“To my mind the most interesting thing in art is the personality of the artist; and if that is singular, I am willing to excuse a thousand faults. I suppose Velasquez was a better painter than El Greco, but custom stales one’s admiration for him: the Cretan, sensual and tragic, proffers the mystery of this soul like a standing sacrifice. The artist, painter, poet, or musician, by his decoration, sublime or beautiful, satisfies the aesthetic sense; but that is akin to the sexual instinct, and shares its barbarity: he lays before you also the greater gift of himself.” — The Moon and Sixpence by W. Sommerset Maugham

Some people are great at making art, others are just great at being artists. The cult of celebrity is by no means limited to actors and musicians. Sometimes visual artists are so interesting as people that their elevated personal status eclipses admiration for their actual work. Other times the two blend together and it becomes difficult to tell whether the art would be as good without the artist.

At what point in an artist’s career comes the decision to focus more on being an artist than on producing art? Is it indeed a decision at all or rather something that develops on its own, a form of art better expressed through a whole person than on paper?

Further exploration:

The Moon and Sixpence by W. Sommerset Maugham
The Accidental Masterpiece: On the Art of Life and Vice Versa by Michael Kimmelman
Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi by Jon Gibson and Chris McDonnel