I recently took on an intern to help make my life awesome. Already, it is awesome to even say that I have an intern. It is awesome to admit that I NEED an intern. What?! How did that happen? I don't even have time to take out my own recycling? How could I possibly have time to craft a blog for you, my imaginary best friend?
Well, because I'm making time. (that's what creatives do, right? make things?)
It's because I was having a conversation with my new intern about a certain fear that artists have - the fear that we need to come up with original ideas. That everything we make should be absolutely original, uninfluenced from anything recognizable.
He's facing this fear in his life, and it reminded me of the first time I was smacked in the face with the truth that NOTHING is created without influence.
I was a sophomore in graphic design school, and our assignment was to create a poster for an upcoming art exhibit for the entire art department. This show would include photography, fine art, and graphic design students. I thought, "I've got the perfect idea that will combine all aspects, into one piece! It will be the winning poster!"
So I wrote all the information on my stomach with eye liner while looking in the mirror. I then photographed myself and printed the poster.
When the day came to decide which student had created the best poster for the art exhibit, I thought I was a shoo-in. My classmates and teachers were impressed, but they asked me if I had been influenced by Sagmeister. I ignorantly had no idea who they were talking about, and had to ask for a correct spelling on this person's name so I could see why they were so convinced I had pulled this idea from someone else.
Sure enough, Stefan Sagmeister had stolen my idea years before! How could he have known? How could I have "created" such an original idea, that was obviously so similar to something I had never seen before?
It's magic. That's all I can explain it with -- there's a certain magic to being alive. To breathing the same air. To being warmed by the same sun. To having our hearts pump in rhythm with each other -- we magically share a consciousness and energetic influence. Whether these things speak to us in our dreams or find their way inside through our breakfast cereal, there is no denying that as a whole - the human race shares information with one another, without even meaning to.
There is a deeper belief that I have about ideas needing to survive regardless of who ushers them into this world, but it's a whole lot easier to blame it on magic.
So why are we going blind to save our sight? What does that even mean?
Well, as artists, as creative individuals, as humans, it would be horribly ignorant to think that if we turn off our receptors in a certain area of study, that we will in turn have an original idea about that subject. We can then claim absolute ownership over the originality of that idea, and feel honored knowing that we've created something new!
Turning off our receptors is exactly what would make us NOT artists.
As artists, it is our gift to observe. It is our talent to observe. It is our duty to observe.
It is through these observations, whether listening to Pandora or watching Hulu or driving by the gas station that we glean more about the world.
It is by listening to the birds and tasting the wind and studying shadows that we learn more about the world.
As artists, it is our gift to offer our perspective of the world, it's issues, it's benefits, through the eyes that we were given.
If we blind ourselves to this - we are only looking in the dark for inspiration.
I encourage you - try to focus not on the fear of an "unoriginal" idea, and instead focus on the ideas that strike your heart. Can you deliver the message that YOU want to send?
And, by the way, after further research, Stefan Sagmeister is one of my favorite designers of all time. Perhaps it's because he stole my idea. But anyone who has the same idea as you should be studied & admired. Oh, and one more by the way - at least I only used eye liner instead of an Exacto knife. At least there's something to be gained through collective learning :)
