From excess to success
Those who dedicate their lives to art, even those like me who are finding comfort and meaning in the creativity itself before anything else, are dreaming of being noticed so that they could turn this passion into some basic necessities, like the ability to make a living from it or getting social or formal recognition for their work. We are living in a world and times ruled by the media, where public appearance and presence are much more preferable rather than privacy and discretion. In accordance, it is certainly helpful to be different in something, so that you can stand out in the crowd. Unfortunately, being “different” is frequently not enough; the public rather openly craves for excess, even in rather conservative and traditionalistic societies, like the one we have here in Croatia.
Personally, I consider myself to be quite different from most of the people who surrounded me through the years. I don’t have some usual and permanent day job, I don’t climb corporate ladders and get promotions, I often cannot adequately earn doing what I’m completely devoted to, I don’t have a marriage, children, two cars, and a seaside retreat (at least for now), although all this is somewhat expected from a person in my age. Let’s get something straight; I’m certainly not a puritan, but I’m also not an excess-prone individual in any way, be it by my appearance, attitude, or lifestyle.
The excess, as a more or less fool-proof way of being noticed, popular, and even successful is not the phenomenon reserved only for the modern age, where everyone can quite easily make an appearance in the media. It is also not reserved only for those who are into some form of art. However, it’s a fact that the persons who are excessive in some way or another, often have greater chances to become successful, even if they’re also capable and talented at the same time. For example, Jimi Hendrix will undoubtedly be remembered firstly by smashing countless guitars and playing by his teeth, rather than by some radical and innovative music solutions and style. Or some classical composers, that most people, especially the layman, associate with their troublesome lifestyle (to say the least), rather than their musical opus.
Looking from this perspective, especially in this day and age of YouTube stars, it seems that being excessive is desirable more than it has been ever before. But this is not only a matter of appearance and behavior, at least not when speaking about music and art in general. For example, in vocal-instrumental music, a PG-rated text is something of a recipe for popularity and reaching the audience. But what about instrumental music that doesn’t rely on “subtitles”? From a personal experience, I can say that this way is always and often unfairly much more difficult. But if you’re doing something at least “unusual”, like playing the violin with the broomstick or filling the grand piano with ping-pong balls, your chances for getting favorable critiques and public attention will be greatly improved, unlike if you’re only striving to the aesthetic of melodies and harmonies (how boring). Of course, some scandals here and there are also welcome. ;)
So, if art is your life and you’re not at least a little bit “excessive”, your path will be undoubtedly much more difficult and uncertain. The only thing you can do is follow a timeless phrase: “be yourself, no matter what they say”. If this alone could guarantee you success...