In a recent conversation with my therapist we were discussing suntan booths and relationships:
" The truth is, I am not sure if I want this relationship with this person. We are friends and this friendship gives me a lot. Yet I feel I have to put up with this person's habits and I use a lot of time that I could be putting to productive art work making," I said.
"Hmmm, it sounds to me like you are having a dilemma of value and price," she replied insightfully as therapists do.
"Price? What am I paying? Value?! The value of what? The person, the time, the enjoyment...? Can you explain further."
And she did.
"Well, the value of something is how much it is worth to you. The parts of it you get that you like. For example, you were talking about the benefits of taking a 3 min session in sun bathing in a booth. It cures winter blues, and for a week your mood is fantastic. Now, the potential price is perhaps certain skin conditions and more seriously other problems associated with this practise. But these are unlikely to occur in consideration of the time you spend in them. Try going for a 30 min session every other day, the the value of tanned skin would be paid for with the price of extensive aging, with possible skin cancer in the future. With perhaps other prices unknown.
So here, in this relationship with your friend, is the time spent together: is it to YOU, worth the price for the value you get out of it?"
Thus, I got down to thinking about value and price of art. For price is also consequences. If I buy an art work and look at it everyday for my whole life, it will influence my practise. That with be the price. If I like this influence it will also be a value.
What interests me, is how do I decide whether the value of making my work, establishing my own practise is worth the price? What do I get from making art, from attending art school, that I would not get from working as a social worker, or as a mechanic or a lawyer? And most importantly what do I pay for all of this?
Is it worth it?
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