“We are now inclined to make much of this distinction between amateur and professional, but it is reassuring to know that these words first were used in opposition to each other less than two hundred years ago. Before the first decade of the nineteenth century, no one felt the need for such a distinction – which established itself, I suppose, because of the industrial need to separate love from work, and so it was made at first to discriminate in favor of professionalism. To those who wish to defend the possibility of good or responsible work, it remains useful today because of the need to discriminate against professionalism.

Professional standards, the standards of ambition and selfishness, are always sliding downward toward expense, ostentation, and mediocrity. They tend always to narrow the ground of judgment. But amateur standards, the standards of love, are always straining upward toward the humble and the best. They enlarge the ground of judgment. The context of love is the world.” — Extracted from Wendell Berry’s essay The Responsibility of the Poet.

I find this quote particularly enlightening because it reminds us that leisure and hobbies were only democratized at the industrial revolution. Before that point in time, there was little point talking about amateurs as very few people had time to spare for something other than their job.

Nowadays, most artistic activities are practiced by both professionals and amateurs. This introduces a tension, the professionals have the time and practice to perfect their craft, direct feedback from their audience, but need to put food on the table which limits their artistic freedom and might push them to stick to what works. The amateurs tend to have less practice and knowledge of the craft, less understanding of the public, but they can afford to realize their very own, unaltered, vision.

Neither is inherently better, a great professional will find a way to convey their vision to the masses and the best amateurs have flawless technique. But, while they do the same activity, they are different in ways that should not be ignored. Similarly to how a great artist does the best of the idiosyncrasies of their medium, a fantastic amateur and a fantastic professional – both practitioners of the same craft – would be very different people producing very different art. They might even love each other’s output, seeing in it what by nature they cannot achieve.