The Red Dots
On making work for yourself — and what happens when you don't.
The last time I participated in an art fair with my photography is a stand out lesson in being rejected.
I had a beautiful booth. Great presentation. Nice little details like flyers and cards and flowers and furniture. I had great placement - first row in a high-ceilinged, white presentation hall where hundreds of other artists were showing their work - and I was one of the first people saw when they came in. I was in a position for success.
That week, I had chosen to show a selection of photos that I had made on a recent trip to West Texas and thereabouts. I wasn’t that crazy about the pieces, but I needed work to show, and since my other pieces like this had done well in past years, I thought why not - these are what buyers usually want.
I thought they would sell. I thought they would do well.
Well, day one went by, and nothing sold. Then day two. Then day three.
By day four, I was starting to worry. Why wasn’t anything selling? Why were there no red dots on the wall?
I didn’t sell one piece that week. It sucked.
And, I haven’t shown my work at an art fair again since.
At the time, I remember being confused. I thought what I had made what people wanted.
In other words - I had made the art for the buyer.
Now, why did I do that?
Well, in the past, buyers had bought art of mine that was similar. Similar subject matter, or colours. Similar themes.
But, this time, it didn’t work.
It’s taken me some time to figure out why that is.
Then, recently, I was having a conversation with a friend - or maybe I was reading a book on the topic - I don’t remember exactly.
And, the fundamental lesson was - when you make art for anyone buy yourself, it doesn’t work. It won’t sell. It doesn’t have the same value to others.
And, the reason is - is that you - the artist - are not in it.
In other words - if you are making art for someone else then the art is about them - not you.
And people are not buying art about themselves. They could just make that, if they were so inclined. But, more importantly, they already know their own stories, their own habits - their own quirks.
But, they don’t know yours. And they want to know yours. And, they will pay for it.
Meaning, the art can’t be about anyone else but you, if you want it to mean anything else to anyone - and, if you want to sell it.
I think this is counterintuitive. It certainly was (and is) for me.
Rejection is a bitch. And, I know the it isn’t personal. And, I am not looking for sympathy.
But, it still stings.
Fast forward to early Thursday morning of this week. Maybe around 7 am. I was making my coffee. And, checking my email to see if something I had been waiting - something which was, in fact, overdue, had come in.
It had.
It was an email from the organizers of a conference that I had applied to speak at.
And, they had rejected my proposal.
The topic of my talk, the format, whatever - it’s all kinda irrelevant.
But, I thought it was good. Good enough to get in anyhow.
One thing that has really struck me since leaving law and focusing on coaching, speaking and facilitation is how much more often my proposals - my offer - is rejected.
I think this is one reason why rejection is so much rarer in the legal profession. The work has, actually, nothing to do you with you as a lawyer on a “soul” level. Rather, people drop off their problems, you put it into you little black box, and spit out a solution for the client.
And that solution is often best if it has nothing of you - your actual personality - in it.
Now, that’s not to say you don’t use your personality in the making of legal solutions. Of course you do (in fact, I would say that good lawyers are very good at making use of their personalities to be effective counsel and advisors).
But, at the end of the day, the solution itself is very much devoid of any emotion, personality or soul at all.
It is just a document, or a ruling, or a “fix”. It doesn’t care about the who very much at all. And, that’s by design.
But this isn’t law anymore.
Standing there at the counter, coffee now less hot than I would really prefer it was, I read the email again. And again. And again.
And, I immediately went back to the art fair. And I thought about the high ceilings and the really bright fluorescent lighting and standing in that booth showing photos that I liked but didn’t love.
And, I realized I’d done it again. Built something for someone else. Crafted something that was good - but still didn’t have enough of me in it. And then been surprised when it got turned down.
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