Without doxxing anyone, I saw a post on Tumblr recently that had to do with web development. They listed all these prerequisites and everything, making it sound incredibly exclusive and reminding me a bit of that thing people used to say on Usenet: "to be fair, you need a high IQ to be here". The first thing I thought about was when I first started HTML back in high school and established my first Tripod account, and how for about 3 years there, I put "Web Developer" on my curriculum vitae. I thought about all the people who were thinking about starting a Neocities website who were going to see this post and be immediately convinced that they can never ever approach even the least of those requirements without spending an ass-tonne of money. Fortunately, a Neocities mutual of mine put them in their place, but it made me realise that this is the state of art in the corporate feudal state today: if it can't be immediately monetised or commodified to make a million quid for a venture capitalist, it's not worth doing and should be ignored in favour of pointless busywork; that you might be able to come to some sort of compromise as long as you're willing to spend at least $100.000 and 41 hours a week working at it for the next 4-5 years if you can find some way of keeping it relevant amidst the constantly-changing trends.
Why do I equate web development with art? Because it is art. You take something with nothing, put things together on it, and come up with something. In this case, you take a blank Notepad++ file, add code to it, and come up with a webpage. Speaking as someone with a website who also writes music and paints, making a webpage is exactly the same as painting in the Bob Ross style, with Neocities playing the role of Bob Ross. Just like on Joy of Painting, where you learn the techniques required to paint an impressionist landscape, Neocities provides you with a template whenever you make a webpage. The technique is there, but it can be added onto as you make more pages and you grow and learn as a coder. Eventually, you'll arrive at a dazzling website that looks like you spent $75.000 at university learning web development out of a book. Or, you can imitate someone else's style and arrive at a website that looks primitive only because you want it to.
It reminded me of when I used to be on Twitter back in 2019-20—you know, back when it was still a social network instead of Elon's virtual fleshlight—and I would see crap-ass art takes every other week almost. And in every single case, it was designed to empower rich white boomers at the expense of the people who, oh I don't know, actually need to make art. "If you want to write a fantasy novel, you need to travel!" (picture of a couple of white people on Mont Blanc) "In order to be a composer, you need to dedicate yourself to the advancement of art." (picture of a Juilliard-trained composer sitting in front of a 24-band mixing board)
My personal favourites are when people say, "you need to suffer for your art", and then they bring up Vincent Van Gogh. "We wouldn't have Starry Night if Van Gogh didn't have depression." Tell me you haven't read the Wikipedia article without saying "I haven't read the Wikipedia article." A, Van Gogh probably did not have depression; B, he painted that after he was already on meds, so, yeah.
Fantasy novels don't require travel, they require worldbuilding. Music composition doesn't require a dedication to the advancement of art (whatever that means), it requires a piano and the ability to modulate a C major arpeggio. Web development doesn't require a bachelor's degree, it requires a Neocities account. Art doesn't require suffering, it requires a desire to create.
If you've been waiting for a sign to draw something, paint something, sculpt, compose, write, code, or otherwise create—consider this to be it. Art is art, just MAKE it!
--31 July 2024--