How BitBoy Made a Deal, Monetization Versus Creative Self Esteem
I love making my art; I hate not making money from my art. As in, monetization.
The word “monetization” was first used in1867. It literally means creating money from stuff. In practice, “this means turning things into revenue-generating activities, services, or assets.” (Investopedia). Like your creativity, like your artwork, or, not.
According to the financial advice company Motley Fool, the very latest creative path to monetization is tracking user engagement in a virtual reality game of targeted advertising. You create an avatar that visits Meta’s metaverse while the app captures microdata on your reaction to the targeted ads. Yikes, I’ll stick to acrylic paint, pastels and vintage ephemera.
Ben Armstrong’s Uh-Oh Moment of Monetization Versus Creative Self Esteem
For creative human artists monetization is simply the desire to sell piles and piles of stuff in exchange for piles and piles of money. And, there are piles of money to be made in art. Witness Damien Hirst, estimated net worth: $1 billion, Jeff Koons: $500 million and Gerhardt Richter: a mere $40 million. The question is, when does monetization cost creative self esteem.
Ben Armstrong, originally a graphic designer, took a different creative path to cash. He combined his creativity with crypto currency and built a great mountain of wealth ($8 million to $30 million by one estimate). Then topped it all with a Lamborghini Huracán Performante.
Armstrong’s empire of income collapsed under allegations of embezzlement and possibly criminal conflict of interest coupled with an extramarital affair. In response to claims he promoted crypto products he had a stake in he told his Reddit followers, “Let’s be clear, I’m not going to prison.” Well, maybe.
Do Better Than Monetization Versus Creative Self Esteem
If only Mr. Armstrong (aka “BitBoy”) had been writing his morning pages and settled into life as a moderately well-paid graphic designer with his integrity still intact. In 1992 Julia Cameron wrote a book called “The Artist's Way." The book sold over 5 million copies. In it she shares her recipe for a good life as a creative. (Including daily diary entries called “morning pages” and “artist dates” to places like museums and galleries)
Cameron’s course of study offers to grant artists everything a self-esteeming creative person could wish for: a sense of power, abundance, and identity. Plus, nine more conditions that bring a fulfilling creative life. I can attest to the efficacy of Cameron's “morning pages” program. I practiced it daily through the 1990’s. It brings all the above and more, except maybe the money part.
Monetization Versus Creative Self Esteem, One Artist’s Choice
If creativity is the itch that must be scratched and nurtured, monetization is the siren’s call that leads me to second guess myself in the studio. I love my studio. It’s not the largest or the most convenient I’ve ever had but I'm always in it. My hours are, intermittently, 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. most days a week. I typically have at least 3-4 projects going at the same time.
However, I spend even more time in my office imagining and studying and laboring to monetize the art I’ve made. I want to sell. I try lots of strategies. I get a mentor. I follow their advice, at least for a while. I post five days a week on Instagram. My website includes a shop. I show work whenever given the chance. Then I update my resume. Then I look at my lack of sales and wonder if I should switch mentors. Or, switch subjects, maybe paint bright cactus and cutsie kittens, maybe cutsie kittens dangling from colorful cactus. Or maybe I junk the monetization desire for good.
I met my friend Arni Adler at an online artist workshop called “How to Sell Your Art Online.” I’ll close with a quote from her that really stuck. I scratched it into my desktop the moment I heard it. Arni said, “None of us are making art because we enjoy sales.” Fortunately, I don’t allow sales to drive my creativity. My self-worth isn’t dependent on another's appreciation of me or my art. Maybe monetization versus creative self esteem is a wrong equation. Could esteemable, creative acts in the studio and out be the real gold?