Something that constantly boggles my mind when it comes to creating artwork, any type, is: “how do I reach as many people as possible.” This is constantly on my mind when I think of potential rabbit holes. “What if only one person finds this?” This is something that I often try to escape as an artist, and there was one part of the interview with Felix Barrett that really spoke out to me.
He states that one of his favorite shows was when there were only about four people present. He goes on to share how it was every intimate experience that could not have been as successful on a larger scale. He segues into how he believes that an experience that can only be captured by an individual is very sacred in a time of mass media. I think there’s also another implication here that wasn’t necessarily mentioned.
I’m more talking to myself here, and it may seem obvious. If your experience cannot be special to the individual, then it cannot be special to the mass. If you start out thinking about how to appease the masses, then you may lose sight of the special individual experience. I believe this has to be genuine as well, and this goes along with some of the philosophical readings we have had throughout the quarter. If you try to design for the individual, with the goal of designing for the masses, then you cannot fully accomplish your purpose.
This comes at an unfortunate, but what I see as worthwhile, trade-off for the artist. Your work may not be seen by as many people as possible, but it will be experienced by the few that it does. Of course, this is unless you have a team of people behind you. If that’s the case, leave the marketing to the marketers, and keep the art to the artists.