The Complementary Dance of Art and Economics

Duration: 31 minutes

Although Michael is as creative as they come, and Stuart's certainly no idiot himself, together, these two are a truly dynamic synthesis of academia and rock 'n roll. After a few minutes reviewing the state of art and creativity in liberal education, Michael jumps into the topic that dominates the conversation to come: the economic dimension of being an artist.

As Stu comments, "Well, on a good day, it's transparent." And on a bad day, it's not. Stu recalls that at one point in his life he didn’t pay taxes for four years. Even more astounding, out of six of his closest musician-friends, five of them had also skipped taxes for years at a time! Wow. As we can see, Stu can confirm that for artists, the goblins hiding in the unconscious are often the economic realities of human life.

But in a perfect world, artists would be free to devote their attention entirely to the creative process, right? If they can find a wealthy patron to support their work, isn’t that ideal? Well, as Michael suggests, that can be a part of the overall picture, but artists can become dissociated from aspects of their own being-in-the-world, not to mention the culture at large, if that is their only answer to the question of money.

In his own experience, Stu reports that the more truly integrated and conscious he is about all the dimensions of his life and work, the more his creativity "undeniably improves." In fact, in response to the reality of needing money to record his albums, Stu has devised some very clever ways to raise money through engaging the community of people that has grown up surrounding his work.

In the end, Michael and Stu agree, an artist that honors the collective dimensions of reality that help support their individual genius, is simply a better artist.

Whether you’re an artist or not, we invite you to listen in on the ways we can all bring a more comprehensive, integral, balanced approach to life as a human being. And balanced doesn't mean boring—you can rock the boat all the more wildly, because you’re aware of all the things keeping you floating....