Submitted by Felix on
"Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: 'It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to.' " - Jim Jarmusch
If you’re like me, or most people, what might have offended (or intrigued) you as you read the quote by Jim Jarmusch above is the use of the word "steal" — something we have been trained to avoid and perceived as wrong and sinful.
But did Jarmusch say that it’s okay to take one particular idea, image, or any other work from a fellow creator? No.
What Jarmusch did is he speaks of the true essence of creativity. The process in which we incorporate all our influences and “mind vocabularies” — the sum total of all the things we have processed in our memory — into our creation.
We often apply originality as a compliment to the creativity of artists, writers, or thinkers. But creativity is not created in a vacuum of ideas.
You may think that your view or idea of something is so unique that it seems original. But try to break it down, and there will be ingredients inside that aren’t as original as they first appeared.
It’s not hard to be original — it’s impossible.
There is nothing new under the sun. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again. (I stole this one from a phrase adapted from the Book of Ecclesiastes)
It can’t be possible to have an idea as the only one of its kind; unequaled, unparalleled, or unmatched.
As human beings, we are inclined to say that some of the thoughts, decisions, and actions that we undertake are not really one’s own and are therefore not genuinely expressive of who one is. (stolen from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Therefore, the only way to be “original” is to be you. YOU are original. Everything else is not.
Stop trying to be original and just be you. Stay true to yourself. It is the only way to achieve the invaluable freedom of authenticity.
In the meantime, steal. Steal from anywhere.
Authenticity is invaluable. Originality is non-existent.
Godard’s final quote is the key qualification, "It’s not where you take things from, it’s where you take them to."
AnnisaRT
https://medium.com/illumination/nothing-is-original-steal-from-anywhere-d03b4059cd2d
- 622 reads