Is talent enough? Gatekeepers decide

I’ll admit that my visceral reaction against gatekeepers and elitism is simplistic and, frankly, pretty childish—I don’t like feeling left out, and I don’t want anyone else to feel excluded either. The idea that some people and their work are good enough to warrant an audience and others are not, and that a cliquish group decides which is which, has never sat well with me.

If our culture sentries let through just the best of the best, maybe I’d feel less annoyed. Alas, being good at something does not guarantee success. Talent helps, but just as important are perseverance, big boobs, good hair, the right name, knowing how to schmooze, being likable, not rocking the boat. Luck. And yes, attracting the attention of someone who holds the keys to whatever gate you want to access. Someone with influence. Someone who ushers your work into the world.But here’s what wrinkles my shirt: Because taste varies so widely, who’s to say what’s worthy and what’s not?

Last year, an article by Joe Flood (“Who’s An Artist Anyway?”) declared audiences are the new deciders. My friend, Claire Guyton, shares a similar view. I’d argue that gatekeepers still wield considerable power and artists cannot avoid them. By definition gatekeepers control one-to-many communication, and isn’t that what artists want? Their one voice to reach the many?

Success in any artistic field is a bit like a game of musical chairs. No matter what, there are never enough seats to accommodate all players. Yet even if we could imagine infinite outlets (or even if you argue the Internet has made that vision reality), would everyone find an audience?

One reason gatekeepers exist at all is that people do not have limitless time. Most of us simply can’t spend our days surveying all that’s out there and deciding what to read, listen to, watch, buy—we’re too busy making a living, raising kids, walking dogs, buying groceries. Instead, we turn on the radio or television, listen to Terry Gross, go see the movie our friend recommended, read what the Post or City Paper editors think we’d enjoy, maybe follow a few blogs. And if we head to iTunes to buy music or Amazon (or our local bookstore) for a good read, what will we find? Creative work selected, produced, and marketed by a series of gatekeepers.

The landscape is changing, for sure. Today any potential writer, musician, actor, filmmaker, or artist has at their disposal many high-tech ways to reach the public—YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, their own blog. And community art galleries abound. But, to make a name—like, a really big name—people still talk about breaking through. Even the ones who build an online presence do so with hopes of that coveted prize, a mass audience, and the chances of finding that audience without a gatekeeper are slim. Your YouTube video might garner a thousand or a million hits, but that won’t guarantee you a record deal and airplay on a major radio station. (If that’s the kind of thing you’re looking for.) That’s why people want to send books to Oprah Winfrey and music to Ellen DeGeneres—to catch the eye (or ear) of someone who already has a huge following and who might help them storm the gates.

We can fume at the status quo, resent it, fight it, grow bitter. Or we can do our best to deal with it. The only element creators can control, of course, is output. Get better at our chosen craft. Keep putting our work out there, despite rejection. And though we compete with friends and peers, support them as well. Nothing guarantees traditional success, but we can build connections along the way—not for networking’s sake but to enrich our souls and build a satisfying life filled with interesting, creative people.

And if we want to help subvert this dominant paradigm, we can champion the creative works we admire. We already do this, and have forever, telling our friends about great music, good writers, etc. But I think anyone who believes art is important must make a greater effort to tell friends what we like and why—using Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and good-old word-of-mouth. To become the Ellens and Oprahs for our little slice of civilization. And, of course, support our favorite creatives with money. Purchase handmade items on Etsy or at local art fairs. Buy a painting at the next art show we attend. Support our favorite band. Take a writer out to eat. Or buy her book, even—especially!—if it’s self-published.

So what do you think? Are gatekeepers a necessary evil? (Or just evil? Or just necessary?) Does an elite class still control what we see, read, and listen to? Are new technologies and people with alternate views changing the way it all works? What about events like Artomatic? Artists: What strategies do you use to share work and build an audience?

Let’s start this conversation, right here, right now.