Two Art Guys - The "Artist Code"

The "Two Art Guys" is something my good friend (and fellow Artist) Mike Segal and I started a long while back - kind of like the two old guys sitting in the balcony on the "Muppet Show", or a couple reviewers putting in their two cents on the state of the art world relevant to the moment...

One such discussion we have had in the past I believe is appropriate now more than ever with regard to copyright and the Orphan Works Bill - it has to do with something we (as well as others) refer to as the "Artist Code" - in understanding our place as Artists in this society and how deeply ingrained that is, this should as a whole make us appreciate how important it is we do not surrender our rights, or our place in society to something as insidious as this Orphan Works Bill. Artist's are the collective conscience of humankind - we cannot allow that freedom to suffer the bias of an economic mandate - creativity is our last inherent freedom.

The relevance in this essay is two fold - one; it shows the importance for a unified effort to defeat a common foe, all personal issues should be set aside - two; it speaks to our (Artists) importance to society - It is said; "Knowledge is power" and hopefully in understanding our place in society, this will empower us to defend and maintain our calling with a unified, positive outcome.

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The "Artist Code" is very simple, never do anything that will break the spell that artists continue to have over society.

Artists need to earn a living in order to continue their work. The more that society thinks highly of an individual artist's talent, the easier it is for that artist to earn a living. Society places a very high value on the criticism of a fellow artist since they think,"well they must know". Making derogatory remarks about another artist's work may diminish the targeted artist's standing in the mind's of society, but it also diminishes the general respect for the special talent that continues to mystify society. Therefore, when one artist negatively criticizes another artist to society, it brings the importance of the role of the artist, of all art, down and negatively affects the entire art culture. That is why it is wise to keep the public thinking positively about art in general, and to speak up artists that one wishes to help, but never speak poorly about any artist.

In other words, do not poison the well from which we all drink.

Why does the artist continue to have an elevated importance in society? We must look back to the very beginning of tribal existence, back 500,000 years to the point where groups of people began to live together in order to survive. The first humans needed to have some advantage over the biological/physical reality, they needed magic, spiritual power to bend reality toward their benefit. It was the artist/shaman , the visionary that visited the spirit world and brought back special powers that decorated the various implements of survival that gave these tools those special powers. It was the artist/shaman that was the first leaders, the go to guy, in primitive society. That is where this special elevated place of the artist in society began. This is the special place in the minds of all humans that continues to exist and is wise for the modern artist to play up that primordial thought imbedded in humans deepest psyche.

When stupid people go to sleep at night, they never wake up smart in the morning. To try to explain the anthropological information contained in this essay to a stupid artist is a waste of time. Knowledge is wisdom and it is wisdom that helps us to keep a positive attitude while living among some incredibly stupid people.

- Mike Segal
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