ERIC KIM

April 2019

  • Free Shooter

    Let us become “free shooters”— we only make photos which serve us, instead of striving to make photos to please others.

    Read More

  • Elevate Yourself

    Elevate yourself, elevate you  Elevate yourself beyond the UV— discover new hues.  Beyond the blues and blacks, keep your creative attack strong.  Avoid the throng and herd— fly high//sharp-eyed bird.    What’s the word? Keep flying higher. Keep moving forward, ain’t no getting tired.  ERIC

    Read More

  • Visual Kinesthesia: Muscles and Art

    A thought about art, music, ideas, music, technology, and other haptic feedback: Perhaps what we are seeking is audio-visual-movement to stimulate/motivate our own movement, excitement, and vigor in life! Anything which motivates me is good. Motivation as meaning movement. Whenever I experience anything that motivates me to create, think more, or feel more powerful —…

    Read More

  • Distinguish Yourself

    Do you desire to be more alike others– or to distinguish yourself more from others– to separate the gulf between you and others more?

    Read More

  • #nogenre

    Never trap yourself in any genre, category, style, approach, or box. Escape all genres, and refuse to box yourself in anything.

    Read More

  • Spontaneous Living

    Don’t plan ahead, flexible, iterate, create spontaneously, walk spontaneously, exercise spontaneously, speak and act spontaneously? A spontaneous life is a better life. Spontaneous as meaning — “of your own accord” (living according to your own inner compulsion, gut, needs, and desires). Follow your own unique mode of living and preferences.

    Read More

  • Eternal Creative Cycle

    Treat everyday like a mini-lifetime. Create today as if you will die tonight. To be eternally creative: Create things from morning to night. Perhaps fast until evening (no breakfast and lunch, only dinner) in order to maximize your potential for creative activity. Avoid “food coma” during the day, to create as much as you can…

    Read More

  • Creative Transience

    All is transient in life — perhaps this is what motivates us to create great things? To try to conquer transience? Or perhaps we are forgetful— we forget the things we’ve made in the past, and we are hungry to create new things?  Desiring an eternity for all of existence — perpetual creativity!

    Read More

  • Daring Street Photography

    It seems in street photography, the best way to develop is to shoot more photos which you consider daring — daring compositionally, daring in terms of your personal fear, and daring in terms of upsetting others.

    Read More

  • Bring Your Ambition into Fruition.

    Bring your ambition into fruition  Don’t dilute you, stay fully concentrated — no fillers, all killer  Live your life thriller and thriller than anyone else has done, smoke raising from your gun.  Pen new rhymes. Sing new chimes.  Make new pics that explode with power Make the tones boom louder.  Let your inner-ambition fly and…

    Read More

  • No Faults

    A thought: There is no such thing as a “fault”. All different character traits of ours can be used however so, and the interpretation of our actions or behaviors being “good” or “bad” is socialized. For example, let’s say you’re characterized as “aggressive”. Now, perhaps others say this is a bad thing — but in…

    Read More

  • Maximize Your Energy

    Conserve your energy— use your limited energy and maximize it! That means: Don’t do what you don’t want to do— only do what you want to do. Don’t engage in any social interactions or activities you don’t find personally meaningful. Conserve your energy — don’t engage in petty arguments that are beneath you. Don’t engage…

    Read More

  • Own Less, Appreciate More

    You can appreciate and love something without owning it! To me, ownership is overrated. Too much stuff to maintain, carry, organize, and keep track of. Best to appreciate things (art, cars, fashion, design, architecture, nature) without owning it. Instead of owning stuff, just photograph it to “posses” it!

    Read More

  • Life is a Live Stream!

    Your own life is a live stream. Thoughts: Never stop streaming Never stop sharing your art works Never stop experiencing new things Delight in change, flux, and “real time”. Don’t desire anything else but the present moment; desire to extract the fullest maximum from now! Your life is the best life. Don’t desire to live…

    Read More

  • Why Criticize Others?

    Why not just ignore others, and stay focused on yourself? It seems the only reason we critique others is to prop up our own ego and self-estimate of ourselves by disparaging others (lowering them, and thus feeling more superior in comparison). But why not build your ego independently, without the need to prop up or…

    Read More

  • Visual Hunter and Gatherer

    Perhaps we as photographers are like our traditional “hunter and gatherer” forefathers, and our desire to photograph and make images is rooted from the same compulsion inside our human DNA?

    Read More

  • Eternally Photograph Yourself

    Never stop photographing yourself (selfie, showing your soul through the photos you shoot and make). There is no final “state” for you to become or achieve in photography or art. Eternally delight in change, flux, and your own visual growth and evolution. Never stop experimenting with new aesthetics, new techniques, new approaches, and new types/styles…

    Read More

  • Patina

    Patina— wear and tear, and “improvement” of aesthetics through use, wear, tear, the effects of time as beautiful!

    Read More

  • The New Digital Elite

    My prediction: the future of the internet, social media, and technology will become a brave new world/ bifurcation between the new digital elite/digital serfs.

    Read More

  • Demetricate Yourself

    Problem with modern society— we use numbers (metrics) to measure our self-worth and self-esteem. But what if we demetricated ourselves — no longer attaching our self-worth to a number, or any numbers?

    Read More

  • Let’s Make Art ARS Again

    It is 2019, and there are no more online communities for art. That is why we built ARS— to take back our art from big brother (aka Facebook/Instagram).

    Read More

  • Creative Capitalism

    As a liberal “elite” person, I’m not supposed to like capitalism. But upon deep reflection, I think I do!

    Read More

  • Creative Compulsion

    Perhaps there is something in our DNA in which we desire to discharge our creative force and power. Perhaps there is a compulsion we have to make artwork; similar to when we have an urge to workout (if we are muscularly fit?)

    Read More

  • Why I Love Hanoi

    Just arrived in Hanoi, and wanted to reflect a bit on why I love Hanoi– and my experiences here.

    Read More

  • Satoki Nagata: How to Stay Inspired and Motivated in Your Photography Long-Term

    Satoki Nagata is a photographer-artist I deeply admire. When I heard he was in a deep depression with his photography, I was shocked. Fortunately he is currently re-gaining his photographic wings– and producing new images. In this interview and feature, Satoki shares some personal thoughts on re-gaining motivation and creative ability in his photography and…

    Read More

  • Become a Creative Activity!

    A fun idea and thought from my buddy Nietzsche: Don’t worry about concerning yourself as an “individual”. Instead, consider yourself as a creative activity!

    Read More

  • iPhone and Smartphones as the New Point and Shoot Digital Camera

    In the past a lot of photographers would look down on point and shoot cameras and on photographers who used more “newbie” cameras. But why this snobbery? My theory is that insecure photographers are always trying to prop up their legitimacy as photographers by purchasing big/expensive/uncommon cameras, and they feel more powerful and legitimate by…

    Read More

  • How to Conquer Jetlag

    Just landed in Hanoi (after a long flight from LAX -> Taipei, to Hanoi), and surprisingly, I’m feeling pretty good! It seems a combination of intermittent fasting, lots of strong black coffee, and a brief nap on the plane did the trick!

    Read More

  • Art is the Answer!

    A lot of us in life feel disempowered, shitty, and lack the vigor to live. My simple answer: Art is the reason to live! Specifically: YOUR ability/faculty/opportunity to create art.

    Read More

  • Shed

    In traveling, life, etc; it seems that instead of thinking about what to buy, “optimize”, or add to your life, it seems more effective to determine what to shed, what to NOT bring (travel), what NOT to acquire and essentially we’re trying to build this skill: What to add to shed from your life, not…

    Read More