It may be the case that as a species, humans have an inclination to reject the pursuit of art as the main calling of their own function in societies they are a part of possibly evolutionarily. To genuinely and willingly accept the burden of the arts as a member of a stable society is a precarious balancing act. The artist has to balance their self interest with artistic integrity. The individual has to be free of all restraints to include time, resources, and concerns for others to maximize how in tune they are with the intimations of their artistic intentions and fully allow the arbitrariness of thought to possess them. This requires great societal and economic stability. Most hypothetical individuals are not in the state of nature but they are not in a state where they can do whatever they please with no consideration for the future. Many of the greatest works of art were made in the most dire of situations. Those are not happy accidents, but a testament to the context inspiring said works of art. My thoughts are more about the willingness to pursue art and the origin of the connotations of the pursuit that are commonplace.
There is an innate insecurity intrinsic to artistic endeavor due to the fact that the majority of artists are forgotten to time. After all, that is the metric by which art is judged. An artwork cannot be a timeless classic without first having evidently withstood the test of time which no artist biologically will be able to. There is great risk in no forward social mobility while nearly guaranteeing using up time and resources that may very well amount to nothing.
Stability, if it is the accumulation of resources in a labor efficient way, is achieved at a much faster rate if started from a younger age going into an individual’s elder years. Generally speaking, most young people are dependents; so as long as they are even minimally provided for, an argument can be made that they already think as if they came from a place of stability for this reason, especially considering the future is still abstract to them. They may have a relatively vague idea that there is more social status or resources yet to be accumulated but they have yet to live through and experience that unlike the generation preceding them. They have yet to inherit that drive to move upwards and forwards and they cannot until they are in a situation where they have to. Paradoxically, this may be the reason why every artist eventually has to become independent regardless of how prepared they may or may not be so that they may tap into that desire but in a way balanced with the calling of their soul. That is to say, not at the cost of their artistic pursuit.
In this context, it seems reasonable that artistry and celebrity status are so intimately related. It is a logical extension and expression of the nearly absurd stability required to most genuinely tap into their art and simultaneously know themselves. It is a modern echo of the king’s court of artisans from long ago. To be the artist who impresses his king or his noble so much that he is chosen to be a part of his royal personal court is not so different than to be a celebrity with millions of dollars. In both cases the artist is given far more than needed to reasonably provide for themselves so that they may produce art unbound by the constraints of day to day living.
With no guarantee that such grandeur is reasonably attainable, many parents advise their children against choosing their primary livelihood to be a calling of the arts. They are acting as a sample of the present society to ensure that it continues to thrive by securing a sustainable role that can produce. That is ultimately expressed in the vocalization of what is perceived to be tyranny. Pursuing art is self-evidently a niche of any modern and successful society, but there is little indication that a given individual will be able to rise up to that burden successfully however the nature of the arts is such that it requires a much greater amount of failure to actualize and emerge in a society. It is a necessary trial by fire.