing ventured, nothing gained.“

Conclusion: everything in life has its price

„You want it, you take it, you pay the price.“ Bruce Springsteen sang in 1980.

If you want to enjoy the beautiful view from a mountain, you have to walk up there first. That’s the way it is.

What I have so nicely unraveled above as an „investment“ for art and self-employment can be transferred to all areas of life. If someone always takes the slightest path of resistance and expects everything to fall into their laps, then they will never enjoy the hard-earned fruits of their labor. It is possible that such a person will not even know what it means to really work for something and how satisfying it can be to look at the goals you have achieved.

We are increasingly living in a society full of comfort and entitlement. Nobody really wants to invest in something anymore and accept deprivation. People would rather do some „bullshit job“ that makes good money a month than devote themselves to something relevant that pays less. This is worrying.

Our society needs people who feel called upon to create something new, even if it is expected to be challenging. If such people hadn’t existed in the past, slavery and oppression would probably still be the order of the day with us today. All great heroes and revolutionaries have faced resistance and challenges. Her path has never been easy.

Now, of course, one can object that self-employment cannot be compared to an earth-shattering revolution. For my part, however, I see great parallels at the heart of the matter. I find that whenever it comes to taking responsibility for one’s life as a person and taking it actively into one’s own hands, e.g. by pursuing new professional paths, perseverance and the right attitude play a decisive role. It is precisely this perseverance that, in many cases, determines whether someone succeeds or fails in the long run.

So the honest question you should ask yourself before making such decisions as starting your own business or the desire to pursue an artistic career is: what am I willing to give for it?

Or, to come back to the initial question: „Am I willing to invest in my independence as an artist (even if I don’t have the certainty of success)?“

I hope I was able to give you some food for thought with today’s newsletter.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask. And if you have any topic requests or suggestions for future newsletters, then I would of course be very happy to hear from you.

New: I have a translation button on my website now, so you can read all of my blog articles in English, French, Spanish and Italian. If you want to take a look in my blog list, here it is: https://www.maria-chiariello.de/uebersicht/ (dont forget to hit your language button!)

You like what I am doing and want to give something back? Buy me a Coffee on Ko-Fi. Thank you.  (No registration needed)

„The artist is the creator of beautiful things. To reveal the art, to hide the artist – that is the goal of art.“ – Oscar Wilde

Hello and welcome (again) to my ARTISTA NEWS!

And a warm hello to my new readers.

I’ll start today’s newsletter a little unconventionally, with a bit of self-mockery. Because the monthly (!) Artista News has become more sporadic-every-few-months-News over the course of the last few issues. All good things come in threes! The last time you read from me was three months ago. Shame on me! My emotional state in this regard is somewhere between „Oh, nobody will notice that anyway!“ (or is it?! 🤔) and „damn it, but it’s about the principle and about the fact that I’ve decided to do it!“ I mean, come on, it’s just a single newsletter. Well, obviously there’s more behind a couple of pages of text… Consequence, where are you?

Anyway … If you want to read the older newsletters again, you will find all previously sent newsletters here in the archive. Today’s newsletter is about the uniqueness of art and the question of whether art and „franchise systems“ can go together.

What is a „Franchise System“?

The German Franchise Association provides the following definition:

„Franchising is a partnership-based sales system in which new entrepreneurs are allowed to use an established business concept for a fee. The term franchise describes a cooperative sales system between an existing company – the franchisor – and one or more company founders – the franchisees. […]“ (Source: German Franchise Association).

According to the German Franchise Association, the franchise model has its roots in the USA (17th/18th century). It is therefore an economic or monetization model of a specific thing. These things can be both products and services. Very prominent examples are e.g. fashion chains like H&M or restaurants like McDonalds, Subway and Co. But not only large corporations use the franchise system. Small companies or service providers also like to choose this model. The main advantage is the multiplication of your own company/business idea. Of course, it is also about maximizing profits or increasing profits. Obviously, this is of course tempting to just about any business person. So it is of course not surprising that the culture industry is also interested in this type of system.

But what does that actually look like in the art sector?

The most famous example that comes to mind is the „Blueman Group„. It is a musical group consisting of three non-verbal blue actors/performers accompanied by a band. They are known for their extraordinary shows and performance arts. However, what distinguishes this group from other well-known artists or artistic figures is the fact that their figures can be embodied by different actors. In other words: It doesn’t depend on a specific group of artists, but the characters can be exchanged at will. With well-known bands, for example, this would be unthinkable. Imagine if AC/DC suddenly sent other people onto the stage to interpret their songs and imitate their characters. Imagine if they dressed and moved like the original band to present an equal image. This should not be confused with a cover or tribute band that deliberately interprets another band’s songs (but without imitating their characters). In the case of a cover band, it is very clear that this band is NOT acting as a substitute for another band, but merely re-enacting their songs.

The franchise system, on the other hand, takes a different approach: in the specific case of the „Blueman Group“, for example, it takes the artist out of the game by focusing on the show. In this case, it is not about the people who create the show, but only about the show. Each show promises maximum and equal quality no matter who is under the costume. The actors are thus interchangeable. But why all this? The benefits from a „business point of view“ are obvious. A fixed group of artists can never be in several places at the same time, but several performers in the same costume can. The „Blueman Group“ is able to realize several tours at once and set up many shows in parallel, depending on the players. In January 2010, the organization comprised around 500 employees. By then, 17 million viewers had seen the Blue Man Group shows (source: Wikipedia). And the nice thing is that most viewers don’t seem to mind. As long as you’re feeling well entertained, it obviously doesn’t matter by whom. Or does it?

