A little survey about the most important jobs and the least important jobs was posted on Facebook. Artists were listed as least important. We are one of the oldest professions of them all. Valued 50,000 years ago for news of the hunt, reported through drawings on the cave walls. Kids were shown what was good eating - and what would prefer to eat them. Back then the artist had two jobs, first a hunter, second a teacher/news reporter. Some artists still have two jobs today.
Ever think about what today's artist does? Well they brighten the cereal boxes that start your day. They create colorful signs and billboards that tell you what you need in life to be happy. They portray beautiful, flawless women pointing at tires to get you the best for your car. They design the clothes that end up in resale shops, keeping us all well dressed in the latest while keeping two businesses going.
Artists get you to look at life and at things. That flawless face and figure on the billboard can be gotten by a great doctor who can fix that nose or lift those breasts. For good or bad, artists can plant ideas. We may not realize just what artists do, but artist's touch everyones life every day. After the looters were done, and windows boarded up, young artists said everything will be okay by filling those drab plywood covered windows with paintings. Not all murals and art are to one's taste, but it's the thought that counts - like Dad’s Christmas tie with the Hula girl on it, or when Mom puts on that summer-print dress and her spirits are lifted.
The doctors and nurses who are today's real heroes love buying their kids goofy stuffed animals created by artists. They like hanging art in their homes to bring beauty back into their lives. We artists may do a half-ass job at times but people do appreciate it, even if they don't know it. I have seen garbage collectors save paintings, pulling them up front into their trucks to take home.
