"Commercialised Art"

A contradictio in terminis,

aka a contradiction in terms,

– if I’ve ever known one-

in its direct senses,

but as interconnected

as pen and paper can be:

 

For those called to art,

reliance on commerce

is

an inevitable truth.

 

Mecenae or patrons

of the arts

helped materialize

many a masterpiece.

From

Michelango’s Sistine Chapel

ceiling sponsored by Pope Julius,

to Peggy Guggenheim

gathering a numerous number

of artists and art, like:

Kadinsky, Ernst, Picasso and Pollock.

Nevertheless,

the call to the arts

is

unlikely to have a solely

monetary motivation

 

An artist’s mind

often wrought with madness

– or so it may seem to the outside world-

misunderstood, envied, admired or

feared

– flip a coin to genius:

                                the odds are even

                                but too close for most.

as the reactions of taste and recognition,

 likeability and/or intrigue

are both as fickle

and as persistent

as the human condition

that had a hand in their creation.

 

Reactions feed the artist’s livelihood,

a symbiotic relationship,

but don’t get me misunderstood:

 

an audience is not necessary

for one to be an artist.

However,

many an artist

lives for the interaction;

responds to the admirers’

responses or artistic rivalries,

pushing them to greater artistry;

acknowledges their work

as their progeny

leur raison d’être des artistes

(their reason for being artists)

a distinct chance of elongating life

by way of artistic immortality.

 

The call to create

just sometimes flows

springing from unknown wells

following humane fingers

letters amalgamated in ink

onto paper,

or at least for me it does,

but who knows its origin?

 

Following an ancient rhythm,

a need to express

sounds and words pressed together

                                 but who am I kiddin’?

 

I wouldn’t say no

to a cup of tea

bought just for me.