Art has an unglamorous side. Yes, I know its hard to believe. With the parties and the beautiful objects and all the hip people, who would have thought. But the tough part, the kicker, the stuff that is sitting in the shadows of the room….this of what I speak, is taxes. Really in my best Seinfeld inflection….What’s the deal with taxes?
My question for any professional out there who would like to comment is, if I haven’t sold any work this year yet actively built bodies of work, marketed, entered and exhibited is my practice still in the words of my accountant ( who I love and have worked with for years through many ventures ) just a hobby? A term that when came out of his mouth through mostly just a misunderstanding of the practice of art making, still none-the-less one that took the wind out of my sails.
He was more than obliged to tell me that I should in fact long form all my expenses but still with no sales to report the term “hobby” is like a punch in the gut. For me being an artist is being an artist but I suppose without income it is…techancally to non-art professionals…a hobby?
Even this morning when I was about to mail out my client organizer complete with itemized artistic business expenses, I scraped the idea of writing those off….because, it got to me. I now feel as if I were to claim these expenses that it’s clear I would be trying to get away with something. Why is being an artist a misunderstood venture? Maybe it’s not maybe I’m overreacting…next year when I can claim many many sales, I’ll revisit the debate….
For years I have pondered the reality that a businessman can deduct a business lunch because it is a part of doing business- whether or not he gets the business- but I can’t take off the cost of sandpaper, paint, printing costs, etc. for making art- unless I reach a threshold of art income over a period of-is it 7 years?
Certainly eating is a mandatory human activity and I have to do it too, or I can’t make art.
In the 80’s, we had an active sales record and could take expenses off each year, our taxes were twice audited because they couldn’t believe we used so much of our income for art!
To answer your question from my older experience, I think the emphasis on the “business of art” has exasperated the general misunderstanding of art making, encouraged rote work and discouraged critical dialogue about real work. enough rant