July 30, 2024

Content creation

Content is not art. Content is a category invented by (mostly) social media platforms who would like us to make stuff that engages people long enough on their platform to sell advertising to. Content is about feeding a machine of views, likes, and shares in the hope that, in return, the content creator gets rewarded – with an audience, with some ad revenue, with a sponsorship deal. Content is abstract, generic, unimportant. Content takes from the soul, it doesn’t feed it.

Art is not content. Art is something that no company invented. Art doesn’t have a market-purpose. Art is self-expression – using tools in the physical world to help us understand more about ourselves for no one else’s benefit but our own. Occasionally, that expression and exploration benefits others – mostly people searching for answers to the same questions as the artist. Occassionally, because of that connection, art sometimes generates money. But money is not the point of art. Art feeds the soul, and the souls of others. It doesn’t take, it gives.

Neither is right or wrong, it’s just worth reminding oneself occasionally – which one am I actually creating? Which one do I spend more of my time creating?

Other observations
December 2, 2025

Making a map of dead ends

If we can more easily see the paths we shouldn’t follow, does that make finding the correct one easier?

November 25, 2025

Paying the bills

No matter which way you dice the onion, there’s no escaping the need for money to live. So how might art factor into that?

November 18, 2025

Just feed me

If more choice for a consumer is better, then why do chef’s banquets and ‘just feed me’ options exist in restaurants?

November 11, 2025

The luxury of having no time

Most of us say we need more time but what if the opposite was true? What if less time helped us move forward?

November 4, 2025

A selfish act?

Can the selfish act of making art become an act of generosity? What happens to others who come across the work we make for ourselves?

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