The Parker Protocol: How to Find Balance as a Street Level Artist

One thing I (and many other comic nerds) like about Spider-Man is that he’s kind of the every man of the superhero world. He’s not a billionaire with access to technology and weapons for every situation nor is he a godlike alien with powers that have governments and planets afraid of him. He’s a dude who got bitten by a spider that fights crime but goes home at the end of the day to face overdue bills and an antagonizing boss. Spider-Man: Homecoming really kind of encapsulates the Parker struggle. Peter struggles to balance school responsibilities, a social life, being a superhero and wanting to be an Avenger. I’m fairly certain there’s not an artist out there that can’t relate to that.

My experience is really similar to Peter’s; I have a day job that helps pay my bills and a wife whom I adore and starting a life with as well as a burning desire to write and record music. It feels like I’m constantly struggling to keep all of these balls in the air which is just downright exhausting. There’s nothing I’d love to do more than be a full-time composer and producer and have fewer balls to juggle. We all want to be an Avenger and join the big leagues of full-time creatives. The hard part is the fact that it takes sacrifice to be an Avenger (you literally need to have something to avenge, it’s tricky). Taking that leap to be a full-time artist is a big one and one that I think many take too early before they’re ready. Despite what your feed says, there’s no shame in staying street level.

What’s Street Level?

Throughout comic books and movies, superheroes tend to fall into two categories. There’s your main tier heroes like Captain America or Iron Man who primarily take on the big threats like alien invasions or power-hungry villains who want to take over the world. They don’t usually worry about people getting mugged on street corners or banks being robbed. Then you have street level heroes like our boy Spider-Man who focus in on the little guy. They might occasionally rise up to take on world-ending scenarios but they usually focus on the smaller time criminals confined to one neighborhood or even deal with more of the fallout of some of the big world ending events that the main-tier heroes take on.

In The War of Art, Author Steven Pressfield also breaks artists into two categories: Amateurs & Professionals. In Pressfield’s viewpoint, Amateurs tend to be more laid-back with their approach to art making it more of a hobby or playing for fun. They might pursue an artistic career part-time or fight for it on the weekends. As you might guess, a Professional is the polar opposite of these things. The professional is in it to win it, never takes a day off and treats their art like it’s their job. His thoughts are kinda summed up like this;

“The word amateur comes from the Latin root meaning ‘to love.’ The conventional interpretation is that the amateur pursues his calling out of love, while the pro does it for money. Not the way I see it. In my view, the amateur does not love the game enough. If he did, he would not pursue it as a sideline, distinct from his “real” vocation. The professional loves it so much he dedicates his life to it. He commits full-time.”

This passage comes off a little harsh in my opinion, (a lot of his book does which I should’ve expected in a book comparing art to war). I don’t think being an artist is as clear cut as this and I certainly don’t think anyone is less of an artist because they haven’t devoted themselves to it full-time. No one thinks Spidey is less of a hero because he’s more street level. I want to offer a different take:

I don’t think that the amount of work or time you devote to your craft determines if you’re a professional or amateur. I think your mentality about it does.

The Parker Protocol

At the end of Homecoming, Peter makes the choice to give up the one thing we saw him pursuing the entire movie, becoming an Avenger. Tony takes him out to the Avengers’ complex, preps a press conference and offers Avengers status to Peter on a silver platter along with a fancy new suit, only for Peter to turn it down. Why? Peter wanted to be the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. He knew that he wasn’t ready to be an Avenger yet. He had maturity to know that he still had some growing up to do. That’s more maturity than I think a lot of people have. It didn’t mean that he didn’t love being a superhero enough to “play the game full-time”. It wasn’t where he felt he needed to be. Plus, finding out you’re rooming next to Vision is sure to make anyone second guess being an Avenger.

