Are you still an artist?

I was listening to a podcast recently of Alfred Molina (Spiderman 2, The Fiddler on the roof, Art, Frida) talk about his career. Toward the end he stated that he didn't believe that Actors were Artists. Now of course this struck a nerve with me, but instead of throwing down my iPod in a rage and swearing to the moon, I decided to listen on. He stated that while Theatre may be an art form, that Actors are not Artists, they are merely doing a job. Now I have heard this same exact line of reasoning before from the likes of Kurt Russel, Harrison Ford, and Pierce Brosnan (all film stars), but I have never heard it from someone with a pretty sizable and extensive Theatre career. I chalked it up to having never trod the boards, until now. So what gives?

He continued to try and prove his point and it gave me pause as he told this story:

" I asked my class one day to raise their hands if they believed they were artists, invariably they all raised their hands. I then asked them if they were playing King Henry V were they still an Artist, again they all raised their hands. Finally I asked if they were a waiter with no lines on screen for two seconds on a daytime soap opera were they still an Artist, and no one raised their hand."

He makes an interesting point. But he merely proves that we are snobbish about being artists, not that we aren't. We all agree that Picasso was an Artist, that Warhol was an Artist, but what about the guy that designed the Coca-Cola label or the billboard on the side of the road? Are they still artists?

It is virtually the same analogy. There is good Art and not so good Art. I doubt that Coca-Cola man would put himself on the same playing field as Picasso, but he is still an artist. Acting may be a job, but it is also an Art. The definition on Wikipedia: "Art is that which is made with the intention of stimulating the human senses as well as the human mind and/or spirit. There is no general agreed-upon definition of art, since defining the boundaries of "art" is subjective, but the impetus for art is often called human creativity."

Pretty much what an actor does, right? So should we be more snobbish about our Art or less? Shouldn't we try and reach for the Picasso, without stepping on the Coca-Cola? Doesn't this mean we have to take the time, energy, and passion with everything we do?

So maybe the question should be changed from "Are you Still an Artist?" to "What kind of Art are you creating?"

So what are we trying to do?