I’ve been following comedy artist and mime artist „Tape Face“ for a number of years. He became known around 2014 with his original stage character and show at the Edinburgh Fringe – a huge, well-known arts and comedy festival. His career got a boost two years later when he appeared on the hit TV talent shows Americas Got Talent and Britains Got Talent, gaining worldwide notoriety. Since then he has been very present and established on social media. He has hundreds of thousands of followers and fans worldwide. His stage character is extremely well received by his audience. He fascinated me from the start. In my opinion, Sam Wills (his real name) has created a unique, authentic persona with „Tape Face“ that reaches and touches the audience in his very own way. This is a great artistic achievement and probably the dream of most performance artists out there. (An example of his performance arts: https://www.youtube.com/watch)

For me, „Tape Face“ was always the counter-evidence to concepts like the „Blueman Group“, in which the show is decoupled from the artist group (the people). One day I was surprised by outraged comments from his viewers about the new show dates for his „Tape Face Show“. According to the comments „Tape Face“ left the stage in the break between two shows and then sent a „different Tape Face“ in the second part, which was in no way comparable to him. Huh… another „Tape Face“? What was going on? I started researching and my suspicions were confirmed. Sam Wills has franchised his stage shows. I found some comments from him, in which the following can be deduced: „Tape Face“ doesn’t see himself (anymore?) as a unique stage character. He says that „anyone can be Tape Face“. And that’s why it’s no problem for him to send someone else on stage who can embody/represent him. On the contrary: it is in his interest to fulfill the wishes of his viewers and to make as many shows as possible accessible to them worldwide. That’s why he can organize several tours at the same time in this way. In one country he performs himself and in the next he sends „TF 2“, as he calls his double. The curious thing is that there are numerous interviews from the past on the Internet in which he goes into the autobiographical aspect of „Tape Face“ and makes it pretty clear that there is a lot of him in this character. In addition, in the past he has regularly been infuriated by imitators who stole parts of his performance or publicly copied his stage character.

The fact is: „Tape Face“ is dividing its fan community. I have read many comments full of incomprehension. Viewers are particularly outraged because Sam Wills refrains from informing about which „Tape Face“ will appear when the tickets are sold. Viewers want transparency and would like to know in advance whether they are seeing the „real tape face“ or his double. Some fans are so disappointed that they immediately speak of „Fake Face“ or „Tape Fake“. Somehow it does (!) seem to matter who is under the costume. Others, on the other hand, see it relaxed and also feel well entertained by the double show. Still others didn’t even notice the difference between the different people on stage…

It strikes me that a lot of people can’t differentiate between art and entertainment. What is there is consumed. What is art or what is perceived as art depends both on the offer and on the makers who design this offer. If only „trash“ is circulating, then that will be consumed and perceived as art. The criteria for what constitutes „real art“ are becoming increasingly blurred.

But what is the difference between art & entertainment?

A clear definition is difficult to find. In addition, art cannot and should not be forced into the corset of a definition. Their limitlessness and freedom from paradigms should not be at the expense of an attempt at definition. Nevertheless, we can try to make a differentiation.

Art vs Entertainment

I would say that art can be entertaining, but entertainment is not art per se. Entertainment is for the sole purpose of entertaining people and keeping them engaged. Art, on the other hand, pursues a wide variety of intentions. She can entertain, but she doesn’t have to. I’m thinking of visual artists. A „Rembrandt“ is a great painting, but it’s not very entertaining. Or maybe? In this case, this is due to the definition of „entertaining“ and is certainly also a question of taste. But if we define „entertaining“ as a fun pastime, then surely there will be things more appropriate than Rembrandt’s classic, baroque paintings. 😉 A gripping Netflix series can be extremely entertaining, but that doesn’t make it art. Art stands for itself and reveals itself as a work of art. I think what makes it so appealing is that the art is not tangible and definable, but rather unleashes itself almost like magic (or not). As a result, an artist is viewed as such from the outside and is assigned a very special role in which he is respected/adored/feared/etc. Can such an artist now detach himself from this role and simply put an imitator in his place who serves as an equal „dialogue partner“ for his target group? Art is always communication between the artist and his audience.

Conclusion: Art cannot be exchanged

Maybe it’s a matter of taste or idealism, but for me the franchise system in art destroys its uniqueness. For me, the separation of art and artist in the above cases feels like a betrayal. And the only plausible argument why an artist would want something like that voluntarily is that you secretly don’t care that much about art. The way to make as much profit as possible from its popularity (through the arts) is probably the real driver here. Because if you really care about your art, if you can really create a unique art persona, you would never want someone else to embody that. On the other hand, if you can get involved in franchises in this context, the money is probably worth more than your art.

Art is not an interchangeable commodity, like clothes that you throw on. Own thoughts, feelings, doubts, fears and much more flow into art. Art is personal, often even autobiographical, shaped by one’s own view of the world and one’s own experiences. In every role you play there is always a piece of your own personality. Nobody can and will be able to embody one and the same thing identically. There are millions of guitarists and not one of them plays the guitar exactly like the other. Everyone brings their own bit of individuality. Selling art as a franchise system means taking away its uniqueness and degrading it to an exchange commodity. As if there were no autobiographical core and no „soul“ behind her. The dialogue between the artist and his audience is also passed over, because to whom is the recipient (observer/spectator) addressing? If there is no longer a clear contact person (because there are several), then the recipient’s answer must inevitably be directed to the matter at hand. The viewer no longer responds to the artist, but to his work. But isn’t there always a secret part of the artist in his work? Or to put it another way: doesn’t the artist behind his work represent the greatest interest? The Mona Lisa is a great painting, but the greater interest is in the myths and stories surrounding its creator. Personally, I am convinced that art can never be separated from its creator. Not even under the protection of anonymity. For example, although the identity of the graffiti artist „Banksy“ is not known, his works leave a lot of room for interpretation in relation to his person. People are interested in her/him. Maybe it’s just human that we are interested in other people and not (only) in their artistic „products“.

But maybe I’m just way too idealistic and principled. What do you think about that? What does art mean to you?

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

„Every revolution was first a thought in a man’s head“ – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hello and welcome to my tenth ARTISTA NEWS. 🥳

And a warm hello to my new readers. I really hope that this newsletter reaches you. Unfortunately, I always have the problem that my messages – for whatever reason – trigger the spam filter. The provider is of the opinion that this problem has now been fixed. Please give me feedback when you receive the newsletter for the first time and/or something else is strange. Thanks.

In any case, you can always find the latest newsletter here on my website. Today’s newsletter is about ideas.

What are ideas?

The Duden provides the following four suggestions for defining ideas:

1a) (in Plato’s philosophy) the pure concept of things on which the phenomena are based
1b) idea, concept of something at a high level of abstraction (philosophy)
2. Mission statement that determines someone’s thoughts and actions
3. [creative] thought, imagination, good idea
And you’ve probably heard Mark Twain’s famous quote in this context: „Someone with a new idea is considered a crank until it catches on.“

I think the quote is so appropriate, especially in relation to us artists, since we seem to produce ideas all the time – and unfortunately we are too often labeled as cranks. 😅 Distinguishing a good idea from a crazy idea is not that easy – and what’s more, I’ve learned in my life that a good (business) idea alone is not enough to be successful. It also takes business acumen, business know-how, a good network and a little bit of luck to turn an idea into a financial business model.

