Happiness as a Reward for Artistic Work

Abstract

Artistic occupations enjoy a flattering image, their work being considered the opposite of alienated labor. With this perspective, happiness at work is seen as a source of satisfaction which offsets the job insecurity, unpredictable income and volatile social protection that characterize employment in the arts. This article aims to deconstruct this representation. First, self-fulfillment depends on the unequally distributed ability of artists to adjust their aspirations to the objective probability of their realization. Secondly, since happiness at work cannot always compensate for the negative impact of poor employment conditions, workers have to find satisfaction outside of the typical forms of employment. Thirdly, while artists often express their happiness, they do so because the expression of any suffering is seen as illegitimate in comparison to the suffering of workers in other economic sectors. In addition, acknowledging their suffering would question the artistic “Illusio” upon which the commitment to their chosen career is based.

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