Is this statement true?
What a good artist understands is that nothing comes from nowhere. All creative work builds on what came before. Austin Kleon
Nothing is completely original.
Jonathan Lethem said that when people call something "original", nine out of ten times they just don't know the references or the original sources involved.
"There is nothing new under the sun" Ecc. 1:9
So we are influenced by who and what we let into our life. Our surroundings, what we choose to believe and think about. What we choose to spend our time and money on and who we choose to spend our quality time with.
Jim Jarmusch, "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. "
Marcel Duchamp said, "I don't believe in art. I believe in artists."
Kleon says this is a really good method for studying. If you try to devour the history of your discipline all at once, you will choke.
He says instead to mull over one thinker, writer, artists, activist, role model you really love. Study everything there is to know about that thinker. Then find three people that thinker loved, and find out all about them. Repeat this process as many times as you can.
By doing this, you build your own creative lineage.