Your attitude is the be-all and end-all

But the most important component in all of this is much more substantial: you need the right attitude! I am now firmly convinced that nothing works without an appropriate attitude. A simple example: If you have a really brilliant thought in a moment, do you pursue it at all – or do you discard it immediately? And what if you tell someone about your „crazy plan“ and they wrinkle their nose? Are you about to bury your head in the sand or can you overlook it? …

Where nothing is, nothing can be

Most projects do not fail because they are bad, but simply because they are never tackled seriously. I’ve had a few „crazy ideas“ in my life and many things, as described above, have never gone beyond my head. But when I think about it, the founding of my artist duo mitossi in 2011 was also quite a crazy idea – and many around me had their ears perked up… But fortunately that didn’t stop me from sticking to it and making my way as to go performing artist. Artista mentoring also started as a vague idea and for a long time I didn’t have the courage to go public with it. I’m glad that my partner always encouraged me and ultimately gave me the final impulse, so that in 2020 I finally dared to go outside. My point is that ideas are worth pursuing. True to the motto „Try makes wise!“ or even better „Nothing ventured, nothing gained.“ You never know if an idea will catch fire if you don’t implement it and give it a chance. All big business ideas started out small. Decisive for the success were mostly the people behind it, who were persistent enough to stick to their ideas and not to be thrown off course.

Ideas are the true capital

In our modern society, money and power are often equated with competence. So we suddenly find „authorities“ in the limelight who are in reality just ordinary people with above-average amounts of money or the right connections. Unfortunately, that doesn’t have much to do with competence. And that shows up on many fronts in recent years in terms of crisis management. So what we need is a paradigm shift and the realization that crises can only be solved by competent people with good IDEAS. If the last few years have shown us one thing, it is that the strategies used up to now only work insufficiently (or not at all) – so fresh ideas and concepts are needed. I will probably never tire of working to ensure that artists/creatives with unconventional ideas are noticed and taken seriously.

Don’t let yourself be negatively influenced by your surroundings

I know how difficult it is when you seem to be the only „crazy“ and everyone around you wants to consciously or unconsciously talk your idea down. What helped me a lot is the realization that the limits of your counterpart have nothing to do with your own limits. In other words: just because your counterpart cannot do anything with your visionary ideas and cannot imagine that they are even possible, does not mean that you must not believe in the opposite. Everyone creates their own limits and possibilities. 😉 I like to stick to the crisp saying „The sky is the limit“.

Conclusion

Ideas are our creative thoughts, which determine our thoughts and actions. A good idea can be of great value and is the engine of innovation and change. The world needs ideas!

Nevertheless, we should not make the mistake of accepting the narrative that hard work and consistency alone (!) decide whether a project succeeds or not, in the spirit of the meritocracy. It is illusory and even harmful to pretend that everyone is equal and only has to try hard enough to achieve something. The reality is that we humans come from very different social structures and some people are simply born more privileged and belong to a different „class“. As a result, these people find it much easier to build something up because they don’t have to start from scratch like others have to. At this point I recommend a well-edited video by Alexander aka the „dark knight of the parable“ on this important topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnxoNa0j7qs (German language)

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Greetings from – still – Sardinia! 🏝

„The heart beats happily in a travel smock, provided you have the means.“ – Wilhelm Busch

Hello and welcome to my ninth ARTISTA NEWS.

And a warm hello to my new readers. Feel free to send me a message if you would like to make direct contact. In case you missed the last newsletter, here you will always find all previously sent newsletters to read.

Today’s newsletter is about a question that worries many artists who love to travel: (How) can I make a living from my art while traveling?

All beginnings are difficult

If you are expecting a simple solution or a kind of panacea at this point, then unfortunately I have to disappoint you here. The truth is that building an artistic foothold that works remotely is a longer process. I’ve been dealing with the question more intensively myself for several years, I’ve dealt a lot with other „travellers“, looked at their concepts, made my own experiences and I’ve been able to learn a few things during this time:

1. The earlier you start, the better

Unfortunately, I’m not one of those early birds either, who set out to explore the world after high school, before studying, etc. Many young travelers have the advantage of just being totally open minded and without expectations. They travel modestly, don’t have much, don’t need much and accordingly they get by with little. Most of them work locally somewhere in their home country for half a year in order to then finance themselves by traveling for a few months. So part of the year is work and part of the year is vacation. The concept is probably the most common. Closely followed by „Work and Travel“, which ultimately represents a kind of combination. Knock on the spot to finance his stay. I don’t think I need to write more about it. It quickly becomes clear that if you want to do your art while traveling and not just any job, it is not necessarily the right thing to do.

2. It depends on your requirements

This point ties in with the first one, because the earlier in your life you discovered traveling for yourself and know that this is your passion or that you want to make this your life model, the sooner you will start actively heading in that direction develop and look for ways that will take you further in your „dream life“.

A concrete example: just four years ago I lived in downtown Weimar in a larger, chic apartment with a corresponding rent. I had also rented an additional rehearsal room. I financed my living with the performing arts and  I increased my income as a freelance lecturer for foreign languages. So I went to an educational institution twice a week where I lectured. In addition, I had a few individual students who studied Spanish with me. At that point, Artista Mentoring was still a vague idea in my head. Apart from that, our „tourmobile“ was still a Ford Mondeo at the time, which was slowly being retired… Although this did not prevent us from completing a multi-week tour of Italy in 2015/6… but that is another story.

What I’m getting at: four years ago it was not possible for me to be on the road for several months at a time, let alone that I could not have financed myself with my art while on the road. The conditions just weren’t there. Excessive expenses and – the most important thing – too great a dependency in terms of the work situation plus a business model that was not designed for travel. Many travel lovers therefore wisely choose jobs that they can do online. Under the keyword „passive income“ you will find thousands of tips and tricks, all more or less aimed at building an online business.

3. You must actively work towards becoming independent

If you want to work remotely, then it means that you have to adapt everything in your life to it. If your apartment is too expensive, then move to a cheaper one! Think about how you can travel comfortably and cheaply for yourself. And think carefully about what you need when traveling to be able to practice your art. Some people only need a pad and a few pens, backpacking might be enough for them. If, like us, you need e.g. technology, props and various musical instruments, then you are much less flexible. With us there is also the fact that there are not two of us, but three of us – our fur nose (German shepherd) also demands her place. For us, traveling in our own, individually adapted touring vehicle is the best option. But we only gradually realized that.

