If you read my previous blog post, then think of this book summary as a continuation of this inspiration theme I’m on right now.
In the book Steal Like An Artist, the author Austin Kleon explains how creativity is not something descended upon you. It’s something you steal. I will delve into this idea as we go as well as highlight some of my favourite quotes from the book and why they resonated with me.
Upon hearing the title, ’Steal Like An Artist,’ I couldn’t help but be intrigued. As someone in the creative industry your constantly looking at others, but your also trying to stand out and develop a unique style or persona.
Your trying to be somewhat ‘original.’
But hang on, then what’s this steal bit all about. Well as you would expect not many things are truly original, most things are the result of being inspired or influenced by something else. There is a fine line between being inspired and outright plagiarism and this book does a really good job at defining this.
In the following post, I have highlighted some quotes from the book and why they caught my attention.
“Don’t just steal the style, steal the thinking behind the style. You don’t want to look like you heroes, you want to see like your heroes.“
Steal like an Artist – p36.
This line really jumped out at me as it sums up the mindset one should have when searching for inspiration. As a dancer there have been many to look up too over the years and there will be many more to look too in the future. But there’s no point in copying ever single move or learning every single routine as its already been done.
An example of this from my world would be, coming up with choreography for myself and my celebrity partner on DWTS. Once we have been given the music and we have a finalised concept, I take to the web to search for inspiration. The most obvious place to start would be too look at other TV shows like DWTS and see what has already been done that is similar.
There’s two benefits to this,
1. You can make sure that what your thinking hasn’t been done before.
2. You can see what steps or ideas worked well and looked good on camera.
From there I like to research the song itself and see what others have produced to it. Even a music video can give you something you maybe able to use.
I may research who the artist was inspired by when writing the song and see if there is anything I can find by delving deeper down the rabbit hole.
Hopefully I would get to a place when I have something that is different from what is out there but is seen to be sympathetically inspired by a mixture of people.
“There’s no pressure when your unknown, You can do what you want. Experiment.”
Steal like an Artist – p77
I can really relate to this one at the moment as well… take this blog that your reading right now as an example. As of writing this my website has had less than 300 visits, so it’s safe to say it’s unknown.
This is great though! As I can experiment with the topics I am writing about, actually get better at writing (this may need some closer attention) and make all the mistakes that come with doing something new. Plus not many people will see it, at least, not in the beginning.
At this point hopefully it may serve as an inspiration to others seeing where this all began.
Steal like an Artist – p81
“When you open up your process and invite people in, you learn.“
I love this as its something I like to see. I love looking at rehearsal footage of my favourite artists or watching documentaries about how something that really inspired me was made.
Right now, with the technology we have available and the almost instant access to information, there’s so much we can see that we could not see before.
Videos are popping up which have been shelved for years showing the processes of some of the greatest artists of all time and movies are been made to celebrate great artists.
What a time to be a performer!
“You don’t put yourself online only because you have something to say, you can put yourself online to find something to say.”
Steal like an Artist – p82
This one really resonated with me. I have an ‘adhoc’ relationship with social media and putting myself out there in general. I tend to overthink things and the perfectionist side ramps up, which means I don’t end up posting anything at all and my online presence evaporates into thin air.
Upon reading this quote, it gave me comfort and reminded me, its ok things aren’t perfect. Over time I will get better and things will slowly look how I want them to look. But what do I do? What do I share? These are two of the most blocking factors in putting myself out there.
Again, this is probably a big reason for me starting this blog. The topics I am writing about might not all be related and I know some experts say “find you niche and go with it,” but I am going to follow Austin’s advice.
Write what I care about and find my niche as I go.
“The open secret of steal like an artist is that it practices what it preaches, and operates by its own principles.”
Steal like an Artist – p153
Ok so you know when your watching a movie or TV show and there is one of those epic ‘ah-ha’ moments. Like the bit in the movie Shutter Island, where you realise that Leonardo Di Caprio is actually a patient at the institute. Reading this was one of those moments for me.
The whole book is a collection of principles “Stolen” from others and presented in such a way that it could have been conjured up by one person.
In Conclusion
So should you read this book…Absolutely you should!
Even if you are not in the arts, or an artist in any way, there is definitely a lot to take away from this book and I am sure a lot of the principles can apply to anybody from any walk of life.
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