"Art without commerce is a hobby."

These words, / spoken with much authority / to senior fine arts majors, / are the kind / that those who create art are unable to ignore.

We worry about this idea / that if we are not engaged in commerce, / then we are not professional;

and if we are not professional, / can we even call ourselves artists?

Art of any form, / by its very nature, / cannot or should not be quantified, / and yet writers measure pages and words; / visual artists measure canvases completed / all in an effort / to appear "productive," / to perhaps justify this urge to create.

The notion of creating for art's sake / is then seen / as hopelessly romantic / and nearly indefensible.

Of course one can engage in art, / but it better be for money, / for that is the only marker of success.

But was that professor's declaration / merely an old talker with a title / mindlessly repeating the cultural norms and expectations / that had, in fact, labeled him as "successful"?

In Western culture, / it is almost impossible / to separate professional from commercial, / and so the artist is legitimized / by their ability to earn money.

Professional art, then, / is inherently capitalist.