Artistic Integrity

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From time to time I receive requests to re-produce original work. In fact, today I received an email from someone who had purchased from me three years ago requesting a reproduction of a piece I had already sold.

I am always a little dubious about recreating work from the past. I like to keep moving forward. But having said that I can appreciate that some people are experiencing my work for the first time when they visit my exhibit, visit my site or meet me through social connections.

It’s not that I think I am too good to reproduce old work. It’s more along the lines of a secret little fear that says, “You’ll get stuck, you won’t progress, you’ll end up duplicating your old work forever more”. Of course, this is not true. But the ego has a funny way of trying to spook the creative voice within.

The ultimate goal as an artist is to keep growing, keep discovering new ground and pushing yourself to explore your potential. But having said that, it is also has something to do with survival as an artist.

I can honestly say that as an artist I am certainly not in any type of privileged position whereby I can “knock-back” too much work because any given project may infringe on my artistic integrity.

Personally I think there is too much emphasis put on artistic integrity. All that matters is that you are doing what you do for the right reason. In other words it has to feel right.

I have displayed my work on the boundary of a football oval while people rode cows in a race. Was this something that compromised my artist integrity?

I don’t think so.

The problem was bad marketing on my behalf.

I was trying to pitch my work to a crowd of people who were pre-occupied with farm animals, and for whom did not have a disposable $600 to $1000 in their pockets in order to buy art.

So if I think something might be worthwhile at the time, then I don’t have to worry about artistic integrity. If I feel I am doing it for the right reasons then that is all that matters.

I have received a request to reproduce some old work in the past, and because I accepted the request, new doors opened for me.
 

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