4. What do you need specifically to start your journey?

It all started for us in early 2019 with a rusty, old van. Since the Mondeo had given up the ghost, the dog had been added and the equipment was constantly increasing, it was clear: our new car would be a transporter. And if there’s an empty transporter lying around, well, then you can expand it… And once you’ve expanded it, you can really trundle around the world with it… so one thing led to the next.

5. You have to know what you want

Let’s get to the most crucial part of my findings. Although I had already traveled for a long time in 2015/6 and thought it was really great, it still took me an extremely long time to really understand that I don’t just want to live this part time vacation life, but preferably do it forever. I can’t count the number of „vanlifer“ vlogs and room tours I’ve seen over the past few years. Do I also want to be a vanlifer who travels the world permanently in his self-built, chic camper and shares beautiful pictures on Instagram or documents his daily routine on YouTube? (By the way, this is also a way to finance travel! Many make a living from documenting their everyday life or placing advertising. Keyword: influencers).

Short, concise answer: No, I don’t want to. Because I’m not a vanlifer, I’m an artist! I love to travel, I also like to do nothing, but I would like to offer my art and my mentoring and use it to finance my living. Just like at home. And this realization is extremely important! Because – as stupid as it sounds – I didn’t know that for a long time. While I’ve thought at times that it would be great if I could „live on the go,“ I haven’t done anything to make it happen for too long.

6. At some point you just have to jump in at the deep end

Well, and at some point – when you’ve set the first course – then you just have to jump. This is easy to write, but it’s probably the hardest part of it all because you have to step out of your comfort zone and take risks. If you have a well-paying job locally, you will have to give it up. You trade your security for uncertainty and a lot of doubts: can I do this? what if my plan fails? how am I supposed to do it? Etc. Doesn’t sound that tempting at first – I know. BUT: you never know what you’re missing out on if you don’t jump! For example, I would never have walked over the Golden Gate if I had buckled under the gaze of my bank account in 2017 („oh oh… expensive plane ticket, then everything is gone!“). And yes, after the trip we had to tighten our belts really tight, but it was so worth it! I’d do it again like that! With all the consequences. And that brings me to my final conclusion:

7. Don’t base your happiness on your financial situation

Let’s be honest: you never have enough money! Even on a low budget you can experience a lot and have a great time. You never know what tomorrow will bring. I’m trying to evolve more and more into taking opportunities as they come and not putting off too much into the future. Things people always regret most are the ones they never did. In this respect: better do it now and don’t wait too long!

Conclusion

Combining art and travel is a process! It takes time.

It will take a while for you to build up a concept while traveling that will make enough money to live on. Just like on site, there are a variety of ways in which you can achieve this. The life you are currently leading has also grown over decades. Back then, you probably had other goals and priorities. If this has changed today, then it can be frustrating, but it is utopian to throw everything overboard overnight. Have patience and keep at it. Be creative and take the risk. We artists in particular are masters at looking for alternative paths. To do this, we usually have to overcome the hurdles in our own heads first. 😉

If you are already established locally and your art works in one place, then consider how to make your concept mobile. If possible, expand your radius beyond national borders or think of a model that works regardless of location. Pictures can be sent, concerts streamed, consultations work via video call – you don’t have to be stuck in one place… Have the courage to look for new paths and actively work towards your goal. Even small steps are steps!

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Greetings from – currently – Sardinia! 🏝

„Every artistic achievement is a victory over human inertia.“ – Herbert von Karajan

Hello and welcome to my eighth ARTISTA NEWS.

Welcome to my new readers. Feel free to send me a message if you would like to make direct contact.

In case you missed the last newsletter, you will always find all previously sent newsletters here to read.

Today’s newsletter is about the artistic search or the search of the artist.

Which search is meant?

In a certain way, every human being – depending on the type – is temporarily or permanently looking for „something“ during his life. Because everyone has certain goals or dreams. Everyone desires things. Everyone questions themselves from time to time. Some do this more, some others less. But in the end everyone knows the question of whether there isn’t „more“. So I might more appropriately call the quest striving.

We all strive for „more“

For some, this striving may be rather diffuse, while others have very specific ideas and goals. For my consideration it does not matter what this object of desire or goal is concretely. I would like to focus much more on the fact of the search and on the seeker – the artist.

The artist has been searching all his life

As an artist, this search or striving for „that certain something“ is essential. I would even venture to say that it is precisely this excessive search for XYZ that makes the artist the artist.

No matter which artist we look at, each individual has their own personal, individual drive. For the painter, this may be a particular style or motif. The musician is driven by a melody, a rhythm or a harmony. And sometimes there is just an idea, a feeling or a concept. This then has to be shaped and filled with content.

Artists show you the world through their eyes. Her art is always an expression of her personality. The search and striving for that „certain something“ is always also the search for one’s own identity.

Who am I?

„Who am I?“, „What do I want to tell/show the world?“, „How do I want to be perceived by the world?“, „What is my story?“ – these and other questions artists ask themselves directly or indirectly every day. You are always searching. Being an artist means questioning yourself and finding your place in this world. The results that we call „art“ are often stages along this path.

Striving to be the best version of ourselves drives us

I know that so well because I’ve been walking this path almost my entire life. I went through different phases: from vague dreams to more and more concrete goals. The starting point is always the same: there is this huge desire to make more of yourself, to become more. To be the best version of yourself. Art serves as an outlet, but it is not the solution to all problems. Many questions about meaning cannot be answered by works of art or artistic performances. Your own identity is complex. Especially the part of the artistic identity takes up a large part in the striving and searching of artists. It’s the final boss, if you will.

A concrete example?

As I write this, I realize that it’s not that easy to explain the extent and importance of this (I’ll call it) problem to outsiders. It’s like trying to cover a whole life in three lines. Perhaps it is more helpful and clearer if I introduce you to someone who has been on his very personal, artistic journey for many years.

blu12 (Martin Schütz) is a musician and has been for as long as he can remember. Or rather: he recognized the musician in himself early on. Even as a small child he composed melodies, took instrumental lessons and sang. He picked up his first guitar at the age of 15 and never let go of it. At that point at the latest, it was clear to him that he wanted to be a (professional) musician at some point. Today he can look back on a great deal of experience and many years of professional craftsmanship. Now he could be very proud of himself and say „bravo, I did it!“ – but there are worlds between making music, wanting to be a musician and carrying the musician within oneself to the outside world. And usually, diffuse dreams always become more and more concrete ideas and goals.

blu12 has been going its own way for years. He keeps reinventing himself. Writes new songs, reinterprets old songs. He has already realized himself with his own band, in a duo and again and again as a soloist. Looking back, it’s almost as if everything brought him back to his roots: from band to duo and from duo to himself as a solo artist. For some time he has been living this facet more actively: in a new video podcast show he expands the musical context with expressive recordings and spoken passages. His story is no longer just related to music. He now shows more of himself as an „art figure“. A wish that has accompanied him for a long time.

