Recession Hits Artists Disproportionately Hard

I thought this would be the case.

That's why I wouldn't waste my time going to school for art. I love art, but not enough to spend a shit load of money on something with a return so little. You could've had the same return even if you didn't go to college.

I don't know how people can do that.

is that really disproportionate though? especially when you consider that it is much harder to make a living as an artist than in a lot of other professions.

I don't Believe it's that they have a Higher Education, Thats a Bunch of Cr**, Most of the Greatest Artist Ever Never seen Third Grade. My Dad was a Jet Mechanic in the Navy for 6 Yrs. When He got out He Worked 18 & 20 Hour days and Got Himself 6 Texaco's & had 20 Ace Mechanics working for Him, The One Thing He Taught Me is that Until You know what He knows You do what he says, To make a Long story short, 6 Months Later I told My Dads Ace Mechanic to pick up tools & He told Me to Kiss off, I told My & My Dad called us in the back room & told his Ace Mech. Until Your as Good as he is You do what He says. I stay in school for 22 Yrs. & worked full time, I became a General Engineering Contractor, General Contractor. This Economy has effected All of Us Badly, Whether You have an Education or not & the Numbers are High in All Trades. You won't see the Goverment Bailling Us Out, As far as I'm Concerned instead of giving the Billions upon Billions to us their giving it to the People that don't Really care about anyone but themselves & it's showing More & More on a Daily bases. Theres only about 300 Million People in the USA Not even a Half a Billion, Do The Math, Billions upon Billions, One Billion is enough to put a Million in everyones Pocket & have left overs & yet there not giving it to us there giving it to the People that have Screwed Us All Up. Whats Wrong with this Picture. R.G.B.Jr.

Not for nothing folks, but they've been STARVING ARTISTS way before this whole recession thing.
Get a job grouch!

In my experience when the artist suffers, the art thrives. This could be a good thing.

Yeah... I realized as soon as I graduated art school that to be a fine artist I also had to be a fine waitress.

Time to go get a DAY JOB, even if it's not art related. There are some surprising places you can get a creative job though; I work at a group home during the day and I use art and music a lot as therapeutic outlets as well as just plain fun. All artists want to survive on art alone and the term "starving artist" was coined way before this recession- sorry artists, the struggle continues!

Art, as a sustainable career, is something only conceived of in the public eye, after Andy Warhol. Prior to that, you were either an artist and survived similar to Van Gogh or you wern't and went on to become something like an engineer, architect, set designer, etc.
Supporting the arts is a national problem, as museums, operas, ballets, etc. charge incredibly high fees to manage their budgets. These budget woes would go away if the money from the NEA went to "education" instead of individual grants. This would spur natural interest from a young age and attendance as well as support would increase naturally.

And one of art’s great values is that it has no value… It’s one of the few things on the planet that doesn’t have to be thought of in a utilitarian way

There is a group in our city who have switched from canvas to houses. They do everything from specialized faux interior painting to murals. Hey, it's a living!