Painting Stereotypes out of the Picture

At seven years old, I knew exactly what I wanted to be: an innovator, a creative, a storyteller who would spend her days living paycheck to paycheck and eating cold instant ramen.  When I declared that I wanted to be a painter, my dreams were quickly shattered by my parents’ descriptions of the “starving artist” lifestyle. Since my ideal future included 300 puppies and sushi for every meal, elementary school me decided to devote her life to science. It would be a couple years before I started exploring the arts again during the COVID-19 pandemic. I had always been a hypochondriac, but the threat of the virus and the onslaught of headlines boosted my anxiety to new levels. The worst came when my grandfather passed away from COVID and my fears started affecting my sleep and mental health. That was when art became my catharsis and a constant during a time of uncertainty. No matter what thoughts were swarming in my head that day, I could sit down with my sketchbook and sketch it out. I was instantly hooked, and over the next few years, I developed my skills and started exploring the boundaries of what art could do. It started as an interest and an outlet for my emotions but soon became much more than that. This year, I was given the opportunity to speak about arts education with one of my paintings, and it changed the way I looked at the impact of humanities education. It was amazing to see my creation as a medium for advocacy, and it reignited my interest in pursuing a creative career. However, the fear of job insecurity and low wages remains an obstacle between me and full devotion to my passion. With devaluation of the arts becoming a trend, the myth of the starving artist is turning into our reality. 

In 1851, French Novelist Henri Merger wrote the novel La Vie de Bohème (Scenes of Bohemian Life) about four artists in poverty, romanticizing the sacrifice of financial stability to master one’s craft. As the Bohemian lifestyle gained popularity, it evolved into the stereotype that artists are willing to devalue their work for their love of art. Industries such as songwriting and animation are known to take advantage of artists and undercompensate them. As of August 2024, most songwriters make under $10,000 a year, and only the top 10 percent of the industry earn a livable wage at more than $30,000 a year. This is not just a national but also global issue, with animators in Japan sometimes earning no more than $200 per month despite working hundreds of hours. The truth is, creatives are still people who need housing, food, and their needs met. Passion is a privilege but never an excuse for exploitation. 

There is also the threat of AI art, which has gone viral for the lack of skill it takes to use. Just by inputting a prompt into the generator, one can create full paintings in every style under the sun. Despite how much potential this technology has, AI is trained on data sets that include stolen works from authentic visual artists, and foreshadows layoffs in the animation and graphic design industries. In a survey conducted last year, 38 percent of creative firms predicted that they would use GenAI for 2D artwork in games and film in the next three years, and 47 percent would use the technology for 3D assets. 40 percent of concept and visual development artists reported that AI would impact their jobs. Despite protests and declining industries, there is still a lack of regulation for AI art, with computer generated designs appearing everywhere from merchandise to TV shows. AI art is cheaper for corporations, but when profits are valued over artists’ rights and job security, the need for creative careers plummets and human made art is devalued. 

Sadly, this stereotype also affects our education systems. Visual arts classes are often dismissed as unimportant since it’s assumed that most students will want to find high-paying jobs in “real fields” like STEM.  This causes visual art to be one of the first classes on the chopping block during school budget cuts. In New York City, it’s shocking that only 34 percent of all schools provide at least two arts courses regulated by qualified teachers. Even worse, 12 percent of all high schools in the US provide no arts instruction. The idea of starving artists downplays the importance of art to our society and discourages young people from following in the footsteps of successful creatives. 

Despite this, I hold the belief that art is the key to uniting us. It should never be stamped out despite threats like AI or budget cuts. The arts are a way for people to speak their minds and reflect on the world, which is becoming more and more connected yet polarized due to the rise of the internet. It’s easy to feel alone, but the arts inspire conversation and fosters connection, transcending cultural differences and even time itself. Creative subjects are dismissed in school curriculums because they are stereotypically “unprofitable” and therefore unimportant when compared to STEM subjects. We will always need experts in technology and the sciences to understand the world we live in, but the arts help us understand the people we share this earth with. There is no shortage of social issues that need to be addressed, but by allowing the reputation of the arts to decay, we further the division of our communities. To fight this, we first need laws for fair pay and treatment in creative industries, as well as protections against art theft for AI services. By implementing these policies, we can begin to ensure the sustainability and viability of art careers. We can then advocate for arts education by increasing awareness about the social importance of those creative fields. Listening to young people and giving them opportunities or a platform to share their artistic journeys is crucial to this. Involve them in conversations about their education and lobby for the integration of creative subjects into their core curriculum. Painting the idea of “starving artists” out of the picture ensures that the arts will remain a central part of our culture and education.