It’s a common line of thinking that everything has been done before. If you were to break ideas down into their core DNA, no doubt, it has. There are only so many themes in the world. But much like DNA, what really counts isn’t the individual components. It’s how they’re pieced together. And when it comes to mashups, and, let’s face it, by now it’s all mashups, the permutations never end. In fact, the more permutations there are, the more permutations there can be. You just keep mixing and matching.
What matters is knowing your permutation. It may not be easy to decode, but it’s always there. And it’s your anchor. It’s the thing your brain latches onto when it needs a shorthand description for what you’re about, whether it’s to write your marketing or take your pictures. Of course there are more ways to see it than just mashups, but the great thing about pairing concepts is it will get you out of a bind on either end of the spectrum. If you’re stuck and rigid, it will force you into a zone that’s interpretive and free. If you’re vague and undefined, it will force you to commit to a direction.
The other day, I went to Isa in Williamsburg. It’s kind of a mashup between casual meets fine-dining. Nothing new in that sense – the idea of high quality food in casual confines has been par for the course since the recession hit, but what was different was just how casual and just how quirky the food was. Their true mashup? Concept food meets lumberjack palettes. Another one that sticks in recent memory was a description I heard about Urban Outfitters’ furniture – IKEA for hipsters.
No matter how dry the well feels, the reality is that there are endless opportunities. Just try putting some things together and see what happens. The two things don’t even need to be original. It wasn’t that long ago that fashion photography for weddings was enough to grab attention. I suspect with a little more focus, it still can. And, of course, there was wedding photojournalism. You could do street photography meets wedding photography. Avedon meets Richardson. Davidson meets Roversi. All you need to do is take your pick and enjoy the creativity.
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