Artist vs Creator | Is there a difference?
Questions I'm asking myself to close out 2023
After watching a YouTube video with Ali Abdaal interviewing Colin and Samir, something was said by Samir that made me ask myself the following question:
It’s a 2.5hr interview. If you have the time, I recommend watching it from beginning to end. if you don’t, read on to see what pieces I extracted and wanted to flesh out a bit more as I apply it to my own writing journey.
A “creator” is empathetic towards the audience. An “artist” as no empathy towards the audience. An artist paints something and says “this is what I wanted to paint, I don’t care what you like about it, you can interpret it however you like.”
There’s a balance between what you want to make, what the audience wants, and what the platform wants. And right in the middle of that is “content market fit.”
When I heard that I immediately had to ask myself if I was an artist or a creator. If I’m being honest I feel more of an artist. I am putting out content I want to write and not stopping to consider if any of what I write is what you, the subscriber, wants to read. And if that statement I just said is true, do I want to continue down the path of being an artist or do I want to pivot and give being a creator a try? Again, speaking frankly, I don’t think I do. I think I like where I am.
There is a certain level of fear and doubt that comes with wanting to be empathetic to an audience. If I don’t write what I feel you want to read then I am frozen in fear and writing nothing. Or if i do push something out and don’t get the reaction or fanfare I was hoping for, then I’m terrified about the possible silence or negative reception of the next thing I write.
I don’t see being a creator sustaining me enough to continue producing content for a long time let alone the rest of this year. And I wonder if this can be a truth for other writers that we just aren’t able to face or understand. How many of us are really “artists,” angry that our work isn’t being read and loved by everyone, thereby converting free readers into paid subscribers. The issue is not with our readers, it’s with our lack of empathy for them. And now that I know this, and freely admit this, I actually feel a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I am writing for me and my hope is that you will enjoy it. And because I’m writing for me, I hold no animosity towards the fact that I have a handful of paid subscribers, that I have yet to see any free subscriber growth, or that I don’t receive the same level of support that other writers receive.
When I think about the other writers who do get recognized, get supported, and get showered with constant adoration from all levels, I realize they are creators. They are clearly empathetic to their audience. And empathy deserves reward.
Does that mean that artists who create for themselves don’t deserve acolades and rewards as well? On the contrary! Of course we do. But we shouldn’t get beside ourselves when someone else gets it over us.
I realize this is probably going to be a hot take to many who will disagree vehemently with my thoughts. Please understand I’m merely thinking out loud about my own circumstances and view of my journey. You may not see yourself or your journey in quite the same way.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with being an artist or a creator. Just like being a pantser doesn’t make you better or smarter than plotters. They are simply choices and just like any choice, they are interchangeable. And you know what else? There are plenty of examples of successful artists and creators just like there are plenty of failures with pantsers and plotters. This is not about saying what’s right and wrong. But about the choices we make.
Something else I wanted to spend a little time analyzing or sharing was what Ali mentioned about the three levels of a creative person:
Level One - Get going
Don’t think about or over analyze what you want to create and share. Just do it. Too many times we over analyze and end up never sharing what we just created.
Level Two - Get good
Now that you’ve gotten into a rhythm with sharing what you’ve created over a lengthy period of time, consistently, it’s time to tweak and improve. Sure, what you shared in the beginning wasn’t your best work. But like anything you put hard work and effort into, you’ll eventually get better over time.
Level Three - Get smart
Improvement isn’t the end goal. There is still further we can go. The best phase is to now get smart about what you’re creating so you can create more and expand.
What level are you on right now in your journey?
I would say I’m in the “get smart” level. I’m doing things like scheduling posts and creating templates several months in advance. This allows me to spend more time writing and thinking about new story ideas rather than spending time putting together my emails daily.
Thanks for this article, you do highlight a point on those writers who gain more subs, faster, seem to have a knack for engaging their audience. Whether the writing is or is not written with them in mind is unclear but the writer certainly makes it seem that it is for the audience and not themselves. At some point I don't think the artist or audience know anymore. They like what you're doing, you like what you're doing, so it seems like you're creating for the audience but really the audience is still you but now plus those with similar tastes.
The dichotomy of 'creator' or 'artist' isn't accurate. When JMW Turner smudged red paint on his sea scape, Helvoetsluys, later turning it into a buoy, as it hung for the Summer Exhibition of 1832 next to Constable's The Opening of Waterloo Bridge, he did it so he wouldn't be upstaged by his principle rival. Turner did it in the gallery with the audience in mind. Turner was an artist through and through and part of being an artist is being aware of the audience, whether it's an audience of one (yourself) or millions and everything in between. Now the question of whether 'content creators' make art, that's spicy.
You can read about, and see, the Turner and Constable paintings here: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/turner-constable-and-the-royal-academy
"...you can interpret it however you like." I take umbrage with this part of the quote. It's untrue, you cannot interpret art however you like. That's not how art works. With writing the meaning is quite clear, it's in the words and the interplay between them, style may be dense or stories be contradictory but that allows for discussion not endless interpretation. If a reader thinks they can re-interpret endlessly then I guess words have no meaning. With painting it's much the same, the placement of objects, people, landscape, the choice of colours, shading, etc all play a part in the message being conveyed. Even a pleasant landscape is telling you something while it's being pretty.
I think you should do what matters to you and not worry about a label. There’s a fear of failure that hits us all and we want to be acknowledged in some way for the efforts we put forth, regardless if we classify ourselves as an artist or a creator.
Whether you’re an artist or a creator you want to make an impact with what you create, but we shouldn’t have an expectation of feedback in one way or another, although it’s very hard not to.
I think you are right in that creators, in the sense we’re talking about, are trying to create content that they hope can improve someone’s life in some way, and hope they receive some form of exchange, whether that’s financial or something else.
Artists on the other hand are creating something that they hope can change the way people think or change the world in some way through their art.