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What does it mean to be a successful artist?

By: Rachel Cattle, Paul Stanley

Paul Stanley and Rachel Cattle in conversation about what defines success.

PS: What do we mean when we use the word ‘success’ or ‘successful’ in relation to the art world? What does it mean for an artist’s individual practice to be thought of as a success? How, and by whom, is this judged? Does success come through the respect of our peers, the number of exhibitions an artist has had or the amount of good reviews that have been written about their practice? Although most artists would probably put the respect of their peers at the top of this list it’s fair to say an artist’s success is not just reliant upon this, but something more, and it is this which not only judges what is seen as successful or not by known artists, but also what establishes these terms in the first place. One of the important aspects to consider here is the ‘popularity’ of an artist’s work and how this is gained. Does popularity immediately equal success, and what constitutes this status? For example, by introducing the issue of hierarchies, what happens when an artist seeks conflict with the popular media? It is impossible to cover or hope to provide an answer to all of these questions within the scope of this article. However,...

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