Love this. Reminds me of a book I just read — Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico, a book about a millennial couple who live and create a life based on aesthetics and external validation from sharing those aesthetics which ultimately result in a quite empty and soulless life.
Thank you for your brain, love reading how you express this topic so so much (as always) x
really good insights here! i agree with a lot but i think there’s a sensual dimension to an artful lifestyle that can enhance an artists practice rather than detract from it, and that is in part what makes the promise so romantic
outside of the influence of branding and aspirational content, i believe there is an authentic desire to commune with life in a way that is artful, at the root, as human being
maybe that’s the balm to the problem, really. to remember / return to the felt states that created these aesthetics so long ago… cafe culture in paris, for example. which didnt become popular among artists because they wanted to have aesthetic spreads on a cute bistro table but because it was a place where you could trade ideas for hours, drink and smoke to keep warm while writing in the cold, etc etc
just my optimistic expansion (: great read. very thought provoking
exactly! artful lifestyle is part of participating in the arts/making art and it comes naturally when it is. it's the commercial and social emphasis on it that feels distracting/counterproductive to me.
so much nuance to this too since making art is such a privilege. I think it's cool to be curious about the arts and not aspire to make art too! we just gotta be a bit more honest and down to earth about it!
Thank you for this. It’s helping me to articulate something I’ve been circling - how to be inspired by aspirational content (which should be the point, right?) without letting it overwhelm/distract/derail me from my own creative ambitions (the very reasons I want to be inspired!)
"Curating an artful lifestyle has been elevated to an art form, and for many, it became a form of procrastination that stalls them from pursuing serious art projects." preach.
i feel inexplicably called out by the first paragraph viktoriia cause if you were to ask me about what the aspirational life is i would describe pretty much that. i want to say that i had come to my conclusion of an aspirational life through my own knowledge and thinking and experiences, but the fact that it's so in-line with this description and shared by many others it can only really only mean that 1) there IS a correct answer to an 'aspirational' life similar to how 2+2 is consistently 4 which is not what i think is true or 2) the idea of an aspirational life is so so very influenced by what we see on social media (see: that one girl who went to the museum wearing a cute top and dress only to find at least three other people dressed exactly the same way due to Pinterest influence)
love you how express the topic. love the messaging involved. love the margins at the end in particular as it really shows how you've been inspired to write this topic :)) it's like required/further reading in the most cohesive and adorable way, a teeny reminder that everything inspires everything else :))) thanks for sharing!!
wow - this speaks exactly to a thought I was just contemplating!! While i'm sitting here, right this second, i'm trying to finish a substack (my current form of life in the arts), and i'm contemplating why it is seeming so difficult. And I came to the conclusion that recently I've spent most of my time curating rather than creating. And while curating is a still an art form, if you sit in that part of your brain for too long, you stop developing the other part (the life in the arts part). And minutes later I just so happen to stumble upon this incredible article that is saying just that!! If that is not a sign, I don't know what is!
I love this! I've definitely used curating an artful lifestyle as procrastinating from what I actually want to do which is make art. We've put an artful lifestyle performed by celebrities on a pedestal when the arts themselves are brutally underfunded and pursuing a career in them is less accessible than ever. In that sense, I think the impulse to 'perform' an artful life is popular because these small purchases feel more accessible and low risk than pursuing a creative career. I could read about this subject all day!
This is very true, I feel like it can also lead to people taking on interests or hobbies, that are seen as what the right people are doing, rather than actually curating based on their senses that might be more likely to connect them back to their art xx
With decor I understand seeing as it’s your environment and with allot of people focused on letting go and decluttering it is a natural shift.
With fashion I agree not everyone loves clothes, it is weird to me how so many people seem so into fashion all of a sudden. People who used to not care at all, or who would not make an effort because they thought it was frivolous for example and all that mattered was what was underneath … I suppose that would take allot of energy away from their art work, if it isn’t their natural way xx
Love this and I’ve thought before, when I was doing more creative strategy, could this be a few steps away from being an artist? Mainly because my peers and I each had our own take to decks which felt artistic. Or what decides when someone is an artist versus a person - the medium and the level of tunnel-vision passion?
This reminds me of John Berger’s final essay in the Ways of Seeing.
He postulates that /all/ marketing and publicity is a means of generating a false sense of desire. He writes that “without publicity capitalism could not survive.” He also connects how art’s connotation with culture is used as a proxy for rich and enviable. (Though, the larger point of the essay is about the relationship between the oil painting tradition and modern-day marketing.)
Reading that essay (and the book as a whole) really changed how I view the world. I appreciate that your piece connects marketing + art to the concept of social capital as a whole.
Love this. Reminds me of a book I just read — Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico, a book about a millennial couple who live and create a life based on aesthetics and external validation from sharing those aesthetics which ultimately result in a quite empty and soulless life.
Thank you for your brain, love reading how you express this topic so so much (as always) x
That book is such a good view into this exact sentiment.
