@ Ken Burch
@ Fidel
Come on, you guys. "ultraconservative"? Of course there are some artists who push the envelope more than others, and an artist has to follow his or her vision, but for most (and ultimately for all) if art doesn't resonate with the people then it doesn't go anywhere.
And if that means Dickens has to cut his books into article-sized serials, or Warhol has to draw shoes to earn a buck or if John Lennon has to make sure his songs are short enough for airplay then that's how it is. For the most part artistic breakthroughs happen, but usually they happen whle artists are doing what they do to let people know about their art and sustain themselves financially by doing what they love.
Sorry, money is not a dirty word unless an artist would rather spend time doing something else to earn it rather than creating art. And for that matter, networking and schmoozing aren't dirty words either. The only artists who can afford to ignore that are those who are either so cloistered in their own work that they don't care, or those who don't have to because they have a patron or the modern equivalent. But most of the artists I know are quite happy to find a receptive and supportive audience.