Labels: Paralyzing or Helpful?

Her name is actually Rachel.

Imagine you're at an art show. Or imagine you're at Japantown, or at the supermarket, or at a bookstore, or an art supply store (because honestly that's likely the only places you'll ever find us). Now imagine that we walk up to you and ask you "what do you do?"

What you're most likely to do, especially if you've never met us in person, is to say "Oh, I'm a ______," where that blank is filled in with your job title. Likely, you're probably going to add in who you work for as well if it's a well-known large company. We very often attribute the question of "what do you do?" to mean "what is your job and what company do you work for?"

For us, that's just another conversation point, but for most people, it's a significant indicator of status. If you're a "CEO at a Fortune 500 company," that (most of society thinks) also means you're important, wealthy, competent, and pretty amazing. Society has taught us to create labels for ourselves and what we do, and the media and our own experiences have influenced what we believe about these labels.

The truth of the matter is that we are and are not what labels make us out to be, and that's why they are so powerful and dangerous at the same time. When we allow others to label us and box us in with their own preconceived notions of what go along with those labels, we begin to believe it and get trapped. We start believing that we're talentless, or poor, or we can also start believing that we're talented, competent, and awesome.

If you work or have worked in the (usually) unglamorous service sector like we have, you'll know that because of your job, people won't take you seriously. It's not seen as a "real job" or a "career," and it can totally make you feel like crap. Monkey will admit that when people who he went to school with would come in to his work, he'd feel a little bit embarrassed that he was still doing retail work while they were driving BMWs and were surgeons and lawyers and researchers and project managers, and all the other job titles that society thinks are super awesome and valuable. However, you can let the labels change you, or you can change the labels. Keep reading and we'll show you how.

In reality, there are probably three things you can do. You can let the label define who you are (don't do it!), you can embrace the labels given to you (easier if it's something you like), or you can change the labels. Because you're awesome, we already know you're not going to let the label define who you are. Even if you've done that in the past, since you're reading this, you now are more educated than you were before, so stop and scratch that option off.

You have two things you can do. You can embrace the labels given or you can change the labels. Let's cover option one: Embracing the labels.

If you're going to embrace the labels given to you, they had better be one that you actually enjoy. Say you're a staff art director at Wizards of the Coast, massive publisher of Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: the Gathering, and basically all the geek-tastic, drool-inducing things Monkey loves. You really enjoy your job, and are happy with your life. So what should you do? Hang out with your tribe. When you're with more people who identify as you do, you will reinforce the value of your label.

If this is you, awesome. Continue on and be proud of your label, but stick with us. You might want to do the following exercise anyway to figure out how you can make yourself even more awesome and happy.

Chances are, if you're reading this, you're not 100% happy with the label given to you. Maybe you're a high-salary CEO but you hate your job. Maybe you'd rather be known as an award-winning writer. Maybe you're a barista but would rather be a novelist. Maybe you're a staff art director at Wizards but would rather be a professional athlete or a biologist for the government. Whatever it is, if you're unhappy with the labels given to you, then it's time to change them.

Really, if you know us, any of our magical one-step things is usually a lot more involved than it seems, but here's the single-step method of changing your labels:

Step 1. Give yourself a specific job title that sounds super legit and cool. "Custodian" seems pretty boring compared to "Director of Groundskeeping and Improvements." "Blogger," doesn't quite have the ring of "Weekly columnist for an online publication." Throw this stuff down at parties and people will think you're pretty awesome.

Alternate Step 1. If your job has nothing to do with what you really want to be doing, then just say what you want to be doing, not what you are. We're not telling people to lie and say you're the CEO of Chronicle Books, but you can be the CEO of your own company. Maybe you hold down a retail job or work at a restaurant to pay the bills, but you can still be the owner of a small business at the same time. We're co-founders and owners of Monkey + Seal, an online apparel and design company that specializes in illustrations and screen-printed neckties, and we were all of that even when we both held down retail jobs. You can be the owner of Company XYZ, that specializes in your dream job.

That's it. Yes, we know that you also have to do the work of making a website or some business cards even, or getting a business license, but if you don't start writing your own labels and your own scripts, you'll always be stuck letting other people tell you who you are.

In Eiichiro Oda's manga and anime One Piece (we really need to write a book called "Everything I need to know in life I learned from One Piece), the main protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy constantly introduces himself in this way. "My name is Luffy. I'm going to be the Pirate King." In the world of One Piece, the pirate king is almost a mythical status, one that no one in the past 22 years has achieved. It's a pretty unbelievable thing to say, like claiming to be the best painter in the world, or to be the best writer on the planet, but the way Luffy says it, he damn well believes it, and his strength and determination soon makes believers about everyone he meets.

The point of the One Piece reference is that it is a perfect example of someone taking labels and using it to their advantage. Luffy's belief in his future is so strong that he convinces everyone around him that he really will, despite all initial impressions, end up as the greatest pirate in the world. This determination gathers a crew of equally-determined individuals who together will realize their dreams as one.

When you are writing your next "About" page, or writing your first one, think about who you are and who you want to be. Claim your dreams and your labels proudly and let them become self-fulfilling prophecies.

If you are ready to grab your life and chase your dreams, tell us who you are. Post a comment and say hello. By making a public declaration, you're going to be one step closer to realizing your potential. Yes, it's scary, but if you let fear rule your life, you'll never get anywhere. So we encourage you to do it here and leave a comment introducing yourself, with all the labels you choose, to the world. It's your life, and it's your choice, but if you want to be that person we know you can be, take the first action and step into your new identity.

