“For the first time in history, most of us have the chance to decide what to do next, what to make, how to deliver it. Most of us won’t take that chance, but it’s there.”

– Seth Godin, The Icarus Deception

I can’t say that I agree with everything Godin writes. I don’t share his cynicism about the conventional world economy for a start.

But I do agree that the platform for people to express themselves – to “make art” – is more accessible than ever before. And the pressures for people to stay in the confinement of their “normal” box are just as strong as they ever were.

So I see new opportunities, but I don’t share Godin’s viewpoint that the only alternative to making art is some kind of Orwellian banality. Sure, some people choose to live a quiet, banal life, while others choose to live on the edge and make art.

But the important thing here is that it’s a free choice. Without that we’d be trying to live someone else’s dream, and that can never be art.