If I ask Martin if he’s satisfied with himself and what he’s achieved so far, he replies „I’m on the right track.“

And I think that is exactly what is crucial for us humans: no matter what goal we have or what we are striving for, we should at some point actively move in that direction. The path is important because it makes us who we are. We always want to skip a few steps and take the shortcut, but unfortunately it’s not that easy.

You can follow Martin’s journey as blu12 on his website. He writes about things that move him and has created some really wonderful things lately. His self-made car rooftop stage („the endless sunset stage“) turned out beautifully and I can highly recommend his YouTube videos. (all avaible in english, too.) Check him out!

Conclusion

We are all seekers! It doesn’t matter whether we try our expression through art or just lead a „normal life“. We are always looking for realization. We are travelers in our lives, always striving for the best version of ourselves.

But in doing so, we sometimes forget that not only our visions are important, but also our present. While we seek and rack our brains, we still live. Our lifetime also includes the stages in which we are not yet „great“, „better“, „slender“, „more famous“, „richer“ or or. As we seek and work for MORE, let’s not forget to enjoy the present as well and rejoice in what we have. Looking only at what we don’t have or are not yet lets valuable time pass us by in case of doubt. Life is now! Let’s make the best of it.

„ART IS THE STRONGEST FORM OF INDIVIDUALISM THE WORLD KNOWS.“ – Oscar Wilde

Hello and welcome to my seventh ARTISTA NEWS.

Welcome to my new readers. Send me a message if you would like to introduce yourself to me. 😊 In case you missed the last newsletter, here you can read all the newsletters that have been sent so far.

Today’s newsletter is about individuality.

By the way, I’ll bet at this point that nobody noticed that I took a month off due to touring and that you last heard from me two months ago. 😄

What is individuality?

Oxford Languages ​​provides the following explanation for this:

1. Sum of characteristics, features that make a person special

2. [Strong] personality in its uniqueness

When I think about the terms „individuality“ or „individual“, the following associations spontaneously come to mind: personality, type, character, rough edges, recognition value. I quickly get the cliché image of a „weird bird“ who does things his own way and doesn’t follow social norms. I notice that individuality and individualism mix in my associations.

Individuality vs. individualism: one and the same?

The Federal Agency for Civic Education (which, by the way, is a website that I am very happy to recommend) provides the following definition:

„View that puts the single person (the individual) in the center. The supreme principle in individualism is the freedom of the individual. Social structures such as the state or companies are only seen as the sum of individual people. Individualism and liberalism (see there) are narrow interconnected, since both models are based on an order that presupposes freedom and the individual’s claim to personal responsibility as a natural right […]“.

It is interesting that individualism is thus strongly political. At this point, I will refrain from a critical discussion of the political component, because that would go beyond the scope. It should be mentioned, however, that individualism has had to put up with accusations of „radical individualization“, neoliberalism and egoism, especially in recent years. Let’s stick to individuality. If it makes for uniqueness, then this is of course a highly exciting field for us artists. Because every good artist has exactly this uniqueness in his work. I would even go so far as to say that every successful thing only came about through this individuality. It’s always that „thing“ that resonates, polarizes and creates awareness and high demand.

Artists are creative individualists – right?

If we listen to psychology, it is assumed that individuality is innate in every human being. Psychologists also agree that individuality is the basis for creativity, motivation and innovation. But not everyone uses these skills. Artists do this actively. In theory, anyone can learn to think and work creatively/artistically. It takes will and interest. It is the same with individuality.

How do I live more individually?

Individuality is first and foremost freedom. Free thinking. Free action. Without violating the boundaries of another person. Because individuality should never be confused with egoism. Individuality is also possible within a society. Usually it is our own thoughts and beliefs that hold us tight. Or we slide to the other extreme and believe we can do anything („radical individualism“, egoism, irresponsibility). So the first step is to let go of your own conditioning and allow yourself to be free in your thinking. Only then can ideas flow. Ultimately, art is always an implemented idea. The artist and sculptor Alicja Kwade very aptly formulated in an interview that the artist’s job consists of constantly transforming abstract perceptions (thoughts, ideas) into reality.

Individuality in art & business – a conclusion

I think individuality plays a very big role if you want to be successful in a certain area. It is a high art not to be deterred from your path. It takes a lot of perseverance and consistency to go your own way without looking left and right. Without asking what the mother, father or best friend thinks of it. Doing „your own thing“ without making yourself dependent on others. I think that is actually the highest form of freedom and individuality that an artist (and human being) can have. The nice thing is: you don’t necessarily have to be artistically active yourself to express and live individuality.

There are so many great artists and works of art in the world just waiting to be discovered and experienced. An artist is always a kind of gateway to his reality. When you engage with him, you are automatically taken to that other side of perception and become part of it. And if art doesn’t really interest you, then maybe it’s fashion or design that inspires and touches you. Individuality is not an „artist thing“ but a „human thing“. 😉 Our uniqueness is essential for our mental and physical health. The opposite of individuality is conformity/uniformity, which goes hand in hand with strong oppression and lack of freedom, which causes great harm to people. It goes without saying that as a society we strive for freedom and should definitely preserve it.

***

Finally, I would like to recommend the following documentary series: „Is that art?“ (arte). The following four questions will be answered in an interesting and descriptive way and well-known artists will be interviewed: „Who makes the art? How much does the art cost? Who buys the art? What makes art art?“. Definitely worth seeing and entertaining. (German language).

„The inspiration is such a visitor who does not always appear at the first invitation.“ – Tchaikovsky

Hello and welcome to my sixth ARTISTA NEWS.

Welcome to my new readers. Send me a message if you would like to introduce yourself to me. 😊 In case you missed the last newsletter, here you can read all the newsletters that have been sent so far.

Today’s newsletter is about inspiration.

What is an inspiration?

The Duden describes an inspiration as „creative idea, thought; a sudden realization; enlightening idea that leads someone further, especially in a spiritual activity; as enlightenment and inspiration.“

The words „incident, enlightenment, thought“ are often used synonymously.

