The thing about magic

It only works once.

No amount of money can buy back that moment of awe and inspiration. That same book, song, painting [fill in the blank] will never be the same again.

It changes you. For that very first time. It is the dish at that restaurant, tears rolling as you watched that film and arriving at that special city. You can’t un-see, what you’ve seen.

The magic is the connection between the art and the viewer, seeing it for the very first time.

That how the Mona Lisa ended up selling for $100 million.

The alternative is expert craftsmen in the village of Dafen, China painting replicas. Their paintings are priced by size. Day in, day out, doing what’ve done before, no emotional labour involved. You can’t fail.

If you are one of the lucky ones to be peddling in magic, the work is to lean in, do things that might not work, make a statement and connect the dots. And once you found the thing that resonates with the culture, show it to the world, and pen your style.

And perhaps after the glitz and the glamour, it’s time to get back to the work. To try and to fail. To try and try again. Until the next magic comes about. The work of an artist.

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