It’s no question that we live in a material world today. The value of art declines as the value of material possessions rises. What can I say? We live in a world where people value things like clothes, cars, and shoes—items they did not create but hold value because they’ve seen their favorite artist on social media wearing them, or simply because everyone else wants them. People want to wear them, to buy them. We live in a world where many focus more on possessing things and care less about how they acquire them. For example, when it comes to music, some sign a 360 record deal and can still bring in an audience because people don’t care about the kind of deal that you signed or whether you’re even making any money from your own art. No more than they care about you wearing the jewelry or having the cars or the house. We live in a society that is materialistic, even though the majority of people make money from jobs and not businesses.
There is nothing wrong with having a job, but people will glorify the fact that you have a job more than they will glorify the fact that you have a business—and that’s just the average person. Having a job is great, but when that company shuts down, or starts to lay off, or starts to lose money, then you’re going to be the one on the short end of the stick. When a business loses money and shuts down, they take all the money and assets and profits they have and move on to the next thing. The point is, do people care more about material than they care about the security of their income? A job is very secure a lot of times when you’re working for good high-end companies, but nobody can just turn you off when you have a skill or a business and you follow proper protocol.
Me, myself, I enjoy creating and designing clothes. I enjoy creating and designing art more than just buying something that I don’t even know the person who makes it and know anything about the person. I haven’t read anything from this person and have no connection to this person whatsoever. I’m not going to buy a lot of your favorite brands. I don’t even know who makes it. I see clothes with logos and emblems. I don’t care what the price tag is that they put on it; it doesn’t matter to me more than the art and the creativity that they put into it.
It’s funny because people make plenty of money and then go home and have nothing to do. No creativity at home, no creativity in their mind, just buying all of these material things just to look for something else to buy because they have nothing else to do. Or you see people with nice houses and mansions go to social media for attention because they don’t have any attention anywhere else in their lives without it, let alone have fulfillment. My thing about having money is having options, having creative freedom, being able to invest in stocks and your endeavors, being able to create and patent, copyright, and protect your investments. Not just having a house but having a home—a place to relax, have fun, and be creative. A lot of times, it’s up to you to value your own art. A lot of the people around you and your support system may not support your art, so it’s up to you to support yourself.
This is another reason we provide a platform of such for individuals looking for that support. They want you to win; we want you to be fulfilled, we want you to be creative. We have no reason not to want these things for you as we obtain them in our whole lives. Sometimes surrounding yourself with the right environment and the right people is half the battle. My art, my creativity, is what brings me fulfillment in my life. Whatever’s important to you, whatever you’re passionate about, hold onto it. This is your life. This is your livelihood, and this is your creativity at stake. Value your art—if nobody else told you, I’m telling you now.