As an artist or creative person, good ideas are of course the basis of our work. Best of all, we have as many of them as possible. Unfortunately, inspiration is not something that can be set at the push of a button. Or does it?

Inspiration can be encouraged!

There are different ways to get the muse to kiss you. Many creative people swear by it, to deal with certain questions in a relaxed manner and without pressure and to simply let ideas flow. Above all, creative breaks should also be taken in which the problem is then consciously no longer chewed on, so that the brain can generate new ideas completely independently in the meantime. After all, it is not possible not to think. Even when we take a break, our mind box is still running at full speed. Like anything else, creativity and inspiration can be trained with different tricks.

Routines (positive habits) in particular can help to tap into inspiration in a targeted manner, for example by sitting at your desk at a certain time every day with a pad and pen and jotting down ideas, making sketches, painting, or, or, or. If this happens on a regular basis, then you get used to it and at some point more ideas will bubble up.

As a rule, it is not because we humans are fundamentally uncreative or lacking in ideas, but because we are distracted. Our everyday life is full of them. Starting with the smartphone and ending with everyday obligations such as the daily household chores. All of this keeps us busy so that we don’t find the time to be creative at all.

Inspiration needs space to unfold

If you only jump from one appointment to the next and stress yourself out all day, only to sink into the couch in the evening, you don’t need to wonder why you feel „uninspired“ at the moment. 😉 A big topic that I’ve been dealing with for some time is the „creative space“. And by that I don’t just mean the time we should take for ideas (or creative work), but literally the space; the environment in which we move.

It strikes me again and again that when I travel (and especially by the sea) I feel particularly comfortable and inspired. It gives me ideas that I would probably never come up with in my small city apartment. Since I can’t be traveling 24/7 at the moment, I have to try to find alternatives in everyday life. After all, going for a walk or listening to music are things that have a similar effect. I think it’s very individual and everyone has to find something of their own.

But the fact is: everyone can experience inspiration.

Inspiration and „the economy“ – do they even go together?

Yes and no.

Yes, because inspiration and creativity are already part of the soft value skills and are in high demand on the job market. No, because the economy is far from being as innovation-friendly as it would like to be. Because today the thinking of a profit-oriented performance society dominates, which attaches success to the two parameters of productivity and scalability. A value-based approach is still rare.

I can well imagine that inspiration is dismissed in many places as esoteric sentimentality and cheap calendar -philosophy, without even reflecting on what a great gift people with good ideas can be for a society that is faced with new challenges and crises every day.

„Good and sustainable ideas can only awaken when society has had enough sleep.“ Joachim Nusch

“Creativity takes courage.” – Henri Matisse

Hello and welcome to my fifth ARTISTA NEWS.

I am happy about every single reader who has joined. I would like to know more about you. Send me a message if you would like to introduce yourself to me. 😊

In case you missed the last newsletter, here you can find all previously sent newsletters to read (german, link to english in every newsletter).

Today’s newsletter is supposed to be about Art Thinking.

What is Art Thinking?

Art Thinking can be described as the way of thinking like an artist. It is less about creating art and more about the process of finding (creative) solutions. Anyone who has been following me for a long time knows that I have been dealing with art and artistic approaches for a long time. And apparently it is now so present in my external communication that I have been asked several times whether the Art Thinking method came from me.

To put it bluntly: No. Everything that goes into my work is based on evidence-based research. There are many smart people who have been dealing with the potential of art & creativity for several decades. Of course, my own experience is also included, but in general my experience can be proven at any time with practical examples. There are many fascinating books on the subject. You will find a selection linked at the end of the next paragraph.

What are artistic interventions?

The various approaches (by artists) are referred to as artistic interventions. These can be various characteristics such as curiosity, willingness to experiment or impartiality. But also practical things, such as asking questions, listening carefully, not being unsettled when things fail, etc. I think it becomes clear that the artistic approach means an open-minded, almost playful way of thinking, in which people experiment – and without any pressure of expectation. This way of thinking is in direct contrast to rational, planned thinking, for example, in which very specific solutions are to be aimed at.

Much can be learned from artists

For an artist these things are perfectly logical. Otherwise it would probably not be possible to create new things. But this way of thinking only becomes interesting for „non-artists“ who are used to a rational (linear) way of thinking. Especially with complex problems (and crises), rational thinking often reaches its limits. This is where a fresh perspective and a different strategy can help.

Why not approach challenges the way an artist does? Maybe the solution has to be creatively „created“ first.

What can „the economy“ learn from Art Thinking?

I once put it as follows: Business plans, forecasts and safeguards, while art questions, provokes and initiates. Great things can happen when both join forces. Personally, I believe that a paradigm shift would do well, in which the potential of artistic approaches is seen and understood. Many things in business may work well and „take their course“, but this does not apply forever. Our world is becoming more and more complex and crises are increasing: creative and practice-oriented solutions are required in this case. Because scalability and forecasts (alone) will not help us.

There are always positive examples of artistic interventions: performance art, for example, which draws attention to important topics with posters/images/photographs. In urban development, for example, urban gardens are created. Installations serve to make historical places more visible. In general, artistic interventions open up a view of the bigger picture. Here you can see more „best practice“ examples from organisational, personnel and product development: company culture economy

Recommended books/research on Art Thinking:

Art Thinking – Amy Whitaker
Artistic Interventions – Dr. Berthoin Antal

„Putting pen to paper lights more fire than matches ever will.“ – Malcolm Stevenson Forbes

Hello and welcome to my fourth ARTISTA NEWS.

It’s nice that you’re here or that you’re new to it. I thought long and hard about how to start today’s newsletter. Do I simply ignore the current events because the media plays them up and down, or do I address them precisely because not writing about them would feel like closing my eyes to the ones who are suffering right now?

As an artist soul, I always have one leg stuck in current events – I can’t help it, even if all the bad news often blow my mind. Anyway, I try to stay hopeful and focus on the positive things. Even if it is hard sometimes.

Social media should be used with caution

I’m extremely critical of social media at the moment. As in every crisis, camps form. In stressful situations, we humans quickly fall into black and white thinking if we are not careful. Good vs. bad. Right vs. wrong. For vs. against. But unfortunately it’s not that simple. Crises are highly complex. Communication is complicated. And not everything that is said or shown out there has to be true. Because we can see and forward information around the clock via Twitter & Co, we fire up a machine (albeit well-intentioned). Of course, this also spreads propaganda and false reports very quickly. I don’t want to lean too far out of the window, but it seems to me that with social media we are already in the middle of the war and actively participating. We’re fighting a kind of „online war“ that is psychologically burned into our heads. This is not good. 

