An Artist's Take on American Classism

I've tried to champion the notion that creators should get paid, but I've never done it with the verve and raw language that Molly Crabapple uses in her essay "Filthy Lucre" for vice.com.

Crabapple's essay is about the "foundational myth" of American meritocracy, but along the way she speaks about her own course from being the working daughter of a lower-middle-class single mom to successful artist who can fly first class. She talks about what she needed to do to get where she is and what sort of myths people seem to have about working artists. Let me just quote one bit:

[B]eing an artist means you're in thrall to cash.

My last art show would have been impossible without the money and network of contacts I'd built. I never could have hauled massive slabs of wood up to my old fifth-floor walk-up—never could have painted them in the lightless room I once shared with three roommates. Without an assistant, I never would have had the time to paint my show. Without sponsorships, I never could have afforded the paint. Sometimes, curators look at the work, and say, "Why didn't you ever paint like that before?" I'd answer, "Because no one gave me enough money to be able to."

Crabapple doesn't discount talent - you need to be good enough to get people to give you money for your stuff - but it's the money that makes the art possible.