Eric kim selfie glasses eyes Mexico

Hopeless Photography

What is the point of photographing a thing, a place, or a project if someone has already done it before, and you perceive that you can never make a project as good as it?

My suggestion: do it regardless!

The upside of being extremely self-centered

The upside of being extremely self-centered is this:

You don’t care whether others have done it before or not. You simply care whether YOU have done it before or not.

For example, Cuba has already been photographed a trillion times. That isn’t gonna stop me from visiting and shooting and discovering it for myself. I personally don’t care about the photos which others have shot before me; I only care for my own photos, and the photos I have yet shot.

  • cindy
  • Havana, 2019 #streettogs
  • street photography

The upside of creative ignorance

I recently interviewed my new friend Ricardo while in Cuba, and discovered an upside about being disconnected, creatively isolated, and without access to the internet:

You are ignorant of the art that everyone else is doing.

This keeps you motivated. You don’t get discouraged. You feel as if every one of your creative ideas are your own and original!

Inspiration from (dead) masters who have come before us.

Thus perhaps the secret of extreme productivity as an artist and thinker is this:

Creatively isolate yourself, and perhaps only surround yourself with books, and dead artists.

Conclusion: The joy of the childish artist

Better to have joyful ignorance in artistic matters, than to be hyper-educated in art, and not having the inspiration/motivation to make more of your own art.

ERIC