Yesterday I spent a lot of time doing what I do after moving into a new space, organizing. I tried to repair some of the lousiest attempts at building shelving I’ve ever seen, screwed some cabinets I bought at a garage sale for next to nothing to the wall and I intend to continue performing some of these organizational tasks today. I never go so far as to recreate a California Closet in every corner of the house, but I am predisposed to appreciate a certain level of organization. Actually, I’d go so far as to say that I need this certain undefined level of organization.
However, a question crept into my head as I worked yesterday: Am I a failure as an artist because I spend too much time and energy organizing? I ask this in jest (with a tinge of seriousness on the side). Am I not a serious artist because I spend so much time setting up a space as opposed to actually making work? Would a “real” artist have moved all of their artistic tools first and just left everything else at the old place to collect dust so they could work on their sculpture?
Nah, I don’t really think so (only a little bit do I think so). I have to believe that crafting a space in an organized fashion will result in a more productive studio.
Right?
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