Having graduated as an instrumental music major, I’ve spent a lot of time around all sorts of “artistic” types. Anyone who makes it in any artistic field must develop a pretty thick skin for criticism, but some get really twisted up when they receive criticism from someone they view as lacking the proper level of knowledge. What some artists fail to grasp is that any value their “art” or performance has is determined solely by the audience. No audience = no value.
A guy I know bought a large painting as an investment from a “rising young artist”. IIRC, he paid $35K for it. The guy’s a venture capitalist, so that was pocket change for him. I saw the painting hung on the wall at his house. To me, it was the ugliest pile of crap I’ve seen, but I didn’t tell him that. I did ask him if he liked it. After too long a pause, he commented he hoped it was a short term investment. I don’t know how it ultimately worked out.
