A good composer does not imitate; he steals,” Igor Stravinsky allegedly said while Faulkner phrased it as “Immature artists copy, great artists steal but Steve Jobs concisely put it better, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.”
Ha-ha.
However, thought-leaders spotlighted the disparity between copy and steal. One is imitation, the other is inspiration. One is sheer mental laziness, and the other is finding motivation in the work of others, then using it as a starting point for original creative output. The idea is instead of just borrowing or imitating something which reminds people of the original—change it with your own compelling ideas and you’ve just fucking stolen it!
MEET MY BOOKS
If you’re consistently inspired by the work of another culture, use that as a base for your own work and recreate something entirely new from it.
All of human culture, science and the arts have been an exercise of observing the world, including the human world, understanding it by taking it into your head, copy it, refine it, improve it.
I strongly believe that nothing is really new in this world, it’s just a constant rehash of existing or old ideas. What’s new is how these old ideas are put together mixed, mashed and clashed, and that’s what makes things creative, new and special. ‘All the best products in the world were not really invented or discovered but they were just re-invented or re-discovered in ways and contexts that were inserted into popular culture’.
“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, streets, 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. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery – celebrate it, if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said, “It’s not where you take things from – it’s where you take things to.”
That is just what I did in Oliver Thief. It is a collection of stolen items from different places and when put together became a beautiful piece of art.
And I want to inspire you to steal all you can from this book. It offers hope to anyone who feels increasingly frustrated by our increasingly unequal society. Life itself is a work of art, so steal like an artist!
Remember there’s honor among metaphorical thieves.
Become an Oliver Thief.
A good composer does not imitate; he steals,” Igor Stravinsky allegedly said while Faulkner phrased it as “Immature artists copy, great artists steal but Steve Jobs concisely put it better, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.”
Ha-ha.
However, thought-leaders spotlighted the disparity between copy and steal. One is imitation, the other is inspiration. One is sheer mental laziness, and the other is finding motivation in the work of others, then using it as a starting point for original creative output. The idea is instead of just borrowing or imitating something which reminds people of the original—change it with your own compelling ideas and you’ve just fucking stolen it!
MEET MY BOOKS
If you’re consistently inspired by the work of another culture, use that as a base for your own work and recreate something entirely new from it.
All of human culture, science and the arts have been an exercise of observing the world, including the human world, understanding it by taking it into your head, copy it, refine it, improve it.
I strongly believe that nothing is really new in this world, it’s just a constant rehash of existing or old ideas. What’s new is how these old ideas are put together mixed, mashed and clashed, and that’s what makes things creative, new and special.
‘All the best products in the world were not really invented or discovered but they were just re-invented or re-discovered in ways and contexts that were inserted into popular culture’.
“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, streets, 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. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery – celebrate it, if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said, “It’s not where you take things from – it’s where you take things to.”
That is just what I did in Oliver Thief. It is a collection items from different places and when put together became a beautiful piece of art.
And I want to inspire you to steal all you can from this book. It offers hope to anyone who feels increasingly frustrated by our increasingly unequal society.
Life itself is a work of art, so steal like an artist!
Remember there’s honor among metaphorical thieves.
Become an Oliver Thief.