At this point, I find the work that so-called „fact checkers“ are doing at such a time (and of course also afterwards) interesting. The organization „Sicher im Netz“ [„Safe online“] provides helpful tips on how we can recognize fakes and disinformation. It’s not just about war propaganda, but about the opposite: namely covering up attacks on Ukraine in order to downplay and relativize the war.

This war threatens us all

The fact is, this war concerns us all. And the wave of solidarity around the world gives hope! I’m not a war expert and I don’t know anything about power politics. But as a freelance artist, democrat and freedom-loving person, this war is an attack on the freedom of all of us. That is unacceptable.

Art needs democracy

Artists are always somewhat activist. They reflect the beautiful and the ugly sides of a society as well and find an expression for things that are otherwise hushed up. Freedom of expression has been severely restricted in Russia for years. It is not surprising that hierarchical structures always try to eradicate critical voices and this of course primarily affects artists, cultural workers, researchers and other free spirits. And despite this structural oppression, many brave people have found [and still find!] a way to resist. This resistance is important, because otherwise injustice has free rein.

How are artists in Russia and Ukraine dealing with the current situation?

Artistic resistance exist for a long time. Already at the beginning of February, 350 well-known artists and authors made an appeal against the Russian troop deployment and already saw the escalation of the situation coming. The culture industry has been issuing warning words for years. But no one listened to them. For many cultural workers, Russia’s invasion came as no surprise. Initiatives such as „Heart for Ukraine“ (from Berlin) have been carrying out music and art projects with Ukrainian children in war zones for several years, in order to give them at least some normality back. In Moscow there are currently protest uprisings by Russian artists who are protesting in the streets against Putin’s war and who risk ending up in prison. Theater managers and artistic directors are terminating their employment contracts at Russian state theaters in order to distance themselves from Russia’s war crimes. Of course, the whole thing also has an impact on the German cultural landscape, which is home to international actors, directors etc. Many state institutions are seperating themselves from various (Russian) characters, who obviously sympathize with Putin. 

It quickly becomes clear: the damage that Putin has caused to Russia is huge. His reputation has been damaged internationally. And of course it doesn’t just affect him. Of course, that’s a cold consolation. But I follow the worldwide (sincere) resistance to Putin’s politics with respect and hope that enough people around the world will prove to him that he can’t do whatever he wants to.

And what does all this have to do with art & business?

Admittedly, drawing the line from an unjust war to the culture industry seems pretty far-fetched at first. But as I wrote above: The world is highly complex. In our globalized system, we are all entangled with one another. When a country is burning on the other side of the world, people come to our side of the world. So it is not surprising that Claudia Roth (our minister of education/culture) has already announced aid for Ukrainian artists. „Art & culture are the elixirs of life for democracy,“ she summarized the whole thing nicely.

If we can learn one thing from artists, it is that we do not close our eyes to injustice and use and defend our freedom of speech. We should do this for those who can no longer do it for themselves. It’s our responsibility. We cannot use the advantages of a globalized world every day and then – when things get uncomfortable – turn our backs on those in need.

In this sense: be in solidarity! Because if the current situation has shown us anything, it is that we should never take our peace for granted and things can change very quickly.

„Art is the free excess power of a people that is not wasted in the struggle for existence.“ – Friedrich Nietzsche

Hello and welcome to my third official ARTISTA NEWS.

Thank you for taking part.

First of all, I wish you a wonderful start into the New Year! So that you may work on all your projects and dreams with a lot of energy and thus meet them bit by bit.

Today I would like to invite you to think about an really important topic:

What is the current value of our cultural landscape for our society? 

Of course I am speaking for the german landscape, but anyways, I think that there are global parallels somehow. Art is important. We all know that. But is enough being done to protect free art? What about the actors behind the art and cultural landscape? I don’t even want to go into what the financial situation is like for many artists – there are enough reports of that online.

Rather, I would like to point out the consequences for our society that result from a lack of cultural diversity.

Clichés dilute values!

When we think of artists, our clichés often range from „outlaw“ to „vagabond“. We think of painters sitting in their studios. We think of eccentric guys who don’t feel like getting a „real job“ and instead pursue their passions at the expense of empty pockets. We’re thinking of actors in hobby ensembles just struggling to keep their heads above water. We often assume that artists can’t make a living from their art anyway and are only doing their „hobby“ on the side.

As a full-time performing artist, there are two questions that constantly accompany me:

1. Do you do this full-time?, 2. Can you make a living from it?

That’s how deep the clichés of the unemployed artist are. We professional artists fight against these prejudices every day. Because these clichés are a structural problem that significantly influence the value of art. If we perceive artists as a fringe group of „dreamers“ who don’t do any real work and live with empty pockets, then the basis for realistic assessment and appreciation is missing. It is often forgotten that „the arts and culture landscape“ is a huge, diverse field full of different actors. The term „creative culture“ is so vague that it means all creative professional groups from painters to copywriters. Even marketing describes itself as a creative economy.

Culture is more than a leisure offer!

Of course, this problem also became clear in the Corona policy: the art and culture industry is simply dismissed per se as a „leisure facility“ in various legislative decisions of the government. This means that museums, theatres & operas are legally treated like swimming pools, cinemas and clubs. – No wonder that the German Cultural Council raised its voice against it several times and at least managed to ensure that the cultural institutions are now treated as such. Because that is what constitutes social value. The German Cultural Council is currently trying to ensure that cultural institutions are equated with educational institutions and places of learning. I would welcome that too, because culture is education.

Culture is education

If, for example, I am booked with my children’s theater in a primary school, the fact that the play also has an entertainment character quickly fades into the background. Much more the children experience a different format of education. Through our game we teach them (in an artistic way) values ​​such as tolerance and friendship. Through our performance they get to know a whole new kind of communication. Many children come into contact with the medium of theater for the first time. All this is more education than fun. Thinking that theater is „just fun & entertainment“ says a lot about the value you place on it.

Diversity is our greatest asset

Our society thrives on diversity. It needs a wide variety of offers and actors, it needs the discourse that results from it. Art often aims to stimulate thought, to criticize things and to poke one’s finger in certain wounds. Where words fail, the artist finds other ways to address problems. Each format has its own justification: from comedy clubs to contemporary art exhibitions. Art reflects current events, comments on and criticizes them. This is incredibly important and valuable! I don’t need to mention what happens when we are no longer allowed to criticize and there are no more socially critical opponents. We then steer straight to uniformity and conformity. And that doesn’t just begin when the last artist has given up his profession because he’s scratching the bottom of his livelihood, but long before that: collectively, in all of our heads.

