Such a sky you never did see.
Who will tie it up with a ribbon and put it in a box for me?
So I can see it at my leisure whenever things go wrong.
And I would keep it like a treasure to last my whole life long.
Who will buy this wonderful feeling?
I’m so high I swear I could fly.
Me, oh, my, I don’t want to lose it.
So what am I to do, to keep the skies so blue?
There must be someone who will buy.
Many years ago a young Nina traversed to the city of San Francisco for a summer internship to complete her degree. While there she had the luck to live with the most endearing woman, Katherine, in Sausalito. Katherine in her younger years had travelled across Europe with little money and spent most of her time staying with friends of friends (A.K.A. strangers) who were kind enough to take her in. Katherine paid it forward by taking young Nina in as the daughter of the student of a friend (A.K.A. stranger) who needed a place to live for the summer. She was truly remarkable.
One of the things Nina and Katherine loved to talk about were performing artists and, most especially, singers. During one of these talks Katherine told our young Nina about this lady she knew as her favorite waitress at one of her favorite restaurants.
As the story goes, Katherine and the waitress had a good customer/worker connection. Upon being asked by Katherine what she was doing that coming weekend, the lady said she was going to be singing in a Jazz club. Katherine, excited about this side gig of hers, went to the show.
Upon seeing her perform, Katherine was in absolute shock! Absolute. Shock. Paula West (at this point in the story she has a name now, not a title) was astonishing! A real professional. According to Katherine, she had a voice on par with Ella Fitzgerald and a stage presence that couldn’t be ignored. What was she doing waiting tables?! Her talent was being wasted there!
Even young Nina couldn’t help but utter a small, bitter laugh. This woman who drove a BMW, owned a condo in Sausalito and was the “poorest person she knew” couldn’t see what all Artists know all too well.
Young Nina responded to Katherine’s outrage with a single word, “Surviving.”
Who will buy this wonderful mornin’?
Such a sky you never did see.
Who will tie it up with a ribbon and put it in a box for me?
There’ll never be a day so sunny.
It could never happen twice.
Where is the man with all the money?
It’s cheap at half the price.
My response now wouldn’t be much different.
I have had the unique privilege to know many Artists from a wide variety of Art forms. Some of them are able to completely sustain themselves within the Art realm. Most of them have a side gig outside of Art. Many have a full time “muggle” job.
Paula is waiting tables because she has bills to pay. She is living in San Francisco (or close by). She too wants to be able to enjoy a night out with her friends. To buy a gown for her performances. Maybe she’s getting voice lessons. Maybe she’s renting a studio to practice. She is waiting tables because no one is paying her enough in her Art to pay for those things.
Some of us keep the non-Art gig so that we never lose our love of our Art, so that it doesn’t feel like a job. Every Artist makes Art because they love it. However, I think it’s safe to say a majority of us would be thrilled if we could make our living solely from our Art.
Artists are notoriously poor. The idea of the “starving Artist” is so common it’s a trope in movies and stories. (Which, I’d like to point out, are written by Artists.) There are exceptions to the rules, the celebrities who “make it”, but for the most part the life of an Artist is not paved in gold.
Thus for the majority, the life of an Artist is either a life of constant financial struggles or a life with a non-Art job. And let’s be honest, for many it is both of these things.
Who will buy this wonderful feeling?
I’m so high I swear I could fly.
Me, oh, my, I don’t want to lose it.
So what am I to do, to keep the skies so blue?
There must be someone who will buy.
Art is undervalued. I see it every day. Someone doesn’t want to pay for the music they download. Someone seeks out a “cheap” tattoo Artist. Someone balks when there is a cover to see a show at a bar. Someone looks at a custom costume piece and says “I could make that so much cheaper” knowing they never will. Someone asks their Artist friend to get them into the show for free.
We’re told to “do what you love and it won’t feel like work”. But when what we love is Art, we’re told to “get a real job”. I just went to a conference this week for the “muggle” job where the speaker made the comment “I was a theater major. And then I got a real job.”
My friend who works 2 “day jobs”, produces shows, performs and teaches was once told by a wealthy audience member, “If you are struggling, maybe you need to give this up and get a job.” He didn’t even see what she did as a job at all. He is there in the audience, a consumer of the product of performing Arts, and he doesn’t see what this person is doing as work.
How is Art supposed to be valued when even the consumer doesn’t understand they are buying a product. Yes, it’s a labor of love. Yes, we do it because we want to do it. Yes, there are other payoffs and reasons to do Art. (That’s a whole different discussion.) But it is also work. The end result is a product. Whether that be a physical painting, a wearable costume, a song you listen to or a dance performance you watch; it is the PRODUCT of WORK.
Yes, I understand that some of the undervaluation of Art can be explained through simple economics. There are a LOT of people who want to be an Artist in some way. The more people there are in a field, the less someone has to pay for that labor. But I would also argue that many trade jobs are well paid because of skill and training. I don’t see this payoff for skill and training as often in Art.
Art requires talent. Art requires skills. Art requires a lot of hard work. Art requires love.
Art may not require monetary value, but it would be damn nice if people did see it that way.
The day after Katherine told me the story of Paula West, I went online and sought out her music. There was only one song I could find. A sultry, jazzy version of “Who Will Buy?”. I love it. I’ve listened to it for almost 2 decades now. (I’m even incorporating it into an act this year.) I looked her up recently and found one album available from this decade. (Yes, I bought it at full price.) Paula is still making her Art because she clearly loves it. But I wonder, does she still have to make ends meet outside of her Art?