Any artist listen to his inspiration and is moved or motivated sometimes by other artists but not the public. Save small artist in need of recognition.
But when he create any artist must be oblivious of anything else, even of fellow artist work.
But improvising jazz with fellow musician is a collective work. The musician must listen the other one or the result will be unbalanced.
Thanks for the Blake anecdote by Huxley...
I admire Blake beyond almost anyone...
I think he was a prophetizing archangel raging to walk without wings.
There is a story, I believe written by A.Huxley, where he writes that at one point in time W.Blake met young Constable who was just finishing one of his paintings. Blake, very impressed seeing it, said that painting is a pure inspiration, on which Constable replied that he ment it to be a landscape.
I would dare to say that relation between artist, or his work and audience is often not related