ARS GRATIA PECUNIAE

While a young advertising copywriter in San Antonio, I met a talented illustrator named George Hughey. George’s business card read, Ars gratia pecuniae—Latin meaning art for money’s sake. George was an artist but practical. I empathized. Virtually every advertising “creative” wants to be a great novelist, poet, screenwriter, painter or sculptor. Most find solace being artisans rather than artists. The latter tend frequently to go hungry.

Getting paid for art is challenging. Years ago, I had a literary agent in New York. He sent back words of praise from editors but no book contracts. We parted ways. I focused on my growing freelance copywriting business to provide for Carolyn and the kids. It hurt.

Six years ago, I started writing novels again. I work with a great fiction teacher, Tom Parker. I’m good! But I can’t get an agent. Still, I write. I’ll probably publish my geopolitical satire set in the Persian Gulf, Slick!, this fall. A companion piece awaits revision. And I’m completing the first draft of yet another novel.

Why do people pursue art with such passion? Calvin Coolidge, our thirtieth president (1923-29), famously stated, “The business of America is business.” Hah! My wife is an actor (they don’t say actress anymore). She has four more performances left in “Collected Stories.” My oldest son, Seth has composed beats and works for Cakewalk, a music software company. That’s art-related business. My middle son, Yosi, plays drums and fiddle for New Orleans-based Hurray for the Riff Raff. They just won the Big Easy award for best country-folk band. And my youngest, Aaron, dances with the Alwyn Nikolais Dance Theater after four years with ODC/Dance in San Francisco.

The Mishnah (Pirke Avot 3:17) informs us, Ein kemach ein Torah. Without bread (literally flour) there is no Torah. One must meet practical needs in order to study. The early sages had day jobs. But it also states, Ein Torah ein kemach. We require spiritual sustenance to reap the practical rewards of life.

“I like creating something physical out of nothing,” says my friend Jim Shay, a terrific painter. “I could not stop making art.” When the art market went south (it’s picking up), Jim saw the opportunity to paint anything he liked although “I’ve never felt constrained to paint a certain way.” Notes another friend and fabulous painter, Tom Gehrig, “Art gives me a perspective on my experience in the world. My work is about celebrating the mysteries and not knowing why. In a technological society where everything is instantaneous, art forces people to slow down and see the world through someone else’s eyes and imagination.”

We’ve heard much debate about government support for the arts over recent years. I find no fault with discussing the matter. But I can’t help believing that a nation so fixated on the accumulation of wealth that it ignores artistic vision risks imploding.

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6 Comments

  1. Dan Weiss on April 29, 2011 at 11:42 pm

    “We’ve heard much debate about government support for the arts over recent years. I find no fault with discussing the matter. But I can’t help believing that a nation so fixated on the accumulation of wealth that it ignores artistic vision risks imploding.” No worry, our nation is not at risk of imploding. Nations do not make Art. People do. Where ever humankind exists someone is engaging in life’s endeavours at the level of Art. They do it for reasons other than money. Be it ditch digging, quilt making, painting, singing, welding, computer games, cooking etc…The pursuit of wealth and Art have co existed very nicely since paleolithic man painted on cave walls. Government and Art are like oil and water. They do not mix and never have. They may write a check once in a while or build a museum but governments do not make Art. People do. Always have and all ways will. Free societies just make more of it. So let those in government who like to talk continue to talk. And those who make Art will continue to make Art with or with out government. Better government and Nations stay out of the Arts.

  2. Leri Allen on May 1, 2011 at 4:17 am

    David,
    I especially enjoyed this ARS GRATIA PECUNIAE post of yours. There are about eight different levels operating. I am optimistic about your publisher breakthrough coming. The breakthrough could come in a roundabout way, and it may not have to do with what the focus seems to be. I would keep Job’s attitude and persistance, and keep going where G-d is leading you.

  3. Carolyn Power on May 1, 2011 at 8:10 pm

    Art nourishes the soul. To do without artistic expression is to risk losing our humanity.

  4. Seth Perlstein on June 1, 2011 at 3:02 am

    I don’t “compose beats” or whatever that means. Really, though, I think art is a pastime for those living in wealthy nations.

    • David on June 1, 2011 at 3:26 am

      Sorry about “composing beats.” As to art, it seems to be universal, in all societies, often taking the form of crafts relegated to art status over time.

      • Seth Perlstein on June 1, 2011 at 4:28 am

        Yes, art is common among all human societies. However, my point is that it is not fundamental to survival. Art is meaningless when faced with the basic necessities of food, shelter, and reproducing the species. As such, only societies which have achieved a certain level of “wealth” i.e. development can afford the time and energy to produce art. Art, therefore, is a luxury.

        FWIW, my working for Cakewalk does not make me an artist (I am a part of the Product Marketing team). I don’t see myself as an artist, never have and probably never will.

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