The Artist Explains What the Phrase “Great Artists Steal” Really Means
“A good composer does not imitate; he steals, ” Igor Stravinsky allegedly said . Faulkner allegedly put it this way: “Immature artists copy, great artists steal.” Steve Jobs put itvery simply : “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” This saying regularly inspires artists, thinkers, and poster designers in dorms. But what does this mean in practical terms?
There are definitely misinterpretations. “Steal” here does not mean “plagiarism”. it does not turn anyone into a great artist. This clearly does not mean “copy”. So what’s left? A bunch of.
Make the idea yours
Artist Adam J. Kurtz , author of books for inspiration such as One Page at a Time and upcoming Things Are What You Make of Them , explained the difference between copying and stealing email. One is imitation, the other is inspiration. The difference, says Kurtz, is intent. Imitation is laziness or refusal to accept your influence. Inspiration is all about recognizing this influence and transforming it into something new:
Great artists steal is essentially about finding inspiration in the work of others and then using that as a starting point for an original creative result. Artists can remodel, remix, replace or otherwise mix existing work to create something new. Sometimes it’s as easy as calling something art ( Duchamp’s Fountain is a prime example).
So what makes this a “theft”? The point is, instead of just borrowing something for a faint imitation – which just reminds people of an excellent original – you change that with your own compelling ideas. When you’ve actually changed and improved someone’s idea, an informed audience can look at both works and say that yours is better at researching a particular idea. You now “own” this idea. So you stole it!
Here’s a famous example. In Macbeth, the ghost prophesies that “Macbeth will never be defeated” until the forest itself has stepped on his castle. But then the English army goes to the castle, holding on to branches from the forest, and Macbeth is defeated.
JRR Tolkien is so “bitterly disappointed and disgusted” with this “squalid use” that, as he told the poet W.H. Auden , he has invented a moving, talking forest that actually uproots and goes to war. in The Lord of the Rings. In the meantime, the public knows Tolkien’s trees better than Shakespeare. He stole like an artist.
Modern writers also steal all of Shakespeare’s plots; The Lion King is Hamlet for the kids, and West Side Story is Romeo and Juliet with a slightly less tragic ending. But note that these adaptations changed the idea enough to become iconic. 10 Things I Hate About You is a fun movie, but it’s not really Criterion Collection stuff, in part because it doesn’t build an overwhelmingly compelling new idea like “What if the animal kingdom were a literal kingdom?” or “What if we expressed simmering racial tensions through dance?”
So pick the most significant or most compelling source you can. You want to commit a grand robbery, not a robbery.
Follow the pattern
There is a difference between inspiration and imitation, but also between inspiration and best practices. It is not a copying to learn how great masters used perspective in their paintings; it is not copying to follow the hero’s journey for your book or script. That’s what art is.
Young creative people are often forced to invent something completely new. Experimentation is essential! But there is a reason why most people do not want to watch the student’s “experimental film”. Experiments are meant to find out why all artists tend to follow the same principles, and to find out which of these principles you want to violate.
But in order to effectively break the rules, you must understand and appreciate them and why you are breaking them. Before Picasso could use Cubism to display multiple points of view at the same time, he first had to study traditional perspective. For Bjork’s song “It’s Oh So Quiet” to effectively pierce your ears, she must first sing softly and gently. Learning and using traditional methods is not for the lazy, it is necessary if you want to build your own ideas.
Be ethical
There is honor among metaphorical thieves. If you are constantly inspired by the work of representatives of another culture, be sure to draw attention to the original work. If you’re just diluting a foreign culture for the mainstream audience to accept, that’s appropriation. This is why the black artists who invented rock and roll went unnoticed while the white artists resold their ideas to white audiences.
So if your work is more successful than your work, don’t assume it’s because you’ve invented something new – make sure you’re not just reselling something. If you’re ever worried about revealing your influence, this is a sign of danger. “One way to make sure you’re not a jerk,” says Kurtz, “is to be open about your sources, trust your employees, and be free to name your sources of inspiration.”
Conversely, believing that “great artists steal” does not mean that you cannot defend your rights. When fashion store Zara brazenly copied the badge and badge designs of Kurtz and his fellow artists, Kurtz named them and promoted their original work.
The golden rule applies: steal the way you would like to be stolen, with honor, respect and new revolutionary ideas. Artists, says Kurz, “all understand the challenges other creative people face. So I can’t figure out why someone would intentionally harm another creative. ” So always remember that great artists steal and bad artists copy.