Black Bucket Essays
Volume 1, Issue 6
"Millions of artists create; only a few thousands are discussed or accepted by the spectator and many less again are consecrated by posterity. "
- Duchamp
Kristen Letts Kovak
“Middle School Field Trip Confirms Long-held Suspicion: You are not going to be famous.”
By the time our school bus arrived in Manhattan, the city lights had already lost their sparkle for me. “All of these people are trying to make-it”, I thought, “and chances are, none of them ever will.” I imagined a Hollywood montage of young hopefuls moving to the big apple trying to make it big. Defying all odds, eating bowls of ramen, and wearing delicately tattered clothing, our hero would finally prevail with a toast of champagne at the sold-out opening. Far from this promise, our bus route revealed the outskirts of success: people struggling with addictions, people without homes, and blocks of buildings labeled XXX. In an Edvard Munchian moment, I felt the sadness of a million broken dreams surrounding me.
Perhaps it was this experience, or an ill-timed viewing of “Basquiat”, but I never valued fame much. As a kid I loved weekend crafts, artisan markets, and art museums-- with no real hierarchy of value. I wanted to make things, meet people who made things, and look at things that people made. It never even occurred to me that my work would be in museums. Perhaps I forgot to dream? A particularly bright-eyed freshman drama student told me at the end of semester. “So, I’ve been thinking a lot lately because I always figured that I would get an Oscar. But, maybe I won’t and I think that is alright too, because I still want to be an actor.” Pursuing fame may have started his fire, but the intrinsic rewards of an honest practice will continue to sustain him throughout his career.
It can be difficult to pursue the long game, when the odds are so strikingly against success. Top MFA programs turn away a higher percentage of applicants than Harvard Law and any artist knows to scan professional correspondence for the word “unfortunately.” However, success as an artist need not be limited to gallery representation on West 21st -24th Streets. Even the majority of those artists will be forgotten with time, and if we wait long enough—we will all be forgotten. Instead of pursuing ephemeral goals of success, an artist can use her ambition to wrestle with the flesh of her work. It may not make for a satisfying montage, but the rewards of this pursuit are both guaranteed and tangible. Ironically, by focusing on your artwork, rather than fame, you are more likely to create work that is worth remembering, but also less likely to be remembered. Duchamp’s statement about historical rarefication is obvious. Yet, because history has consecrated him, we treat the thought as if it were novel.
Volume 1, Issue 6
"Millions of artists create; only a few thousands are discussed or accepted by the spectator and many less again are consecrated by posterity. "
- Duchamp
Kristen Letts Kovak
“Middle School Field Trip Confirms Long-held Suspicion: You are not going to be famous.”
By the time our school bus arrived in Manhattan, the city lights had already lost their sparkle for me. “All of these people are trying to make-it”, I thought, “and chances are, none of them ever will.” I imagined a Hollywood montage of young hopefuls moving to the big apple trying to make it big. Defying all odds, eating bowls of ramen, and wearing delicately tattered clothing, our hero would finally prevail with a toast of champagne at the sold-out opening. Far from this promise, our bus route revealed the outskirts of success: people struggling with addictions, people without homes, and blocks of buildings labeled XXX. In an Edvard Munchian moment, I felt the sadness of a million broken dreams surrounding me.
Perhaps it was this experience, or an ill-timed viewing of “Basquiat”, but I never valued fame much. As a kid I loved weekend crafts, artisan markets, and art museums-- with no real hierarchy of value. I wanted to make things, meet people who made things, and look at things that people made. It never even occurred to me that my work would be in museums. Perhaps I forgot to dream? A particularly bright-eyed freshman drama student told me at the end of semester. “So, I’ve been thinking a lot lately because I always figured that I would get an Oscar. But, maybe I won’t and I think that is alright too, because I still want to be an actor.” Pursuing fame may have started his fire, but the intrinsic rewards of an honest practice will continue to sustain him throughout his career.
It can be difficult to pursue the long game, when the odds are so strikingly against success. Top MFA programs turn away a higher percentage of applicants than Harvard Law and any artist knows to scan professional correspondence for the word “unfortunately.” However, success as an artist need not be limited to gallery representation on West 21st -24th Streets. Even the majority of those artists will be forgotten with time, and if we wait long enough—we will all be forgotten. Instead of pursuing ephemeral goals of success, an artist can use her ambition to wrestle with the flesh of her work. It may not make for a satisfying montage, but the rewards of this pursuit are both guaranteed and tangible. Ironically, by focusing on your artwork, rather than fame, you are more likely to create work that is worth remembering, but also less likely to be remembered. Duchamp’s statement about historical rarefication is obvious. Yet, because history has consecrated him, we treat the thought as if it were novel.