no. 13

artistry: it’s all around us

One of the many essential things I was thinking about the other day is talent. You may think that’s a bit of an odd and random thought – but hear me out.

While doom-scrolling, as one does, and having a deep dive on the creator who is constantly on my feed, Ari at Home, for those of you not as online as I am, Ari Miller is a one-man band who spontaneously collaborates with strangers on the streets of New York. He blends hip-hop, neo-soul, funk, and anything you can think of, really, using keyboards, mics, and loopers to create tracks. Not too sure how he comes up with all of it on the spot. Great work.

Of course, he himself is insanely talented. Goes without question. But the thing that really got to me was the people he encountered. They have such an unexpected sound and have the ability to become artists themselves if they want to. The flow. The lyrics. You would think they’ve been doing this for years. Now, of course, New York is a city filled with a huge creative and artistic population, but I would never have thought it would be to that extent. And it’s everyone. All around.

And that’s when I started thinking:

How much talent is around us without ever realising?

We always see the “successful” artists. The popular artists. But what happened to those of us who never got to that point? Those of us who left our talent for a “real job”. If you look closely, it’s everywhere. That accountant who wanted to play guitar. Or that consultant whose dream it was to have their paintings in an art gallery. How many of us have left what they truly wanted to do? Will they ever get a suitable outlet for their talent? Even looking at fashion, we can see it.

Countless students graduate from the top fashion colleges in the world, but of these, how many do we actually see at the helm of top companies? Obviously, it takes time to build up the experience for these roles, but it seems that lately, the top spot may not even be about skill. Celebrities such as Pharrell Williams and Jaden Smith are creative directors of fashion brands, but I don’t remember them having fashion experience. Don’t get me wrong, I love what Williams has done at Louis Vuitton. However, I can’t help thinking, what would the collections look like under someone completely different? Are these big companies just looking for a PR move and making it harder for emerging artists to take their place in the world? It's difficult to navigate, and not necessarily true for some fashion houses; however, we cannot ignore it.

Although right now is a bit of a question mark in the fashion world. People are leaving their posts left, right, and centre. It will be a musical chairs situation, with the same designers making their rounds at different companies. Or will someone surprise us? Take a chance with someone new. Someone with a different vision. We all love the Gallianos, the McQueens, the Yamamotos of the world. But what about everyone else who didn’t get that chance? The sheer volume of people whose stories we’ll never learn.

I promise I didn’t set out for this to sound so sad, but surely it’s true. All these crazy talents that may be stuck cutting out patterns for someone else. Or worse – not doing anything at all. It makes you wonder about several different things. Or maybe that’s just me, having an existential crisis.

It never ceases to amaze. The amount of talent that people have. The amount of niche knowledge that people have. You can be sitting in a room filled with ten people, each of them with an entirely varied set of skills and expertise.

By Natasha Joshi