Whether it’s the glamour that populates so many Instagram feeds (mine included) or just the excitement at making stuff all-day every day, I think a lot of artists feel the need to make the jump into full-time creativity way too early. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that! Artists are an ambitious lot and it’s really hard to fit into a “normal” job when your head is constantly occupied with your next album (I’m speaking from experience, it’s HARD). Full-time creativity takes a lot of work and sacrifice, kinda like being an Avenger, and while I think the hard work is worth it to do what you’re curious about I don’t think every creative is called or built for full-time creativity. Even if you are, there’s no need to subject yourself to all of the stress that comes with it until you’re ready to handle it. So many artists burnout because they’re not prepared for the intensity that full-time creativity brings. What I would suggest is to follow Peter’s approach; whatever time you spend on your work, make it count.

Logging a few hours a week on a project can be just as (if not more) beneficial to you as an artist than logging the same amount of hours daily for months on end. Parkinson’s Law would agree with that statement saying that work expands to fill the time allotted for it. So, you COULD spend 8+ hours a day for months working on that album but when you could keep chunking through it for a few hours a week at a steady pace and get it done without burning out, why bother?

Austin Kleon, who has quickly become one of my favorite creative minds, had this to say in his book ‘Steal Like an Artist’

“Establishing and keeping a routine can be even more important than having a lot of time.”

Consistently putting in time in your studio is more important than the amount of time you’re putting in. As I’ve mentioned before, even work you love doing is still work and there’s going to be days where it definitely feels like it. Breaking it into smaller, consistent chunks makes the process way more bearable.

Secret Identity

Another facet to consider is that you don’t have to devote every ounce of your existence into being an artist. To get inspiration for your art, you need to actually experience things to inspire you (at the time of writing this, there’s still a global pandemic which makes this hard but still necessary.) Having a job outside of your art allows you to interact with people and the world to fill your head with options and ideas. Like Peter and (almost) every other superhero, this creates a kind of double life. Mild-mannered box packer by day, mildly eccentric composer/blog writer by night. This actually really helps to maintain a balance. To quote the poet Philip Larkin;

“try to be utterly schizoid about it all—using each personality as a refuge from the other.”

Having a secret identity removes a lot of the pressures that come with being a full-timer. Just like a 9-5 working life can be a drain, artistic life can be too. Having something on the other end of the spectrum can offer a bit of an escape. Nothing is more relaxing and freeing for me at the end of a long working day than firing up the studio and working on some music. Conversely, my 9-5 job gives me a break from thinking creatively which freshens up my mind for when it’s time to be creative or at least has me VERY ready to jump in and be creative. It also gives me a chance to think through some of the analytical or logistical sides of it. I’ve listened to lots of mixes in progress while at work so that when I come home, I know exactly what I need to do and can use my creative time more efficiently.

There’s a different kind of freedom that comes with an artistic double life and it’s a big one. Financial. Unless you’re reading this in a Star Trek like future where currency isn’t a thing, you need money to pay bills. It is incredibly difficult to make money as an artist let alone earn a living off of it. In the music world, you’re at the mercy of streaming royalties which are absurdly small. Streaming has become such a pivotal part of the music business that the way songs are structured and produced has completely changed (the podcast Switched on Pop has lots of great episodes explaining this, definitely recommend them). When you have your own source of income separate from your creative outlets, you’re not beholden to the algorithms or playlist placements which gives you the freedom to structure your work as you like. Want to do a 15 minute rock-opera about the perils of trusting your life to big tech? You’ll probably feel a lot safer to do that when your ability to pay rent isn’t tied to the “algorithm friendliness” of your work.

Conclusion

Staying street level has a lot of benefits that I don’t think many consider when taking the leap into full-time creativity. There’s a freedom and security that comes from having a career and income beyond your creative pursuits. Growing artists especially might find it freeing to have a secret identity while they figure out what their artistic persona looks like. You don’t have to be Avengers level to be a “true artist” and that’s not what it’s about anyways. What matters is your approach and mentality to your art. Whether you’re doing it full-time or part-time, approach it with consistency, balance and the passion of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.