In my last post—sorry for the length—I touched on a few observations I had for my students when they stated that art was hard and that was one of the reasons why they believed kids prefer sports to art. That may be a piece of it, but I think there is another component that plays a significant role: sports, especially in neighborhoods, build camaraderie and friendship—both of which are positive and powerful intrinsic motivators. I believe this motivation is a key component that drives sports involvement up while visual arts involvement down.

Drawing, painting and many other visual arts aren’t group activities. Rather, they are solitary endeavors that pull you away from friendships of the nature you see develop on neighborhood courts and ball fields. A monthly meeting or weekly painting group meets briefly. Suffice it to say, artists aren’t known for playing well together. Artistic temperament aside, developing a craft requires hours of practice that rarely involves others except when feedback is being sought.

Easy Access

Think about it: sports friendships are not only built around playing together but also joining in to watch a favorite team or complain about a favorite player’s recent slump. So, we find those friendships on the court being nurtured by weekly get-togethers to watch games that are on at all hours throughout the day and night thanks to the preponderance of cable sports channels.

Such venues simply don’t exist for visual artists. (If I’m wrong, please let me know!) If nothing else, I find that many visual artists, in an effort to practice their craft, turn the TV off not on.

A Final Note

Consider that there is little change in the individual sports enthusiasts’ friendships as aging occurs. Friends may move away but they still text or talk about “the game” or a favorite player. They may even participate in the same fantasy league together. Lifestyles change but, again, that doesn’t inhibit the core value of the friendship.

With art, there exists the fear of diminishing returns. As an artist moves through different stages of life (job, marriage, family), he may find it more difficult to pursue his art and so see his skills deteriorate. Because of the isolation, it can become easy to withdraw further instead of fight your way back to the level of proficiency you once had. And, as my students rightly say, art is hard.

My next post will touch upon contemporary culture’s influence on the minds of students.