Zoe and the Art World Darlings

I love the term "art world darling". It's so snarky. This goes back to The Painted Word, but I feel like there is a strange push and pull between the upper echelons of the art world and this desire for "real" and "gritty" artists that are undiscovered and doing art for love rather than money. I kind of feel like to call someone an Art World Darling, you are mocking there success. In the- curse you for having all of the talent and stardom that I don't- kind of way.

Anyways, my favorite thing that Rachel talked about was this idea that writers become famous for writing about artists that are controversial. That's an interesting idea. That one person's success is inextricably linked to someone else's success. I suppose art is a bit like this too. Someone writes about you or funds you and consequently your success is their success. It makes me so uncomfortable. That how you do in the market is based on other people making moves, not solely your own actions. It's kind of like asking someone to write a recommendation letter for you. You can give them all the time in the world to write it but if they don't send it in- you are the one who is screwed.

There is also the use of social media, the herd can be your path to success rather than a sole critic. Is it strange that I feel like there is more control in the realm of social media than anywhere else?