Reflections: The Selection Game

When did being an artist become a game of being chosen?

We create, share, submit, and wait. Somewhere along the way, making art becomes only part of what it means to be an artist. The rest is spent trying to be noticed, remembered, and selected.

There is no shortage of work. Every piece carries someone's time, ideas, and effort. Yet in a space filled with art, attention remains limited, and the rules of who receives it are rarely clear.

Some are picked almost immediately. Others remain surrounded by everything they have created, wondering what they are missing. And sometimes, the difference between being overlooked and being celebrated has very little to do with the work itself.

The strange thing about this game is how easily we begin to participate in it. We learn what attracts attention, adjust how we present ourselves, and slowly become both the artist and the thing being offered.

But what happens when the desire to be chosen begins to shape what we create?

And if the claw finally reaches us, does that mean we have won?

Digital drawing created in Procreate.