How creatives balance economic and artistic imperatives throughout history is an interesting topic. Obviously it’s always going to be a compromise, and a good compromise makes everyone angry (or so I’ve heard). In Da Vinci’s time there was notably the issue of patronage, which is obviously going to be its own can of worms. Patreon/Twitch as a more modern model of patronage ameliorates the issue of putting creative control in the hands of the rich, but it only trades the problem for another, as the most successful creators there are the ones who please the crowd (and let’s just say you can be subversive or you can be popular, but you can rarely be both for long). At least a rich patron of the arts might entertain a subversive artist and promote real ideas in art for clout, for all that Da Vinci pandered to Cesare Borgia.

The main reason I took aim at capitalism in these matters is that I’ve been thinking a lot about how our industry, our creative output, and our energy is so subordinate to the larger forces of monetary policy and shareholder caprice. Entire shows have been deleted for tax write-offs. The compromises we’re making these days only make one side unhappy.