TOW #13 "The Death of the Artist—and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur" by William Deresiewicz

          William Deresiewicz is an acclaimed editorial writer who has been writing for The Atlantic since 2014, and recently released his own novel. He focuses his writing around common trends in American culture, usually focusing his work around the arts and literature. Hence, the subject matter of his piece, "The Death of the Artist—and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur" does not come as much of a surprise. Deresiewicz begins this piece with a lesson in art history, as well as information on the ever-changing nature of what defines art. For the most part, this section is very factual. Additionally, he uses statements from many historians to add to the overall credibility. This demonstrates that what he is saying is correct and factual, which sets him up to have a credible opinion later in the piece. He also highlights the various definitions of the word artist, and the way that expectation of what an artist should be has changed drastically along with society. In doing so, he creates a juxtaposition with what artistry was, as opposed to what it is now. By adding such emphasis to the vast differences, Deresiewicz is able to demonstrate to his readers that the current definition of art was not always the norm. In many ways, Deresiewicz's writing is a reaction to the art movement that is happening now. The main two aspects of the modern-art world that he highlights are the nature of artists to take on various mediums, as well as the simple fact that in the twenty-first century popularity benchmarks the success of a piece. Although neither of these things are necessarily bad in their own right, Deresiewicz is able to give them both a very negative connotation through nuances created by his choices of vocabulary. He uses words such as, "sink, mourn, disappear, lose, etc." to point his readers in what he believes is the right direction, without forcing his opinion at them. This also helps set up the many rhetorical questions that he employs, in which he gives his audience lots of room to think for themselves- after he has given them a great deal of evidence supporting his opinion. Readers of The Atlantic are generally very well-educated, so it is safe for him to assume that they will logically evaluate the issue he presents on their own. Through his references of credible sources, juxtaposition, carefully chosen diction, and rhetorical questions, Deresiewicz creates a very strong argument that makes his audience reconsider the definition of art that has become a societal norm. I really enjoyed this piece, as it was very informative and really made me question myself in a sense of my own artwork and preconceived notions I had about what it means to truly be an artist.

I accessed this article on The Atlantic's website after first seeing it on Mr. Miller's website, and I would definitely recommend checking it out: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/01/the-death-of-the-artist-and-the-birth-of-the-creative-entrepreneur/383497/