No artist is ever guaranteed a significant monetary return for his work or efforts. Not everyone can afford to buy great art. Nor are all artists appreciated equally well. Even more affordable options like NFTs previewed on Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) or Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) end up being trends as time goes on. A true artist needs to satisfy his own creative instincts first and foremost.
“A lot of people ask you if you’re going to create the next big valuable piece, but I don’t think that’s an artist’s actual goal,” he explains. “Of course you want your work to be appreciated, of course, you want it to be purchased, but it doesn’t have to be as part of an investment plan. We just want people to like the work, to begin with..”
Iyer enjoys creating Neomodern, Abstract, and Conceptual Art. He is also heavily influenced by Japanese comic art culture. These paintings are popular with younger artists and younger consumers, creating a market that doesn’t necessarily have to rely on investment purchases to create steady work for the artists. People often make this kind of art with the intent of expressing who they are as people, instead of focussing on how much money they can have in the bank.
“It’s the kind of stuff that looks cool in a bedroom or an office,” Iyer explains. “It still has that expression of your typical art piece, but it’s modern to the point where it can blend in with the rest of a room or whatever layout you’re working with.”
Iyer’s themes center around human emotions, strengths, and vulnerabilities. His work also delves into multiple personas hidden inside the human psyche, threatening to come out. All of this is loosely tied to his own experiences. These expressions are able to come out more because he isn’t entirely focused on creating art for profit, and the same is true for many other expressive creators.
Iyer aspires to be an independent artist, whose work will speak to others who have feelings similar to his own. Independent work, and work targeting a more specific, niche audience, gives creators the chance to own all of their work, and find a loyal audience who will always support the artists’ work..
“Art is a tool that transcends all barriers of communication, language, culture, and vocabulary,” he says. “It is here to stay, now and forever, waiting to be explored and expanded to greater heights and depths of human emotions and experiences. Human angst and universal issues of the self and our cosmos, all need expression in unique ways every day.”
For many artists, success isn’t defined by money, but by successful expression. The same is true for Iyer, who has used art to overcome his hearing disability and effectively communicate with those around him. Art is an outlet for him to show people what he can do, despite the challenges life presents to him on a day-to-day basis.
“Success, for me, is the ability to confront and deal inventively with the obstacles that come my way,” he expresses. “Success lies in finding ways out of a labyrinth of hazy issues in a strange world. Success is knowing I am different and rising up like a phoenix out of my own burnt remains.”
This unique perspective on success gives Iyer and other artists with similar views a chance to pursue careers without being focused on lucrative returns. Art’s value lies in the impact on their lives and any profits are an addition to the feeling their work gives them.
