"I've never really had a hobby, unless you count art, which the IRS once told me I had to declare as a hobby since I hadn't made money with it"

Laurie Anderson's quote uses a look into her point of view on the crossway of art, personal enthusiasm, and financial value. The declaration starts with her admission, "I've never actually had a hobby", suggesting that she either does not engage in pastime typically perceived as pastimes or that her main interests are pursued with a seriousness and devotion that go beyond the casual connotations of the word "pastime". The exception she mentions is art, which appears to be a significant element of her life. By describing art as an activity potentially counted as a pastime "unless you count art", she indicates an intricate relationship with her creative pursuits.

The participation of the IRS, stating her art as a pastime due to an absence of monetary revenue, highlights the tension in between artistic venture and financial practicality. It highlights a bureaucratic point of view that frequently corresponds success with monetary gain, failing to acknowledge intrinsic or non-economic worths of imagination. Anderson's experience with the IRS shows a more comprehensive social tendency to underestimate art and imagination unless they translate into gross income. Her art, not fitting the IRS's definition of a company activity, is relegated to the world of leisure-- a category that decreases its severity and perhaps even its authenticity.

Furthermore, this quote discreetly critiques the cultural understanding of art and artists. It raises concerns about how society measures success, the credibility of art without commercial triumph, and the artist's recognition when not economically successful. Anderson's dry humor ("which the IRS when informed me") includes a layer of irony, recommending that defining imaginative work by earnings misses the point, and perhaps shows her confidence in the intrinsic worth of her art, regardless of its financial outcome. Eventually, the quote encapsulates the fragile balance artists browse in between pursuing their enthusiasm and validating its credibility in a world driven by financial measurements.