Know Your Value

Nerdvana presents Small Press Saturday – aka, Lessons Learned Self-Publishing Comics

I was recently reading “The Shape of Content,” a lecture series by artist Ben Shahn, and in his piece called “Artists in Colleges,” he offers a few international insights of American culture.

He quotes French writer Francois Mauriac: “(In the United States), man is treated as a means and no longer as an end …”

And British writer V.S. Pritchett: “Why (the United States) should not be originally creative is puzzling. Is it possible that the lack of the organic sense, the conviction that man is a machine — turns them into technicians and cuts them off from the chaos, the accidents and the intuitions of the creative process?”

Both of these quotes are particularly poignant considering the exponentially prevalent presence of AI — but, considering Shahn gave these lectures in 1956-57, these thoughts pre-date even THEN. If Mauriac and Pritchett had LITERAL technology-generated art in mind, it was merely philosophical, yet most definitely prophetic. 

More likely, they were pontificating on the near-algorithmic way in which American culture has ALWAYS been generated — through patterns of commercial success. If something WORKS, MILK it. Adaptation, sequel, reboot, repeat. REGURGITATE.

So, if you’re a creator pursuing ORIGINAL work — as original as anything can be, nowadays — how do you strive for commercial success, in the face of The Sure Thing? How can I sell my original, handmade, rinky-dink minicomics alongside  iconic stalwarts like Batman and The Amazing Spider-man?

Pricing art has been one of the art world’s most complex discussions. I’ve heard A LOT of philosophies over the years about how art could and should be priced. I’ve heard of large canvases priced by the square inch. I’ve heard of art priced by the cost of materials used. I’ve heard MANY figures for the hourly rates artists expect of and from their work. Because art is measured subjectively, it’s priced subjectively, too …

… as long as it IS. In every strata of industry, professionals get PAID for their work. I don’t want a plumbing hobbyist to work on my sink. I want to pay a professional, because payment implies accountability. It’s an exchange of expectation — of VALUE. If you don’t think art should have a cost, you don’t think it has a value — plain and simple. If you’re an artist —

Know your value.

Last week, I said getting something for free means it’s either priceless or worthless, and I mean it. The difference is, people PAY for priceless things. If they SHOULD have it, they’ll pay to GET it. Even those historically, globally priceless works, like, say, the Mona Lisa, are in museums — that charge admission. Last week, I also offered the stipulation that art CAN be given away, but that’s simply called “marketing.” Anything that’s given away for free should lead recipients to the road where they can PAY for MORE. Even Costco gives away free samples — but imagine if they didn’t SELL the product they were letting people try!

I’ve been wondering if the way creators value their art is in direct correlation to how they value themselves. I’m not NECESSARILY suggesting that underpriced art betrays a low self-esteem, but it surely can. I’m talking about what Shahn, Mauriac, and Pritchett were getting at: the priority of automation and production over originality and imagination. We trust ourselves less and we succumb to that algorithmic measure more. In the realm of comics, it’s the mentality that drawing a Deadpool print will CERTAINLY sell, so why bother going all-in on my own original characters and stories? Yes, AI cribs from artists’ original material, but WE designed that strategy a long time ago. Through sheer repetition, that lack of creative GUTS, we’ve devalued The Human Hand, including our own.

Next week, I’m going to explore some simple strategies for shaking off this mentality and pricing our original work accordingly. I’m going to talk about BELIEVING in your work, and maybe even in yourself. Believe me, it’s a lot easier to ask people to pay for your work when you believe that you’ve made something totally WORTH it. 

Russ Kazmierczak Jr.

Russ Kazmierczak, Jr. is a Phoenix-based cartoonist and the creator of Amazing Arizona Comics, a mini-comic book that satirizes local news, history, and culture with superhero adventure. He was the Phoenix New Times’ 2018 Best Storyteller and one of The Copper Courier’s “9 People Who Are Making A Difference in Arizona” in 2023. Russ has taught comics classes at Bookman’s in Phoenix and Mesa, Phoenix Art Museum, Gilbert HD South, and other venues throughout the Valley. Follow his work and inquire about his classes on Instagram @amazingazcomics.