So the next time someone tells you they’re a professional artist, remember that in front of you is a self-employed entrepreneur who not only works creatively, but also works in a bloody tough field. And let’s be honest: we artists may work in a creative field, but a lot of what we do behind the scenes is very ordinary work that every self-employed person knows. From accounting to self-promotion, we do exactly the same things as all other small and medium-sized companies. Usually even more, because we are often solopreneurs. 😉

What does this mean for us?

Artists often think in complex ways. They love metatextual levels. The true work of art usually hides beneath the surface. In many situations in life it can be an advantage to look behind the facade and ask yourself „what is this person trying to tell me?“.

Questioning yourself and your surroundings regularly keeps the mind fresh and prevents us from getting stuck.

What about this banana?!

Is this a banane, taped on a wall? Yes. On the surface it is. But it’s also a wonderful artwork from an really intresting artist. This artpiece is called „Comedian“ by Maurizio Cattalan. The italian artist did a great social criticism with this banana.

Read more about it: the idea of Cattalan (worth 120.000 bucks)

Thanks for reading! Hope you are doing great!

„The artist was always completely integrated into society, but not into the society of his time, but into that of the future.“ – Ernesto Cardenal

Hello and welcome to my second official ARTISTA NEWS.

Thank you for taking part.

I wish you and your loved ones a few happy holidays and lots of positive energy after all these challenging times. Today I thought about stepping out of line with my newsletter. I don’t want to lose big words, but instead let a few pictures speak for themselves.

 Have fun! Maybe that will create a little more Christmas spirit? 😉

If you are now wondering whether I created these fancy pictures, then unfortunately I have to disappoint you. That was not me.

An AI „painted“ these pictures – with my help. I just fed her with a request for a Christmas mood and chose a style – et voilà! She did the rest within 10-20 seconds. Kind of crazy considering how long illustrators sit on some works … right?

If you’d like to play around with the creative AI, feel free to do so here: WOMBO Dream

[There are, of course, tons of other tools and apps for AI ART. What I like about Wombo is that it also works in the browser and runs without registration.]

Will this mean that artists will soon become obsolete?

I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t examine the matter critically … So at this point at least a few brief thoughts on it.

Personally, I don’t believe that AI can and will ever replace human artists. AI wasn’t primarily designed to create art. Basically everything to do with AI art is more of a gimmick to play around. A machine does not do art with the intention of expressing something specific or of realizing itself. These are human needs that have always shaped art and make it what it is. Art is human expression.

I assume that AI art will, however, establish itself as an independent branch of digital art. In interaction with human creativity and an artistic approach, completely independent works of art are possible. Digital art hits the nerve of our time. This can currently be observed in the whole hype about NFT (non fungible tokens) – although one should of course not ignore at this point that this is also particularly interesting for investors and blockchain fans. In principle, it’s less about art and more about commercialization and profit. Incidentally, also an interesting topic that I would like to deal with even better. 😉 (Spoiler: blog article will follow.)

But for today I’ll let it be good.

Thanks for reading! Hope you are doing great!

„Don’t think about creating art, just do it. Let everyone else decide whether it is good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. As they decide, create more art.“ – Andy Warhol

Hello and welcome to my first official ARTISTA NEWS.

Thank you for taking part.

Today I would like to invite you to think about the following question:

How far is art allowed to go?

Especially in a society in which increasing divisions are noticeable and the freedom of expression is suffering, this question is perhaps becoming more and more important.

When it comes to complex questions, it often helps to look at definitions. first of all we should clarify what exactly art is and what its role is. But „What is art?“ is not an easy question at all. Various „attempts at definitions“ are circulating on the net. However, there is no clear description, as this is precisely what makes art so special. Nevertheless, in my opinion, Artfocus provides a beautiful and differentiated approach, which I would agree with.

Artfocus about art

„Art is an essential form of expression for feelings and thoughts that move people. Art is less what critics and speculators consider valuable and tradable, but everything in which the artist has a piece of himself. Be it a large work or a rather modest one. It is always an expression of expressive creativity and the need to communicate.“

What I think

Assuming that art is an expressive expression and represents a means of communication between artist and recipient, the boundaries of art, in my opinion, are based on the same criteria as the boundaries of communication – it means that these are to be agreed individually with each conversation partner.

In concrete terms, this means that what seems to be insulting one person, because he/she may react sensitively, can be perceived as „normal“ for another person. There are many examples to confirm this.

Probably the most prominent and tragic example are the murdering related to the Mohammed cartoons by Charlie Hebdo. Unfortunately, extremists didn’t understand any joke and avenged the (in their eyes) blasphemous drawings with an assassination attempt on the team of the satire magazine. Of course, one can argue at this point whether the caricatures were blasphemy or not. Does satire stop where entire ethnic groups feel discriminated? I keep it simple to myself: „We are welcome to discuss it, but without killing each other.„

An example from the beginning of the year is less tragic when a few German actors satirically amused themselves in a video series about the Corona requirements. It was just a shit storm because those affected felt mocked by the videos. Again the question came up: How far can art (satire) go?

This is precisely where I see the task of art: to initiate discussions and question things. This of course also includes standards, rules and statutes. For me personally, the „WHAT“ of a statement counts more than the „HOW“. In concrete terms: I do not react sensitively and do not feel personally attacked when someone uses harsh words or formulates coarse words, if what is said has substance. In my environment, however, I observe that many people attach great importance to how something is communicated and quickly become negative if they assume even the smallest personal attack. Art basically moves on this fine line of communication.

What can learn from the above question for our (professionals) everyday life?

Art is communication. We communicate every day. Many of our statements are harmless and do not offer any potential for conflict. But it gets interesting when it comes to emotional issues and values ​​that we have. At this point it can really bang – because let’s not kid ourselves, none of us only work together with our desired customer who suits us to 100%. Professionalism means, that we are able to work with people who we would not consider as our best friends. A business relationship is not a friendship. In the business context, it is about delivering a good job performance and supporting the customer / business partner in a specialistic way. That doesn’t mean you have to be „Everybodies Darling“. On the contrary: you should rather make sure that you are aware of your values ​​and principles and that you also represent and communicate them – whether you decide with sensivity or with rough gloves, you decide that. 😉

Thanks for reading! Hope you are doing great!