Steal Like an Artist — Austin Kleon on chasejarvisLIVE

You read the title and thought I was talking smack. But in fact, on last week’s special addition of chasejarvisLIVE (during the week-long creativeLIVE broadcast extravaganza of FREE photo education PhotoWeek) we connected LIVE with the creator of THE manifesto for creativity in the digital age Steal Like an Artist. Intrigued? Well you ought to be. Austin Kleon is a brilliant artist (Newspaper Blackout), speaker (giving the keynote this year at SXSW!), a NY Times best seller, and Austin is perhaps the most articulate artist alive at discussing creative inspiration, how we find it, and HOW to find those things which elude most every photographer/creative — your very own style and vision. He was my guest on last week’s chasejarvisLIVE and it’s no exaggeration to say that it was one of the most inspirational episodes to date.

Here’s a taste of what you’ll learn from the re-watch of Austin on the show:
-How to Steal Like an Artist (no, seriously, you need to start doing this….)
-How to find that creative vision that is truly your own
-How side projects and hobbies are critical – it’s what you make that matters
-How to promote your work in a way that doesn’t feel gross
-That geography is no longer our master – you can live anywhere and make it big
-That creativity is about subtraction

Just like Austin, Picasso, and many others….Jim Jarmusch says it clearly:

“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 nonexistent.”

Enjoy!

A reminder that all of life is a collage.