Arts Management Commons^™

Coping With Narcissism: Causes, Effects, And Solutions For The Artist Manager, Paul Linden

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

There is a morbid fascination with the spectacular crash of celebrity in our culture. Examples abound of television documentaries and motion pictures that share a common plot regarding artists in the entertainment industry: the lean years of sacrifice provide an opportunity for success which then gives way to entitlement, hubris, alcohol and drug use all followed by a spectacular crash—and in some cases a reckoning and comeback. Are unwitting artists doomed to follow this pre-written script? Or is this a ready-made plot on which scriptwriters fall back like some crutch? This article looks at artistic development as a negotiation between …