What Purpose Can Art Serve?

I had some unnecessary beers with a friend who likes to drink very much. I have always had BAD hangovers, so I’m very careful about drinking too much. We hadn’t caught up in a while, and I had just finished my work for the day when he texted to meet at a nearby brewery. I decided to go, partly because I felt good about my day’s work, and because I hadn’t visited the Yaletown Brewing Company before, and I need to see more of the city. Left to my own devices, I don’t step out as often as I should!

After the beers, we decided to grab a taco from a place down the street. But the taco place also had more drinks to offer, and my friend insisted we drink some more. By now, getting quite tipsy, I found it tough to say no. So we had another beer, and also a completely unnecessary tequila shot.

What a waste, a voice inside me said. You’re going to ruin tomorrow, you idiot. (Thankfully, I did not suffer a hangover.)

Looking to get something good from this experience, I made a drawing of the server who came with our drinks.

When she brought us the bill, I showed her the drawing I had made. She told me she’d had a terrible, busy day, and was probably going to cry herself to sleep that night. But if I gave her the drawing, it would make it a wonderful day and she would be delighted. I thought about it for only a second before deciding to give her the drawing.

Under normal circumstances, I don’t even show my art to the subjects, let alone give it to them. Perhaps it was the alcohol that made me do it, or maybe it was her story, but I thought to myself - What greater purpose can art serve than bringing happiness to someone that needs it?

I’ve wondered about the trajectory that I follow as an emerging artist, the path that is prescribed for us all in this line of work. The better you become as an artist, the more exclusive your work becomes, the fewer people are able to afford it, and the richer your clients get.

The idea, then, is that the mark of a successful artist is how many of your patrons are privileged, rich people. Art, then, exists only to ultimately serve the wealthy? Is that what I want to become?

I don’t know how to change things. I can only do what I can do. And my efforts are towards bringing my art to as many people as I can. I don’t want to be exclusive. I don’t want to be hidden in someone’s private collection. I don’t belong to them, nor do my lines.

What are the paths I can follow to make this happen? Are there paths, or do I have to make my own?