Why do some artists become famous? | Albert-László Barabási

What artists do you think should get more credit?

always honor the statement “it’s not what you know it’s who you know” but think deeper and acknowledge it’s truly “it’s not who you know it’s who knows YOU.” put yourself out there

As someone who as worked on a museum at the middle level for years, let me give you the answer: Someone who is already famous or is inside the art world needs to give you an entry. Without that, no matter how good or skilled you are, you will never get in or even be considered an "artist".

This is in every field in life. It’s not about what you know, it’s about who you know.

I've known a few artists who became, not household names, but well known. The way they did it was by going to a fancy art school (where I also went) and becoming friends with the professors who connected them. They did this by being talented, smart, engaged, extremely hard-working (almost obsessive) and pretty much all of them were also kind people. I wish I were that kind of person but I'm not, therefore I languish in obscurity.

I am an artist. Professional, if that makes sense. The most successful artists I know spend maybe 20% of their time and effort actually doing art and 80% promoting it and getting to know the right people. It's not a secret to anyone - you also need to be a charming extroverted sales agent to make money off your art. Some luck may help, but with the existence of social media platforms you can do it on your own, if you do that part good enough. The bottom line is this: no matter how good or shitty your work is, there will always be a client for it. Always. Your job is to find that person, and for that you need exposure or status.

As an artist with art as my day job, I strongly believe that having the financial means to sustain our creative pursuits is one of the most critical aspects for many of us. It allows us to avoid being stuck in jobs where we don't contribute anything meaningful and risk exhausting ourselves. Unfortunately, it can be challenging to fulfill essential needs such as life insurance, healthcare plans, retirement, and so on.

So pretty much network with the right people and be talented.

Things are changing. I'm an artist/ collector and opened my own gallery. I take the profit and reinvest into upcoming/ small artists. Any one can do it and if more artists did, we wouldnt have to depend on becoming "famous". you can be an anonymous artist and be successful/ making a living.

In her poem, the Summer Day, Mary Oliver ends with these two lines: Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? As your habits are fortified each day, dedicate a few moments to pondering her question. No rush to answer, just invite the question. Gently. This is one great tapestry you are weaving, one stitch at a time, but know it is a wondrous and beautiful thing you are creating. We want to learn what you plan to do with your one wild and precious life. Keep on your quest and the path will reveal itself.

Basically it's being at the right place at the right time, having connections and gaining the favor of rich people that think that your work is worth to speculate on.

Today I learned that if an artist's work is in famous galleries, they will be famous.

My dad is a relatively famous digital illustrator. He works with video game, movie, and other entertainment companies mostly to create concept art and occasionally promotional art. He has enough work and enough recognition in the digital illustration world that he is able to support our family completely and also live in a very expensive US state, so I guess you could say he's successful.. He was not born with some innate talent for art, instead he just worked at it for decades and decades, his whole life practically. He works late into the night and has ever since I was a child. He also says that drawing is very important in being able to paint. I don't really know how he marketed himself starting out, but he has a great agent who goes out to wrestle and negotiate with the big companies for him. Any time beginning illustrators ask him what his 'secret' is to painting well, he just has to tell them that painting more is the only way to get better..

I'm sensing a major parallel between art and media. Fake news and fake art. But the real reporters and real artists play their own game. The DaVinci of our time that is remembered in hundreds of years is probably not at MOMA right now.

The quantifiable value of art through an algorithm is a brutal truth apparently. Still, I'll stick with the obviously undeniable feeling it gives me in my passion driven creative soul, and I'm as true and valued artist as has ever walked this planet.

What you are really saying is that it is not actually about artistic value and artistic brilliance, but about the the people who control art. The people who are in the centre decide what is talent and what is not talent, and what is brilliance and what is not brilliance. Sadly we as a broader society are missing on some amazing art, because the the artists are not connected, or do not know someone...You mentioned 250 artists who were lucky to break through in an unconventional way. How many thousands of artists just as talented or even more talented, were not lucky to brake through.

To be a good artist, all you truly need is to be happy with what you’ve created. To be a famous artist, people just need to know who you are as one. There’s been many artists who never made a dime yet were very well known for what they do.

Brilliant distillation of how the art world/market operates and how the old proverb - It's not what you know but who you know - is as relevant as ever.

There's one main valid success measure in art, and it's how the piece touched an individual audience member. The depth of a connection between maker and experiencer. All else is a means to that end.

Art's success is a multidimensional puzzle, involving talent, networks, and institutional recognition. It's fascinating how these interconnected factors shape an artist's trajectory and reveal the complex nature of artistic value 🌟