The Duality of The Artist

There are two sides to an artist. The first side is a side that is away from the view of the public. During this stage, the artist produces from an internal and personal space. The artist is in a flow state where new ideas pop up every day. The artist works on these ideas and develops them into their biggest potential. They spend time making huge transformations, and at the end, they are extremely meticulous about the small details. The first side of an artist is all about producing the highest quality of work. The Creative Side.

While this first side is in play, the public doesn’t hear much from the artist. And it’s not because the artist doesn’t care about its public. It’s because it cares too much about it. It values the audience's time, and the artist does not dare to waste it with mediocre work. The artist only interrupts the public when they know they have something worthwhile.

The second side is the one that the public sees. This is the side that shows up when it’s time to roll out the work that was made. It’s the actor at the movie premiere. The artist on tour. The book writer doing readings. This side focuses on making up for the long absence. They give the people what they want. They give the eager audience the work that was made during the hiatus. This side is called The Promoter.

Both sides result in a never-ending cycle...

At first, the audience embraces the return of the artist. The artist is met with high praise. The people have missed them and their work. But then, as time passes the people become numb and indifferent to the artist's work. The more time that passes, the more that the work becomes out of date and out of touch.

At that moment the artist disappears and retreats to their base. They close the doors and board up the windows. The artist returns to their creative side to once again create their next magnum opus. The artist learns to thrive off both the love and the hate. They are driven by both.