I had this thought today.

In the Renaissance, the artist could be a mathematician, a diplomat, a civil or military engineer, a politician, a poet, a scientist. Strangely enough, that is still true today, at the start of the 21^st century. Unfortunately, very few artists realize this and incorporate such options into their practices. One of the biggest obstacles to this is the education of the artist. Even in art school, students learn more about what art was and what art is than what art can be. Too much of art is taught as history and not enduring experience. Too much art is taught as engagement with materials and processes and not engagement with the world.