I’ve been thinking a lot about art and its value recently, inspired by artists removing of their work off Spotify as well as the whole ‘Velvet Sundown’ affair.
With the prevalence of Ai threatening to pick at the scraps left to musicians on big streaming platforms and furthering their exploitation efforts. Perhaps it’s time we become more conscious consumers and bring art back into the real word.
There’s part of me that feels sad that a lot of my music taste and my identity as a person through the art I consume is stored and streamed digitally, when I pull out a record on my shelf or listen to a CD I get to feel it’s permanency in the world, it feels amazing to look at the notes on the back of a record and scroll through the personnel involved in the making of it.
In those moments I can see the fruits of the labour of everyone listed on the credits made physical in the form of a record. It’s permanent (with care) and it can’t be taken away or blocked depending on my circumstances (see. Kindle now requiring an internet connection to access the books that you paid for)
Streaming (and wider digital media consumption) has brought with it a certain kind of Apathy where songs just get lost in endless playlists (Don’t get me started on how Spotify lets you hide certain songs within an album so you don’t even have to hit the skip button anymore) to the point where it makes my relationship with certain music so transactional and unattached, and that scares me as a person who loves music more than anything else.
So many times I’ve been to local shows and been so infatuated with a performance with an artist I may have never seen before that I pick up there record straight after a set and I get to have a dialogue with them about their work, that album then becomes apart of my life and I’m able to grow a connection with the art by engaging with it on a physical level. Keeping our experiences of art and music in the real world is a big part of what we can do to keep the value of these things alive. When big tech companies seek to make things more disposable and transactional.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about this my fellow artists/music lovers 🌻
Another 5 minute sketch before work today!
Trying to keep the muscle working and even just using a 5 minute moment to make a piece is really helping! Helps me commit to ideas and explore things without expectation.
#illustration #illustrator #print #design #flash
I was in the studio last week with my band @sammylukas.sundownband making an album so I had very little time or energy to sketch but I manage to steal away a moment to throw together some observations. I really like to wonky little Rhodes piano I think it would make a neat tattoo
Been ever so inspired by my illustration idols recently including the great @darren.shaddick to sketch without expectation and without pressure. Everytime I force myself to make something I’m proud of, I always bring anguish into my art.
I often find the pieces I am the most proud of are the ones I felt the most peaceful in making, and that comes when I release the need to make something “good” (whatever that means!)
Getting wacky with it people!
Put a record on, chill out, live and breathe and maybe something more, but if nothing else just listen to some music and see what happens in your heart!
#illustration #illustrator #print #design
