America loves success. In fact, America loves success so much that its definition has been greatly expanded and more people than ever can have it. Your juggling-dog video is a YouTube hit: success! Your name rings a vague bell, even if nobody knows what you actually do: success! You buy The Observer at 25 (albeit with your parents’ money): success! The Waverly Inn mâitre d’ waves you in: success!

But are we talking about success here, or merely fame—unless, of course, they’ve become the same thing? Does success still mean anything when everybody and their juggling dog has a chance to sniff its sweet smell? And what does this apparent democratization/blurring of the lines mean for New York’s cultural agitators?

As the balance between art and commerce has tilted toward the latter over the past couple of decades, TONY decided to look at what success means in New York nowadays. No, bigger, louder, brasher isn’t always better. And guess what: You can’t always put a price tag on your achievements (for choreographers such as Sarah Michelson or John Jasperse, simply being able to work at all is a daily gift). Some of the most commonly accepted milestones may turn out to be smoke and mirrors, too: Broadway, for instance, isn’t the be-all and end-all for innovative theater folks; Ryan Leslie is a hot R&B producer who probably doesn’t get any Gawker sightings, because he built his success behind the scenes; visual artist Marilyn Minter (who created the image above and this week’s cover) defied art-world critics to find her audience; and rocker Joan As Police Woman explains that being popular in the U.S. isn’t all that.

Stars are fun, sure; many are deserving, and some even have talent (that unfair advantage that kinda screws up the aforementioned democratization). And yet our NYC heroes are often far from successful in conventional terms. Selling out Southpaw is a towering achievement for some; for others, it’s publishing a novel with Akashic Books. For many, it’s simply being able to eke out a living without having to temp on Wall Street. But then, the fortune of capitalism’s soldiers has proved to be as erratic as that of artists. Funny how these things turn out…

— Elisabeth Vincentelli

Missed Part I of our Culture Report? Read it here!