Creativity is our lifeblood. Typically when I think about creativity, I think of aberrant thinking, and doing things differently from what is considered traditional.

Some thoughts:

1. Ignorance is good

Something I have discovered is that going to art school, studying art history, etc. might be one of the worst things for your creativity. Why? Honestly a lot of it is so fake; a lot of artists tend to be insecure introverts, and I think that all people seek some sort of supremacy. Therefore, if you are a young insecure artist, or even a more mature insecure artist, you will seek external validation for your art.

Therefore, I think some knowledge of the past is useful, in so far much as it can help expand your thinking. For example, the reason why I really like Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, studying cubism and other forms of abstract art is so interesting because it teaches us:

Art does not need to be photo-realistic to be legitimate.

For example, even people don’t know that Jean Michel Basquiat really knows how to paint, photo realistic paintings. The same thing with Jackson Pollock, Picasso, Matisse, all of them. Also the same goes with other surrealist’s, and abstract painters.

Typically this is how it goes:

1. The artist will get a traditional painting education
2. The artist will make really really great photo realistic paintings
3. The artist will eventually get bored of this and seek some sort of innovation
4. The artist then figures out a more unorthodox form of visual expression

Even when you think of an artist like Kanye West in the context of art, he started off as a traditional producer, making music and beats for other artists. Then he wanted to get into rapping. And got in. Then he wanted to go to fashion, and then he did. And also if you think about his more innovative albums like 808s & Heartbreak, and also his Yeezus album, Kanye West was at least 20 or 30 years before his time.

2. What is creativity?

I think the best definition of creativity is having the propensity to create. That is, you like to create and make stuff.

Therefore, I think a creative person is somebody who derives joy from creating things. Creating, modifying, customizing, painting, drawing, making photographs, making videos, etc.

Whenever you transfigure something, or the world, you create something new.

3. What gets in our way?

My personal thought is so much of the difficulties behind art is that everyone is trying to put us down.

For example, I can speak from my personal experiences. When I got started in photography, street photography, started traveling the world and meeting all this famous people, etc., at the ripe age of 22, this is what I have discovered:

When other people see you as a young rising star, they feel small compared to you, and they feel less bad about themselves, when they try to put you down.