Two Million Artists

The Arts and the Armed Forces each employee 2 million people in the US!

Other interesting numbers:

• Between 1970 and 1990 the number of artists doubled in the United States
• Women outnumber men only among dancers, designers and writers
• The only kinds of artists declining in numbers are fine artists, art directors and animators
• About 1 in 3 artists are self-employed
• More Americans identify their primary occupation as artist than as lawyer, doctor or police officer
• Median income for artists was $42,000 for men and $27,300 for women
• Artists are twice as likely as the overall labor force to have graduated from college

The definition of artists is rather broad (see the graphic to the left).

This was from a new report "Artists in the Workforce" just published the the National Endowment for the Arts. You can download a free PDF of the 150 page report by clicking here.

Comments

[Bill Knight]

Fantastic header image today! Grandeur from my armchair. Uplifting, precisely that.

It would be my guess that this image would test well for health purposes. Do images get tested? A new soft drink is never released without thorough taste testing. I think this is a good flavor!

[Bill Knight]

PS. Why mess with success? If one image is better than another, then oughtn't the best image be the same, in every room, in every hospital? What a trip that would be! A patient would never feel cheated by the luck of the draw of having a downer of an image in her room.

[Elaine Poggi]

Since patients all have different opinions on what uplifts them, the best solution is an art cart, so that they can choose the image that does it for them!

[hdomke]

Bill,
You ask " Do images get tested? "
I actually do have my images tested by independent professionals.

It has helped me to be more objective about my own work. Artists get so wrapped up with a given piece of art that it is hard to look at it without considering the history. If it was hard to make, or if it was personally meaningful might make me give it more value, but that means nothing to the viewing public.

Having independent assessment has been very valuable. I'm not sure I will continue to do that because I have a sense now of how to see through their eyes.

[Bill Knight]

Aha Elaine! You aren't so evidence-based in your thinking! :^)

Evidence based theory seems quite polarizing and that one must somehow orient oneself to it, if you are in the field. I like your approach of trying to give the patient what the want, regardless of theory!

If images did have a profound impact on how patients heal, I would think matters of patient preferences would be the first thing to go from the list of a designer's concerns. It would become solely a matter of giving the patient what is good for them, like it or not. It seems entirely possible, even likely to me, that an image which could stimulate an interactive response from the patient would be one that is distinctly uncomfortable, causing the patient's neural pathways to jump-to in a coping response. Perhaps in the future there will be a field of image therapy, if there isn't one already. That research is still so sketchy in this area suggests, though, that there isn't.

This is such a weird territory, thinking of such outlandish things an image doctor who might heal by wielding icons. To me it looks very strange standing alongside skeptical sober-sided, physics based allopathic medicine. But strange is good!

[Elaine Poggi]

Henry, you have posted several discussions on your blog about art carts. One that I found quickly was from April 26, 2007. I have pasted part of it after my discussion. Do you think that Dr. Upali Nanda did not use evidence based research to arrive at the results of her research on the art cart?

Was the independent assessment that you used done by well people or ill people? Well people look at art entirely differently from ill people. That's why most of the research on this subject is testing the patients on their reaction to art placed in front of them, not the reaction of the designers, staff, etc. I trust the patient to choose the art that will help him/her feel more relaxed, thus less stressed and more likely to heal faster.

April 27, 2007
New research continues to support the idea that nature images are the "people's choice" in hospitals. Furthermore, patients appreciate the ability to pick the art that hangs on their walls.

The post on March 27th discussed “artotheques” where patients can select the art that hangs in their rooms. St. Luke’s in Houston has a similar program which they call the “Art-Cart”.

Dr. Upali Nanda recently conducted some research on the Art-Cart program. Some of her key findings were:

Choosing paintings becomes a means for patients to interact with volunteers and thus provides social support.
Choice in paintings can give patients a perceived sense of control.
Patients tend to create narratives/stories around the pictures in their rooms, especially if the image contains characters or elements they can relate to.
Landscapes, non-threatening animals and flowers are the most popular.

[Elaine Poggi]

P.S. I forgot to mention that most if not all of the art on the art cart should be of appropriate nature images, based on evidence-based research!!