In response to: https://medium.com/self-directed-practitioners/week-1-overview-your-professional-identity-d3037f34cb8e
This blog will be reflecting upon the topic “Overview: Your Professional identity and how we are the same.” discussed in week 1. Specifically the Connie Converse and Angry birds examples. These stories intrigued me because in Connie’s case she only became popular in the 21st century many years after her death. Angry birds however is a success story made possible by the creators constant ability to produce games eventually leading to a world- renowned success. The overall content of this blog will be deciphering what makes something popular and whether an artist can increase their chances of making something considered great by many.
Everyone would have experienced different opinions on something. For example you show a friend a new song you found that you think sounds amazing but they don’t end up liking it. This example is just one way of seeing that everyone perceives greatness differently. Personally as my skills grow as an artist the things I thought were great when I was a kid are terrible in my eyes now. It all depends on the way we look at things and what else is deemed popular in society at the present time.
Vincent Van Gogh is a famous example similar to Connie Converse in that he only became popular long after his death. “Although he sold only one painting during his lifetime, Van Gogh is now one of the most popular artists of all time.” – (Story Contributors, 2018). Another example of a great artists is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The famous author adds a twist creating great works in that he wasn’t a fan of his most famous novels. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wanted Sherlock Holmes to die “Instead, he fancied himself more of a historical novelist and viewed his Holmes stories as “hack work” written for the sole purpose of making extra scratch to pay off his college loans.” – (Comeau & Loomis, 2016). Both of these successful artists viewed greatness differently than the public. These examples show that it is impossible to set out to make something great and know exactly what is needed to do so. I do believe these examples show however, that if you consistently create original content; your audience will find you.
Greatness is forever changing and there is no definitive way to know what will become popular in the future and what will die out. I believe that if you keep up a consistent level of content output then you will be deemed by some as great. You can’t please everyone but if you genuinely enjoy what you do then it will be seen through your work and appeal to an audience however making something great tends to just be a stab in the dark.
Bibliography:
Qantm, S. (2015). Week 1: Overview & Your “Professional” Identity – Self-Directed Practitioners – Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com/self-directed-practitioners/week-1-overview-your-professional-identity-d3037f34cb8e
Story Contributors, T. (2018). Vincent van Gogh Overview and Analysis. Retrieved from https://www.theartstory.org/artist-van-gogh-vincent.htm
Comeau, J., & Loomis, R. (2016). Great Artists Who Passionately Hated Their Most Famous Work. Retrieved from http://www.cracked.com/article_23978_5-famous-artists-who-nearly-trashed-their-iconic-works.html
Gifer. (2018). Good will hunting movie thank you GIF. Retrieved from https://gifer.com/en/IHaK
Gogh, V. (1889). The Starry Night. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Starry_Night
Orlando. (2016). Achieve Greatness. Retrieved from https://orlandoespinosa.wordpress.com/2016/11/11/achieve-greatness/
Spencer Gibson's Art 