March 27, 2007 Most people express that an authority figure (especially a teacher) is a failure when it justifies their personal disagreement with that person. "That teacher failed in his field, otherwise he wouldn't be a teacher," is common for students and parents to express when the teacher criticizes the student. "My boss is an administrator because he couldn't do anything else," is usually expressed when the authority figure says something the employee doesn't like. These opinions are often defenses used when people don't want to face their shortcomings and mistakes. At their worse, these attitudes prevent growth and learning.

In the last several months I have had many discussions with people who have used the term "failed artist" or related variations specific to painters, sculptors, or other people who once practiced specialties in the "fine arts." It is an ancient perspective to perceive those who leave the traditional arts, especially those who become teachers, as failures in their field. Emerson wrote, "Those who cannot do, teach." This has been expressed many times over, both before and since. While it is occasionally true, those exceptions do not prove the rule.

Many people change career paths not because they have failed in their field, but because they can give something back to others or have grown in different directions. Some make the change because they do not like the back-stabbing, politics, or other unpleasant tasks associated with their first profession. Others just outgrow the experiences they have had, develop as individuals, or choose alternative professions because they have personally outgrown their original career choice. There are many factors that lead to a change in profession.

I have never heard anyone say, "He is a failed accountant." When someone moves on from being an accountant, no one says anything negative. It is accepted that this person moved onto another career.

It is ignorant to assume that someone changes profession, even a profession in the romantically-glorified arts, because he was a failure. Everyone assumes that being a creative person, especially an artist, is some kind of pleasant "walk in the park." It is assumed that if the artist had been good, that person would have been successful in art and never chosen another career. As with any other profession, success in a creative field is based on work, contacts, marketing, and often being at the right place at the right time. As with any other profession, those in the arts grow and make various career choices depending on the opportunities available.

Either it is good that artists join the masses by working in other professions, or it is not. You can't have it both ways.