Brendon has a great piece that quotes this book! https://open.substack.com/pub/brendonholder/p/salt-looks-like-sugar?r=8cv3b&utm_medium=ios
really good insights here! i agree with a lot but i think there’s a sensual dimension to an artful lifestyle that can enhance an artists practice rather than detract from it, and that is in part what makes the promise so romantic
outside of the influence of branding and aspirational content, i believe there is an authentic desire to commune with life in a way that is artful, at the root, as human being
maybe that’s the balm to the problem, really. to remember / return to the felt states that created these aesthetics so long ago… cafe culture in paris, for example. which didnt become popular among artists because they wanted to have aesthetic spreads on a cute bistro table but because it was a place where you could trade ideas for hours, drink and smoke to keep warm while writing in the cold, etc etc
just my optimistic expansion (: great read. very thought provoking
exactly! artful lifestyle is part of participating in the arts/making art and it comes naturally when it is. it's the commercial and social emphasis on it that feels distracting/counterproductive to me.
so much nuance to this too since making art is such a privilege. I think it's cool to be curious about the arts and not aspire to make art too! we just gotta be a bit more honest and down to earth about it!
Thank you for this. It’s helping me to articulate something I’ve been circling - how to be inspired by aspirational content (which should be the point, right?) without letting it overwhelm/distract/derail me from my own creative ambitions (the very reasons I want to be inspired!)
"Curating an artful lifestyle has been elevated to an art form, and for many, it became a form of procrastination that stalls them from pursuing serious art projects." preach.
i feel inexplicably called out by the first paragraph viktoriia cause if you were to ask me about what the aspirational life is i would describe pretty much that. i want to say that i had come to my conclusion of an aspirational life through my own knowledge and thinking and experiences, but the fact that it's so in-line with this description and shared by many others it can only really only mean that 1) there IS a correct answer to an 'aspirational' life similar to how 2+2 is consistently 4 which is not what i think is true or 2) the idea of an aspirational life is so so very influenced by what we see on social media (see: that one girl who went to the museum wearing a cute top and dress only to find at least three other people dressed exactly the same way due to Pinterest influence)
love you how express the topic. love the messaging involved. love the margins at the end in particular as it really shows how you've been inspired to write this topic :)) it's like required/further reading in the most cohesive and adorable way, a teeny reminder that everything inspires everything else :))) thanks for sharing!!
I’m glad it resonated!!
wow - this speaks exactly to a thought I was just contemplating!! While i'm sitting here, right this second, i'm trying to finish a substack (my current form of life in the arts), and i'm contemplating why it is seeming so difficult. And I came to the conclusion that recently I've spent most of my time curating rather than creating. And while curating is a still an art form, if you sit in that part of your brain for too long, you stop developing the other part (the life in the arts part). And minutes later I just so happen to stumble upon this incredible article that is saying just that!! If that is not a sign, I don't know what is!
🤍🤍🤍 right, it gets hard to push through if you don’t consistently push through!
I love this! I've definitely used curating an artful lifestyle as procrastinating from what I actually want to do which is make art. We've put an artful lifestyle performed by celebrities on a pedestal when the arts themselves are brutally underfunded and pursuing a career in them is less accessible than ever. In that sense, I think the impulse to 'perform' an artful life is popular because these small purchases feel more accessible and low risk than pursuing a creative career. I could read about this subject all day!
beautiful writing! thank you so much for the mention <3
🤍🤍🤍
This piece really resonated with me, thank you! I felt this when in 2025 every man and their dog suddenly started talking about taste ...
This is very true, I feel like it can also lead to people taking on interests or hobbies, that are seen as what the right people are doing, rather than actually curating based on their senses that might be more likely to connect them back to their art xx
I think a lot of artists are falling into the fashion/interior decor trap this way!
With decor I understand seeing as it’s your environment and with allot of people focused on letting go and decluttering it is a natural shift.
With fashion I agree not everyone loves clothes, it is weird to me how so many people seem so into fashion all of a sudden. People who used to not care at all, or who would not make an effort because they thought it was frivolous for example and all that mattered was what was underneath … I suppose that would take allot of energy away from their art work, if it isn’t their natural way xx
this was brillant!!!! and i am going to watch Lurker tonight, brava as always
tell me what you think after!!
This is so good.
Love this and I’ve thought before, when I was doing more creative strategy, could this be a few steps away from being an artist? Mainly because my peers and I each had our own take to decks which felt artistic. Or what decides when someone is an artist versus a person - the medium and the level of tunnel-vision passion?
only one way to find out 😌
This reminds me of John Berger’s final essay in the Ways of Seeing.
He postulates that /all/ marketing and publicity is a means of generating a false sense of desire. He writes that “without publicity capitalism could not survive.” He also connects how art’s connotation with culture is used as a proxy for rich and enviable. (Though, the larger point of the essay is about the relationship between the oil painting tradition and modern-day marketing.)
Reading that essay (and the book as a whole) really changed how I view the world. I appreciate that your piece connects marketing + art to the concept of social capital as a whole.