An Artist Like George Costanza
The Seinfeld episode “The Masseuse” has Jerry and George on a double-date with their girlfriends. George being George, he behaves quite obnoxiously, and Jerry’s date, Jodi, ends up not liking him.
George becomes obsessed with Jodi’s disapproval, and his futile attempts to make her like him eventually drives away his own girlfriend, Karen, a woman who actually liked George for who he was (that is, until he started spending all his time trying to win over someone who didn’t like what he was all about in the first place).
As an artist, a harsh critique is difficult to ignore. I’ve spent countless hours trying to win over folks who don’t even like the kind of art—in general—that I make, let alone my own specific work.
Eventually, I realized that A) I was driving myself crazy attempting to make such a ridiculously hard sell, and B) in the process of trying to change one person’s steadfast disapproval, I was losing focus on creating the sorts of things that got other people interested in my art in the first place.
I lost Karen in an attempt to win over Jodi.
Don’t make art for people who don’t like your art.
