Chapter 1 - Steal Like an Artist [Book Summary]
The first chapter of Steal Like an Artist was Steal like an Artist. And it talked about the art of stealing.
As per Austin, when people call something original, they just don’t know the references or the original sources involved. And that’s kinda true. All creative work builds on what came before.
Every new idea is just a mashup or a remix of one or more previous ideas. The more good ideas you collect, the more you can choose from to be influenced by.
“What is originality? Undetected plagiarism.”
- William Ralph Inge
First you figure out what’s worth stealing, then you move on to the next thing. Everything is up for grabs.
If you don’t find something worth stealing today, you might find it worth stealing tomorrow or a month or a year from now.
“Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, music, books, paintings, photographs, 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.”
- Jim Jarmush
Study everything about one artist. Then find three people that the thinker loved, and find out everything about them. Repeat!
School yourself. Look things up. Chase down every reference. Go deeper than anybody else. Don’t worry about doing research. Just search. See something worth stealing? Put it in the swipe file. Need a little inspiration? Open the swipe file.
“It is better to take what does not belong to you than to let it lie around neglected.”
- Mark Twain
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