You need one another as never before

My career was launched not in the art word as such, but in a community of dancers, composers, and artists who could afford not to be concerned about their careers at a time when this was possible. The economics of living in New York, for one thing, allowed us to immerse ourselves in ideas rather than real estate, and to have low or no expectations of making a living at what we did. Successs was measured not by the numer of shows we were invited to be in but by the respect of our peers. Again, perhaps, the result of economics. A friend of mine paid 19 dollar a month for an apartment( I paid 45), and no one questioned one another’s monerary resources. Furthermore, the pressure that comes from making a salable object that can be inserted into the market economy was entirely lacking in the production of dances. This was one more factor that allowed us to work unfettered by – and happily oblivious to – the potential for monetary rewards. 

I must admit that the ‘’good old days’’ I parade before you lasted only a few years, from around 1960 to 1964, after which a general diaspora took place – both geographically and professionally – as artists found galleries and teaching jobs and choreographers began to instiutionalize themselves with companies and boards of directors. Which seems to be the usual route of avant-garde movements. Far from judging such developments, I only wish to emphasize, with the utmost fervor, how important it is for a young artist to delay ‘’professionalism’’ as long as possible. Find some way to give yourself a chance – and time – to experiment, take risks, play, fool around, even fail, before trying to launc a career. Show your work only to a few devoted friends. Art schools should be a congenial site for this kind of engagement, and sometimes they are. But, as I have frequently found, art schools also tend to serve as launching pads for careers by fostering the same emphasis on polish and completion that one finds in the art world. Challenge yourself with what ‘’doesn’t work.’’ Know your sources and what influences show up in your work. Don’t worry about originality, but be self-critical, and find ways to accept and deliver supportive criticism among your peers. Don’t get hung up on creature comforts. They can come later. Try to see everything.

From what I can observe of younger artists today, those who are most positive about the state of the art world have banded togheter to form their own cooperatives, for exhibitions well as living and working arrangement. You need one another as never before.

Best of luck,
Yvonne Rainer
New York

This letter was published in the book: Letters to a young artist,