Art must be given away to maintain its gift value, and the artist must fully nourish their creative spirit by sharing their art. But once the work is done, if the artist holds onto his painting, doesn’t show it, doesn’t share it, keeps it in a closet for no one to see-the art stalls out and ceases to be a gift. Art moves through the artist first: creative inspiration arrives as a gift, which gives the artist the momentum to do the work (“talent” is another gift, not to mention the luxury of time). So, if people pay money for art, is it a commodity? Hyde argues that art functions more like a gift because of the emotions involved, the soul work the artist put into the art, and because art creates a connection between giver and receiver.Īrt also is more like a gift than capital because art thrives when it moves. When you buy something, on the other hand, no bond is created the checkout person never thinks of me again. Gifts are, Hyde says, an important way to create ties between strangers: a gifted cigarette, cookies for the new neighbors. Hyde’s book is a study of gift-giving and the relationship between an artist and the recipient of the artwork (a reader, in my case). Masie Cochran, an editor at Tin House, called my agent and said she wanted to buy it, “as long as she reworks the scene where the sleepwalking sister kills all the chickens.”Īnd then, finally, only then, perhaps to celebrate, I bought and read The Gift. I was one of the lucky ones, and my first book, Rabbit Cake, was bought, eventually, following a healthy amount of rejection.
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