Homework 5

• What are your standards for yourself when you decide something is worth "stealing" or appropriating? 
• If I wanted to appropriate another person's work, it would have to relate to something I have always been interested in or if I know I can create something more amazing (to me). For example, I love slam poetry and sometimes I would take certain lyrics from artists and use it to create a line for my poem. In "A Beautiful Mess," by Jason Mraz, I took his lyrics "I guess it just suggests that this is just what happiness is" and changed it to "I guess this suggests you express your utmost distress, so that our happiness is earned by a better reform process" for a slam poem I made about the minimal education funding. I just loved the flow it had from the song so I wanted my poem to sound just as smooth. Like Jim Jarmusch said, I steal the work that speaks directly to my soul and if I do this, then my work will be authentic. 

• Is the idea of "nothing being original" indeed depressing? Or is it freeing? Why or why not?
• I don't take this idea as depressing, but rather inspiring. Reading this book has really encouraged me to continue to do art. Knowing that originality is not what's important but rather what and how you transform a previous work into, makes me realize that it's possible my work will be admired one day.

•  What is the difference between creative hoarding and creative collecting? 
• Creative hoarding is when you don't take into account the meanings/feelings that a work conveys, and when you don't think about the relevance between that work and yourself. Creative collecting is where you only take in the good ideas; you choose them selectively as it will benefit you and your imagination. Whenever I come across a piece of art that I like, I would save it to my camera roll. It doesn't have to be something that I want to appropriate; it's usually something that simply speaks to me. This is the latest I have saved: 
   
• Even though I had no idea what exactly I would do with this, I just really liked its style and I knew I wanted to create something similar because it gave me the feelings that I would want to give to others. 

•  What does Marcel Duchamp (who you should all know) mean when he says that he doesn't believe in art, but he believes in artists? 
• I think what Marcel Duchamp means is that it is the artist who makes an artwork so amazing, especially since nothing is original anymore. The artist still has the ability to be as creative as someone back then who's work was completely original.

•  Who are Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe? How do you think they "faked it until they made it"? Do you think it worked for them?
• Patti Smith, a musician, and Robert Mapplethorpe, a photographer, both wanted to be artists. They decided to act like they were who they wanted to be until they actually were. So as the world believed they were artists, I think it definitely helped them grow with confidence and success.

•  What's the difference between "practice" versus "plagiarism"?  
• Practice is when I copy my brother's drawings/designs because his work actually inspires me. He used to always doodle this design for a tattoo and over the years I would see that design evolve into something better. I want that kind of process, not just plagiarizing, or stealing his tattoo for my own.

• What's the difference  between imitation vs emulation? 
• emulation is the step that comes after imitation; once you are done with gathering your ideas, finish copying the artists that inspire you, and reach that level where you are the amazing artist you are, you finally create the thing that you have wanted to ever since the beginning.