Austin Kleon: "Steal Like an Artist" @ TEDxKC (2012)

During a windy snow day this past week, the IP faculty asked the iPeople (a term synonymous with "IPians," introduced by Khaled A.) to watch a video on "stealing" and art.  We, the IP team, hope that this talk will inspire our learners to not only form collaborative partnerships with one another but also to re-evaluate the notions of influence, plagiarism, and originality as they move forward in life.

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Writer, author, and New York Times bestselling author of Show Your Work! and Newspaper Blackout, Austin Kleon (@austinkleon) has spoken to young artists and at organizations such as Pixar (@DisneyPixar) and Google (@google).  In 2012, he delivered a talk at @TEDxKC, "Steal Like An Artist," after releasing a book of the same name earlier that year.  During his presentation, Kleon offers a list of ten ideas that all beginning artists should consider.  His talk amounts to a radical yet timely reinterpretation of creativity for the 21st century.

So not only was my idea idea completely unoriginal.  It turns out there was a 250 year-old history of finding poetry in the newspaper.  So what am I supposed to do? Instead of getting discouraged, I kept on.  Because I know something that a lot of artists know but few will admit to.  And that is:  nothing is completely original.  All creative work builds on what came before.  Every new idea is just a remix, or a mash-up, of one or two previous ideas.
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How does an artist look at the world? Well, first, she asks herself, 'What's worth stealing?' And second, she moves onto the next thing.  That's about all there is to it.  When you look at the world this way, there is no longer good art and bad art.  There's just art worth stealing and art that isn't.  And everything in the world is up for grabs.  If you don't find something worth stealing today, you might find it worth stealing tomorrow, or the month after that, or years later.

What did you think? Have you "stolen" anything notable lately? Please post in the comments section below.

Description of 1st image:  Kleon's visual representation of how artists see the world.  Photo located at sharingisliberty.wordpress.com.  Kildonan and its IP program claim no ownership over this picture.