What Makes You A Real Artist

What Makes You A Real Artist​

(Transcription)

Artist, Felisa Massey, Orlando, Florida

Ann Rea: What did you learn about selling your art in art school?

Felisa Massey:  Nothing.

Ann Rea: Not a–

Felisa Massey:  Yep, not a thing. And that’s the problem.

Ann Rea: It’s a huge fricking problem.

Felisa Massey:  Yes, Yes.

Ann Rea: It’s a big problem.

Felisa Massey:  A giant problem.

QUESTION: What were your challenges?

Felisa Massey:  Getting up the courage to actually believe that I could do it.

Ann Rea: That’s a big one.

Felisa Massey:  ‘Cause I wasn’t getting anywhere with my art. I mean I was at the point where I wasn’t even really drawing anymore. I was trying to do this and trying to do that. Trying to make something stick and nothing was happening, nothing was working, so. And this one resonated with me more than anything else that I’ve seen. I’m glad I’ve got a chance to do it.

Ann Rea: I’m glad you said that because there’s a lot of artists who think, oh I’ll just create a new body of work, I’ll try a new style, I’ll try a new technique and maybe that will work. Or I’ll try a new genre, I’ll try a new subject.

QUESTION: What changed when you stopped discounting your art?

Felisa Massey:  I feel more like a real artist. And not just like a pretend one, like I’m just playing at this, it’s just like a hobby. Now I feel more like a real artist. And that’s been a major, major change in me personally.

QUESTION: How does  not discounting your art make your collectors feel?

Felisa Massey:  More confident about their purchase. I think it’s gonna make them feel more like they’re actually getting more value out of what they get from me because I’m not a discounted artist and it’s not like some cheap thing any old body can do and any old body can just buy.

QUESTION: What changed that made you feel like a real artist?

Felisa Massey:  My confidence level. My confidence level and just the fear that I wasn’t doing something right that’s the biggest change that I can think of.

Ann Rea: The average graduate, on a scale of one to ten, the average graduate’s level of self-confidence increases from around 2.5 to over an eight, by the way.

Felisa Massey:  I believe that.

Ann Rea: By the time they get to graduating. And actually haven’t even graduated yet they’re just having a one on one, that’s it. So then it goes up from there, so it’s a really, that’s tripling your level of self-confidence.

QUESTION: What have you learned about being an artist?

Felisa Massey:  I don’t have to change the art that I’m doing just my mentality of why I’m doing it. And two, I’m a real artist, I’ve always been a real artist, I just had to believe it.

QUESTION: What would you tell your younger self?

Felisa Massey:  Don’t stop drawing, don’t stop painting, don’t listen to these people that keep telling you you need to get a real job, you need to do this and that, just stick with your gut basically. Listen to yourself.

Ann Rea: Right, absolutely. Because it’s the best, most reliable intelligence that you have, is your gut.

QUESTION: What is art?

Ann Rea: This whole idea that some committee or anyone at all, gets to anoint one person an artist and another person not, is absurd.

Felisa Massey:  True.

Ann Rea: It’s absurd, art is in the eye of the beholder. Now you could argue, if there are no beholders, there’s no one saying this is art, well then there might be a breakdown but I’ll tell you what, this is what I said, I absolutely refuse to do any art critiques, I absolutely refuse to allow my students to share their art in our Facebook group and here’s why, I went to the Modern Museum of Art in San Francisco and I saw this huge relief sculpture that was probably two stories high and it was of an elephant and it was made of elephant shit with glitter.

Felisa Massey:  Oh What?

Ann Rea: Yes. And it was at the Modern Museum of Art in San Francisco. Let me just give you a little idea about what real estate costs in San Francisco. You can not buy a crack house for less than a million dollars, you really can’t. So not only is this piece of shit in a respected museum, it’s taking up some significant real estate.

Felisa Massey:  Wow.

Ann Rea: So if the committee, whoever they are, appointed that art then it’s very clear that art is in the eye of the beholder and so to get into these silly, futile debates about what is art and what is not. I’m not wasting my precious life force and time doin’ it. And that’s why I also say, what’s key is creating value above and beyond your art itself by using your other resources and your other skills in service to a target market. And in a way that actually serves a greater mission, a mission that’s greater than yourself. And that’s how you can actually sell your art. Now, the person who created the elephant shit glitter sculpture, I don’t know how many they’ve sold.

Felisa Massey:  Oh, gosh, oh, goodness. It’s probably way more than you think, probably.

Ann Rea: I don’t know, I don’t know. And you know, I don’t know, it could just be an FU to the art establishment, I don’t know, I don’t really care, you know what, I actually thought it was the most interesting piece in the exhibition because I was like, for real? No kidding, I was like wow.

Felisa Massey:  Hmmm.

Ann Rea: Wow, that means man, you can sell anything and this is why I love the whole story of the pet rock.

Felisa Massey:  Yep.

Ann Rea:  Because I actually met with and had lunch with the marketing consultant that made the pet rock the phenomena that it became.

Felisa Massey:  Oh, wow.

Ann Rea:  Yeah, ’cause if you can frickin’ sell rocks, I need to know.

QUESTION: What ‘s our community like?

Felisa Massey:  Nobody is in competition, everybody’s helping everybody out.

Ann Rea: Right.

Felisa Massey:  And I–

Ann Rea: You know that to be true?

Felisa Massey:  Oh yeah, very true Everybody is so helpful and inspiring. That’s my main thing with the Facebook page is that everybody’s just been so inspiring with their posts and everything and just coming out of the blue and just saying, “You’re doing a good job, blah blah blah blah.” I love that, it’s so encouraging.

Ann Rea: Yeah. ‘Cause trying to sell your art by yourself I always say it’s too damn hard, it’s too damn lonely and it’s no damn fun.

Felisa Massey:  Mm-hmm, Yep.

QUESTION: Should other artists apply?

Felisa Massey:  If it’s resonating with you, do whatever it takes to get the money up, even if it takes a while to get it, do it, because it’d be the best decision that you’ve ever made in your life and it would change your life.

Ann Rea: Wow.

Felisa Massey:  It’s the truth.

Ann Rea: That’s so cool to hear, I gotta tell you, sitting on the other end of this. I worked so fricking hard for so many years to develop this program that when I hear that it’s just music to my ears.

Felisa Massey:  You have done an amazing job, I’m so glad that you’ve done this. You’ve saved so many artists, and I don’t even think you realize it.

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