The Artist's Multiple Identities

Oftentimes, the artist is described as being manic, we crave solitude to spend time with our work, yet we need to be immersed in life and people in order to experience them and relate them into our art. These two "Identities," of The Introverted Individualist and The Connected Humanist seems very much at odds with each other. And surprisingly, besides the two mentioned, there are more identity aspects that reside in the artist; we often battle between two sides of many coins: we have visions of Humility and Grandeur: of responsibility to be the creative "witness or recorder" in our society while simultaneously we crave to be recognized for that role. Van Gogh often expressed the similar duality that he is a Servant, a creative channel for society/god and at the same time, he has feelings of grandeur as the Savior, the artist who could bring about change in society through his art.

As an artist, you may have realized or come across some of these identities already, either in yourself or other artists:

The Activist - the artist intwined with politics and culture

The Entertainer - the artist who's goal is to amuse

The Warrior - "Art is a Battle" - Edgar Degas

The Careerist/ Productionist - "You tell me what to create, and I'll make it."

The Outsider - the artist who sees himself as not belonging to his society or human race

The Witness - I must record the society of today through my art

The Meditator - "art is in the mind, when it is on paper, it is no longer the purity of what I have imagined"

The Trickster - People buy bad art all the time. I'll create something that I don't care for and charge a ridiculous price and laugh at the stupidity of people for buying into my bandwagon.

. . . These are just a few of the artist identities and they are all very complex.

Why is it even important to know what your identity(ies) are as an artist? Often we do things that seem contradictory, it is because all these artist identities are at interplay with each other. Because these identities often define our roles as artists, it unfortunately often brands us early on and limits our choices. And external events only makes the identity crisis of the artist more complex.

Take an actor who is trained in all aspects of acting, but her/his first handsomely paid gig was in stand-up comedy. S(he) appears in more stand-ups and gets picked up by film producers to do a similar role, in a comedic film. It is not hard for this actor to conclude, I am a comedian, an Entertainer, I make people laugh and society will pay me for it. Were I to do drama, they may not take me seriously. It may even have the opposite effect and people will laugh at me. . .

Now this artist identifies her/himself as the Entertainer, with the expected role that as soon as s(he) is in front of the camera, it is to make people laugh. Although this identity can potentially provide the artist many future paid opportunities for more entertainer roles, the artist becomes cornered and limited. And worse, s(he) limits her/himself by choosing and only sticking to this one identity.

The "opposite" identity can also be true. Take the "Intellectual/ The Shaman/ or Avant-Garde Artist" who is often concern with meaning-making, their art has to be deep. Sometimes, so deep that no one else can dive that far down. This artist believes s(he) must create never before seen work, work that is deep, thoughtful, and new/unfamiliar. This artist refuses to do "commercial" work or "accessible" work for the public. S(he) will not allow herself to "play" to create works for "gist" or simple entertainment. The artist perhaps does not receive the feedback, recognition, or understanding that s(he) deserves and expects. The public is alienated by this artist's work. And the artist becomes alienated to themselves.

Take another example, the Hobbyist - this artist believes that they are creating art for a hobby. While in some aspects this is a positive to not always take on activities as a life-long career, the negative of this identity could be that this artist will never take their art to the "next level" or take it seriously. The act of creating or showing their art in public becomes excused or downplayed by their identity, "it is just a hobby."

To be a "successful artist" you will need to understand and honor all the different aspects of your artist identities; you will need to get to know which one is your primary role, or whether you juggle several, and understand that each identity has its own shadow side. There are positive and negative aspects of each identity and you may also find yourself in simultaneous conflict and at odds with yourself. You will need to learn how to make decisions NOT based solely on what your "identity" is at the time, but ask yourself questions:

whether you are moving closer to yourself or society?

whether the act of creating in this way connects you or disconnects you to what you believe is your purpose as an artist.?

if I were a different or opposite identity than what I'm most comfortable with right now, would I make the same decisions? (For example, if I were a humanist and not an entertainer) would I come to the same conclusions?

Remember, that identity is always flexible. You don't always have to choose. But there is always a danger in not knowing who you are, either. You can start new at any time. You are not bound by your past decisions or how you saw yourself then. We are continually recreating ourselves every day. If you do not change your behaviors, you will get the same results as you did yesterday. So nurture and manifest the identity(ies) that best serves what you want out of life.

Get to know the different multitude of identities that accompanies in being an artist, understand it, debate it, accept that this is part of the process as an artist and honor it. Balance and introspection is the key.

Process/Review: Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Seal is currently reading this book that she borrowed from a friend. Whether as a painter, a writer, or any kind of artist, we are constantly trying to communicate our vision. This book gives easy-to-read insight into why some ideas "stick" better than others and how we can use it to help us be more effective in our art. The two brothers Chip and Dan Heath, authors of the book, have spent many years researching . . . why is it that we remember the latest fashion trend, or the workplace gossip . . . and urban legends, myths, and conspiracy theories spread faster than our memory of an important healthcare bill. This book is for anybody: an artist trying to appeal to a gallery, a parent trying to pass on an anecdote, a nonprofit trying to secure a grant. . .

You can find the book at any bookstore. I recommend used bookstores like Green Apple on Clement & 6th in SF.

Monkey + Seal know that successful branding is one of the most crucial elements of any successful business, so every little hint and trick helps. Especially as a collaborative creative team, Monkey and Seal have been struggling with our brand identity. While we each have our own distinct style (see below), we do try to keep our colors consistent for our promotional stuff, and we stamp our heads on everything and use the same font. However, in the next few months we are going to be developing more collaborative work - so keep your eyes peeled and good luck making things stick!