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we live in a culture of manufactured perfection. the expectation, as unrealistic as it may be, is always on artificiality. curate your personality, never leave a mess, never externally show signs of struggle. it's a paradoxical tightrope where you must conform and fit in but you must also present yourself as a marketable individual through the safest means possible. this leaves us detached from our own sense of self and creativity -- humanity is messy and flawed and this is one of our greatest strengths as individuals and a collective.
embrace it! do things you enjoy even if you suck at them! don't let an artificial culture that pretends like the only valuable skills are the ones you're immediately good at. very, very few skills are like that for very, very few people. it's a great way to remove any and all enjoyment from anything other than work or scrolling and that is the death of the human spirit itself. make shitty art, sing shitty songs, write shitty poems, take shitty photos, play games without worrying about how your skill makes you look to others. be crude, be messy, be juvenile, do things and learn things for the sake of it. just for the love of god do something.
curiosity is the one thing that can't be taken from us or forced into consumable molds. don't let your hobbies become separated from your curiosity and reduced to the same hollow consumerism as the rest of your world. improvement comes later. you have to unabashedly stink at something before you can master it. there's an unmatched catharsis in that process.
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londonfog
better to do something badly than never create anything at all!! loved this post :)
arekkiesu
yeah, as much as technical skill is great to have and build, the fun is in your creativity and ideas :D some of my artist friends are embarrassed to show their work sometimes bc they think it looks bad, but i dont care!! I just wanna see what you made bc you're cool! XD
Chronically Outdoors
This is such a great take! I have been doing so many kinds of art throughout all my life and have worked really fucking hard to get proficient in those skills and I kinda hate it when people call me talented because it really negates all the hard work I did honing my skills. Now there are so many things that I am bad at and I think its kinda great! I can't bake for shit. everything I have ever put into an oven has turned into a brick (i am banned from baking in several households including my own) but I love helping my friends who are actually good at it by stirring the bowl and handing them tools. I am also a total math idiot. I am in my 3rd year of college and operating at a middle school level which for years I was ashamed of it. Now I waltz into book stores and pick out workbooks from the kids section with no shame and have been working hard to teach myself. even though I am still god awful I am having fun doing math for the first time ever. I love writing shitty dialogue in my shitty short films that will never be shot and all the cringe poems that will never see the light of day (mostly because i forgot where i put them lol) being messy and bad is peak. I love sharing my failures just as much as my successes because failure is a learning opportunity and shows growth. Who cares if I am at the right level to learn a song? Ill just keep playing until i get it. sure it sounds bad but it wont forever!
yeap. being "good" is just a neat byproduct of liking something enough you're willing to do it over and over again
by trimmer; ; Report
EXACTLY!
by Chronically Outdoors; ; Report
god you're so right about people almost downplaying the work you put in. "wow you're so good at drawing, I could never draw like that" YES YOU COULD!! I started out tracing pokemon from out of a thrift store book come on. so many people have such a prodigal understanding of most skills and it's so detrimental to their curiosity and ability to learn anything. it's like they read inspirational stories about someone who created a museum piece at age 10 or whatever and decide that's the only way to be good at something. that sensationalism is unrealistic to the vast majority of people. skills are built, not innate, and that's the fun part about them!
by NuclearBlues; ; Report
OMG YES THIS IS SO TRUE!!!
by Chronically Outdoors; ; Report
trimmer
+2
Agree 1000000%. Being bad at something is GREAT. The idea of enjoying the process no matter the result is infinitely more gratifying then deriving joy from perfection. Because you will never be perfect.
It feels that the world does not allow that deeply personal exploration of ones creativity. If you make something, you HAVE to show it others. And if you show it to others, it HAS to be good or else you're wasting their time. Oh, and here's a 24/7 stream of all the people who are better than you!! Of course it is never wrong to share work that you are proud of. But the pride in your work should come from the fact you CARED. That you liked an idea so much that you went through the effort of trying so you can make it real.
It's so important to take a step back and realize that bringing to life YOUR unique vision is something only YOU can do. Every line, every stroke, every note, every word, is a clear reflection of who you are. And that's just so fascinating to me. To have an intrinsic value because only you can do whatever you do.
I'm ranting but I just really love talking about art and creativity. Always have something you do for the love of the game. Excellent post man
exactly dude! you really nailed it with that constant social stream of people who are better at any given thing than you, it's either that or advertisements for a product of some sort that'll DEFINITELY make you as good as those people you've seen. both are exploitative and kill the spirit.
I think about it a lot in regards to people who get really hyped about generative ai. they act like visual art and writing are just these divine gifts. like generative ai is somehow leveling the playing field of creativity or making art more accessible. instead it's just a soulless recreation without any of the ideas or intentionality or imperfection that art is all about. it's so indicative of this really awful idea we have of art as something that is inherently skilled. "art" as a word is redefined to mean "masterpiece" instead of an outlet that is intrinsic to the human experience and it's soul-crushing. I think a lot of this same mindset crops up with people who get really vitriolic about modern and contemporary art. they're fundamentally unwilling to engage with it on any level that isn't superficial because their view of art is superficial. you obviously don't have to enjoy or resonate with every piece you see, but putting it down on first glance is just dismissive and pathetic. it especially pisses me off when they decry it as something so devoid of skill that anyone could do it. then do it! it probably won't be as skillful but that's still ok! don't just put shit down without even trying yknow
by NuclearBlues; ; Report
honest to god you have conveyed my thoughts so perfectly in this reply that all I can do is say I agree. Especially with that point on contemporary art and AI. So much more to all this than just "pretty picture :D" v.s. "not pretty picture :("
by trimmer; ; Report