Monday 14 April 2008

all work and... work?

On Saturday just gone the 'the guardian' published
an article that I thought was perfect...

that fact that this article appeared in the
subsection of the paper entitled 'work' the
part that along with 'sport' (ugghhh.. please)
and 'money' (got none, don't depress me further)
which are normally tossed aside before I begin
to be sick into my own scorn is even more odd..

find said article here

Artistic licence by Melissa Viney

it certainly sums up my artistic endeavours
perfectly in the following paragraph..

"It's a bit like having a mistress that costs
you money and takes all your time up and is a
bit stroppy and doesn't really behave very well"
(Sam Hills)

that did make me laugh out loud, spilling some
coffee & upturning a tub of paperclips on my desk.

the one thing that I found less comparable to my
own life is how the people, although having to work
to secure a financial stability, did so in a related
environment..
that I would call an extension of an interest..
I would have liked to read more about musicians having
to service broken photocopiers and painters forced to
work in customer complaint departments..
work with no relation to their interests.

that said, it was my favourite article for a long time.

it finished by asking "wanted bloggers"
we want you to tell us what your working life is
really like.

I'd send them a link to this, but I think
'the guardian' may have readers with a higher
command of the English language and more to offer
than..

did a painting.. it was shit.

went to work.. it was shit..

sat in a corner and began to weep..
maybe I should resign before I kill someone?

maybe not eh?

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this article.
    Yet, again it is some sort of concrete validation of my experience of this "vocation."

    Concrete validation of the perils, the isolation, and the always present idea that perhaps a steady job, might be the more sane answer.

    However, I didn't sign up for sane. So, I will keep plugging along, staying flexible, and reminding myself of the small luxuries this artist's life affords.

    Thanks again for this timely post!

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  2. I was there once - juggling a career with my (what they dubbed) hobby :(
    I hated it and I'm so glad I finally let the rotting institution stick its job up its a***.
    Eventually I did go pro as a musician and taught singing...
    Now I'm completely eccentric and I paint pictures in the middle of the night...
    Not sure I can be bothered to rant about this to the Guardian either - I'd rather concentrate on making a success out of my life decision!
    Lets keep sane by focussing on our inextricable love with our art...

    ReplyDelete