Borrowing from others
"Creativity doesn't exist in a vacuum."
Way back in my advertising art direction days, I worked with a small agency in Beverly Hills. Very small and quite creative–just four of us, account exec, copywriter (partners), the art director-me, and one “secretary.” The copywriter was my mentor, having hired me away from our prior employer, a larger more traditional industrial agency with a very low glass ceiling.
My point: that quote is something that my mentor used to say. "Creativity doesn't exist in a vacuum." Now we must be more careful about borrowing from others, or perhaps less careful, depending on our ethics. I hope I’m careful. Thus, with the new Scott’s Seafood project, I’m aware, shall we say?
Am I learning? Borrowing? Inspired by? Appropriating?
When Alan Irvine mentioned that he’s been collecting the fabulous art of Christopher Dewees for many years. The art of gyotaku printing in the traditional Japanese fisherman instantaneously resonated with me, despite the fact that I knew nothing about it. Well, that’s what YouTube is for, right? I was especially attracted to the process of Dwight Hwang and his mesmerizing video.
So I tried it.
And after making quite a few prints, I tested it because after all, you can have something in your head that may not work in reality.
And still, I had no idea what would happen when I actually started adhering the prints to the extreme texture of the sculpture. The process became a bit of a metaphor: you start in one place and must respond to whatever challenges present themselves, and while not perfection (ever) it all seems to work out in the end.
Day after day, one print at a time. No way to plan ahead except in the most general way. The rice and shoji papers are so fragile. I was amazed that the prints didn’t fall apart in my hands.
And countless prints later, from salmon and steelhead to anchovies, it’s finished.
See Scott’s Instagram and website for more videos coming soon. Better yet, come visit in person.