alt Hacker NewsSo Vivian Meier was not a photographer? The local bands that work day jobs aren't musicians?
Nonsense, frankly. Being an artist is not dependent on monetizing your talent.
There are artists and musicians and photographers, and there are professional musicians and artists and photographers.
What is someone who writes and performs music every day their whole life but bartends to pay their rent, to you? They're not a musician but someone that makes ukulele tracks for corporate training videos is, because the latter does it professionally?
If you are a computer programmer who meets up with your buddies to play every once in a while, no you aren't an artist.
If you are in a band, and you are playing all the time, obviously you are an artist. The job is facilitating you playing. The playing is the focus.
Someone who decides in college, or directly after college, "you know what, I'm just gonna be a programmer." Then touches the piano every once in a while, or plays with his friends every once in a while. I don't call that an artist.
There are so many of these people. They aren't artists. Sorry. Are the smart, probably, are they talented, probably, are they committed, yes to programming.