You Stumble Upon Some Crazy Things

Stumbleupon has been very useful when finding inspiration for these blog entrees.  This time around I found a bunch of paintings that seem to show the suffering that artists go through (linked here).  While I have always heard of the term of starving artists, I never saw the other side of the spectrum as portrayed in these images. The most compelling one to me is the one of a crying child who has to clean what they created on the wall (which appears to be "The Scream").  This can be seen as a message that parents are not always supportive of a child's desire to be an artist (perhaps its the fear they will become a "starving: one).  The very first image shows an artist who appears to be homeless and is burning their works to stay alive.  Sometimes the drive to be an artist is not enough, you need the support (or in this case money) of others to continue following the dream.  Another image that strikes me is the one where the artist child is spraying their car while another child (who appears to be wealthy) is sneering at them.  I take this as the idea that many "higher up" people look down on artists and do not consider it a real living.  Perhaps they do not like the paint job, or maybe they do not like the person simply for being different and standing out. Art is not intended to blend in with the background, at least I do not believe so (camouflage is a counter example, but lets ignore that for now).  What makes art so appealing is the ability of it to grab attention, and keep attention and provoke thoughts.  While these images are slightly depressing, they have managed to impact me in a way such that I have a new found respect for "starving artists", who go through so much to keep their dreams alive.