My artist mother likes to tell the story of the most talented students she went to university with. She said that they seemed so brilliant they didn't even have to try; everything they made was good. But after school, as they began to meet with the setbacks and hardships that all artists must face, they lost their drive and eventually stopped making art. Thirty years later, the classmates with successful art careers are not the most brilliant ones, but the ones who wouldn't give up and outlasted everyone else.
Sometimes we filmmakers feel like Sisyphus, endlessly pushing a boulder up a mountain, only to have it roll down again. But after a while, you make a bit of headway, and then a little more, and then you start to sense a change in the wind, a rising tide, the ground starting to level off.
All very true. You need persistence and a constant belief in the value of your own work. It can take a long time to develop one's voice. And while external recognition is comforting and sometimes necessary for production of the work, it is not an accurate gauge of its value. Politics, stylistic/personal bias etc. exists in the funding process, but I've always believed that if your work is good, you will always get what you need, even if it takes awhile. The thing is to make the most of your opportunity, when you get your shot. Nothing you don't already know.
ReplyDelete"Thirty years later, the classmates with successful art careers are not the most brilliant ones, but the ones who wouldn't give up and outlasted everyone else."
ReplyDeleteIt gives me hope. It feels really good to know that. I always thought I had no talent, no genius, but I am trying to teach myself to work on little art projects, taking art class, reading books, and always persisting.