CURIOSITY
As an artist, there is only one unforgivable sin; one aspect of creativity that can not be taught. If you lack interest, you’re done. If you are dispassionate, you have no value to add in the pursuit of creative endeavors. Only in curiosity will you find the courage to deviate from the well-lit road to the unmarked path. Art and creation are inquiries, not answers. Curiosity is the engine of art. Nothing is more critical. Nothing is more important. Curiosity drives us to confront conflict as we face the discomfort and uncertainty of the unknown. When not knowing causes you more discomfort than fear, you seek answers and take action. For an artist, curiosity is often the response to conflict, as we seek to observe, document and capture the truth, or simply to solve a problem. Imagination is needed in all of these scenarios. Imagination can not exist without curiosity. Imagination asks the question- what if?
In this space, there is a barren wasteland of failed ideas, missed opportunities and isolation. With it comes an optimism that compels us towards new discoveries and connections. This presents a paradox: you can not see what has yet to be created. From the fixed vantage point of the disinclined, everything is impossible and nothing is worthy of pursuit. Our new technologies are an open spigot of endless inspiration. You’ve had your fill. If you’re not inspired yet, you’re never gonna be. Inspiration is not the fuel that drives curiosity. It is simply the guide that teaches us that the impossible is possible.
Creativity is not creation. Do not confuse the two. Inspiration is a passive pursuit predicated on your exposure over time. As such, you’ve been inspired your whole damn life.
Until now. Now, in this present moment, you are awake. You are aware. Your exposure to an endless array of images, words, sounds and experiences has led you to this place; this exact moment. I trust that you are here to learn to curate your creativity; to shape it; to mold it into a creation. There is immense value in the indelible influence of those things that infected you so many years ago. The proof? You want to create things that resonate with others, the way those things spoke to you.
For artists, our curiosity pushes us through, around, over, under and directly into the path of some of our greatest fears. A fear of new knowledge, of experience, of skill, of value, of speaking, of presenting, of exhibiting, of being judged, of failing, and even the fear of succeeding. As we cut a distinct path beyond the borders of our known maps, there is no one to guide you.
You are on your own and you will have to find your own way.
-Think Louder
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Does me a lot of good to know it, Tomas. Thank you.
It landed so right, thank you, I just got new energy!