Art, life and hobby: which is which?
By Amy Williams
On Saturday evening, Mark Wolfe and I went backstage at the Cultural Center at the state Capitol Complex to meet musician Chris Smither, who would soon be performing in a FOOTMAD concert.
We talked music and art and found out that the guitarist is also an avid photographer. He is apparently not one to mix business with pleasure, or at least not more than twice (he married his manager and made his love of guitar playing into a living). Yet he says he keeps his photography in the definite realm of part-time pastime. “I’ve been taking pictures as long as I’ve been playing instruments, but I want to keep it as a hobby,” says Smither. “I’ve already turned one hobby into a job.”
This is understandable, I guess. But several artists I know take joy in mixing their artistic leanings — Mark plays guitar, loves photography, and does all kinds of visual art endeavors. Charly Jupiter Hamilton (my co-blogger for this LocalArt blog) paints, has dabbled in ukulele, and is now an accomplished pie maker.
Although admittedly I don’t make a living from my artistic bent, as does Smithers, it seems hard to me to separate out the different creative aspects of one’s life. But Smithers say his music and photography don’t particularly play off each other at all. No photos he has taken are on his website, no photographs of places he has been…
He does like art, especially more modern influences, and says he has an Andy Warhol lithograph of Mick Jagger, signed by Andy and Mick.
Whether or not to mix artistic interests up can be a tough call. Sometimes, when I am making no money from my art I wonder if I should be more business-like, marketing myself more, have art-related business cards and… well, treat my art like a business. Charly’s art is his business, and he does have business cards, but I still watch him mix art throughout his whole life. His fruit pies have “Charly” faces on them, his bike has a “Charly” painting on the front, his mailbox and even the sign on the road to his house show the handiwork of Charly.
As artistic types, we all need to do what helps us be sane. And if, as for Smithers, that means separating out parts of your life into work and hobby then that’s okay. But for me, I think it’s better to let my creative bent completely wash through my life and overlap where it will… no boundaries, if you will.
Photo of Chris Smither by Mark Wolfe
