There may never have been a time when “artist” was a secure way to make a living, of course; there may also have never been a time when it was worse than it issupport themselves by making art, rather than by family wealth or subsidizing their craft with other jobs? There may never have been a time when “artist” was a secure way to make a living; there may also have never been a time when it was worse than it is now.
But mostly, it’s just the way it is: To make art, to make culture, means supporting your ability to do so with another source of income.It’s not easy to say when the frog starts to boil, when the water gets so hot that clearly something fundamental has changed. But maybe something strangehappened when even consumers have a job to do, a side hustle to keep culture afloat.