Taking A Stand As A Virtual Street Performer
Excerpted from Amanda Palmer's blog:
listen.artists need to make money to eat and to continue to make art.
artists used to rely on middlemen to collect their money on their behalf, thereby rendering themselves innocent of cash-handling in the public eye.
i stood almost motionless on a box in harvard square, painted white, relinquishing my fate and income to the goodwill and honor of the passers-by.i spent years gradually building up a tolerance to the inbuilt shame that society puts on laying your hat/tipjar on the ground and asking the public to support your art.i was harassed, jeered at, mocked, ignored, insulted, spit at, hated.i was also applauded, appreciated, protected, loved….all by strangers passing me in the street…i did this for 5 years, and i made a living that way…..And for the last 10 years, i have been working my ass off in a different way: tirelessly making music, traveling the world, connecting with people, trying to keep my balance, almost never taking a break and, frankly, not making a fortune doing it. i still struggle to pay my rent sometimes. i’m still more or less in debt from my last record…taking my stand as a virtual street performer is the best thing that’s happened to my career and i revel in it.and i love bringing people along for the ride.i believe in the future of cheap art, creative enterprise, and an honorable public who will put their money where there mouth is, or rather, their spare change where their heart is.
can i get a fucking amen?
