The Era of the Starving Artist is Over.

Let us be clear. The era of the "starving artist" is over. The stratification of the art markets has given artists the option to find a niche segment and exploit it for financial gain. At least the ones who know what they're doing. The artist that buys into the anti-capitalist, profit is evil mentality is a fool. The bleeding heart artist, so concerned about social ills, therefore has a moral imperative placed before him to make as much money as possible and then donate some or all of the proceeds to charity if he chooses to do so. This is much more effective than using one's art to complain about the situation. Activist art is waste of time if there is no motive to gain profit from it. With the many channels available to us today, there is no reason one cannot push one's art before the masses. Let the market decide. And let the market pay for art.