VISU 1100 Blog #1

Part 1

What are the main points of each article?

“What Entrepreneurs Can Learn from Artists”
Entrepreneurs are stereotyped as charming, charismatic, innovative, and business-savvy. But what can take them to the next level are the best qualities of the artist – intuition, comfortableness with uncomfortableness, storytelling, passion, to name a few. The characteristics that make artists seem a bit wacky – such as childlike contrarianism – are the spunk that entrepreneurs and innovators need to get our of their boxes and into the tie-dye-rainbow-prisms of artists.

“Are Artists Entrepreneurs?”
Find partners to fill your gaps. You can’t be an expert at everything, nor do you have to be. Some artists are natural entrepreneurs, which is great, but if you don’t fall in that category, find someone(s) who can help take you beyond your limitations.

What can artists learn from their “entrepreneurial cousins”?

Making is often a solo activity. With the exception of peer critique, artists work primarily by themselves – a painter out in the woods alone, a sculptor with his clay. Entrepreneurs excel at teamwork. The recluse of the artist is directly contrasted by the team-sport-spirit and network-growing nature of entrepreneurs. From entrepreneurs, artists can learn to step back from their easels into reality and grab hands with those that will help them on the climb to success.

Do you agree that artists are entrepreneurs? why?

I think that there is more in common between artists and entrepreneurs than not. But based on my time as a business major compared to my time as a visu major, there is a clear separation. Teamwork between the two groups is crucial for mutual success, but there often is a clear distinction based on natural aptitudes and skill sets – artists being able to think creatively outside the box and entrepreneurs being more business, network minded. So, if we’re talking about “entrepreneurship” in a very general sense, then I guess we’re all entrepreneurs, but from a strictly career sense, no, artists are different than entrepreneurs.

Which of the 12 characteristics of artists do you agree with?

“Artists thrive under constraints” One of my professors once told our class that it’s much easier to be creative when you’re not looking at a giant void. Constraints are key to know where the heck to start when you have all the tools and resources in the world available to you.

“Artists are comfortable with ambiguity” Art is inherently unable to be quantified. Ambiguity and discomfort are iconic to the trade.

What others would you add to the list?

Artists are disciplined. It takes major discipline to click away at an Illustrator file or make sure the camera is lined up just right for the perfect shot.

Artists are patient. “Watching paint dry” is not a cliché for artists – it’s reality. Patience is key when refining and iterating a work to perfection.

Additional thoughts.

Both of these articles were fascinating and incredibly relevant to all the visual studies fields. The comparison of artists to entrepreneurs is a thought-provoking one. The point that artists need entrepreneurs and vice versa is integral to the success of both parties.

Part 2

Do you have grit, or is this something you need to work on?

Yes, I have grit. My dad pushed me so hard since elementary school that I was forced to develop it. My grit is evident in my relentless pursuit of doing everything I commit to with full completion and accuracy.

List a couple of things you could do to increase your level of grit.

Learn a new skill. I believe learning a new skill is one of the hardest things to do. It’s so easy to give up on something when you’ve just begun, but to increase grit you have to practice at following through.
Meditation. Perhaps an unlikely suggestion, but mediation requires such focus and determination to not only calm your mind during your practice but also remain dedicated to practicing on a regular basis.