Doing What You Love, by Allen Sanchez, is a short film that presents a personal story of an artist. The film follows an unnamed artist as he works as a photographer, and in doing so, creates art. In just a few minutes, it invites us to consider the way that artists view their own art.
Doing What You Love questions how commercialized art is perceived by creators and viewers alike. Just as there are artists who create as a hobby, there are artists who have turned that hobby into a profession. We place a different value on art that we create to sell, and as a result, different expectations are felt when creating it. Those expectations are sometimes associated with negative feelings, as artists who are desperate to generate a living begin to lose their original intent when creating their art.
The film brings an important question to our attention: where does the distinction between work done for compensation and work done for love lie?