It’s been said that the good ones borrow and the great steal. It’s in question whether Picasso uttered these words, but what isn’t is that in this debate the battle lines have long been drawn, and the war rages on. On one side a belief in innovation, on the other, the belief that it’s all been done. On one that newness is essential, on the other that copying works. Neither side fully hits the mark. Both make valid points.
Consider this. You take a picture in 2002 in a certain style of a certain type. Let’s say something progressive, right at the front of the curve. You’re considered modern. You take the exact same picture in the present, and now you’re considered traditional. Which is to say that similar outcomes do not always reflect similar motivations nor send the same message. The meaning of any action exists very uniquely in the time, place, and context in which it occurred, and no single word – copying – can capture the complexities involved. Everyone copies. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it fails.
The more likely truth is that when we copy, we see it one way, and when others copy, we see it another. What is equally likely is that everyone adds something unique when they copy, but not everyone adds something deemed valuable. But whatever the case, in this world of infinite trend and finite time, where there are more opportunities for new and more for replication than ever before, the real question isn’t about copying. It’s about learning. Not who has ripped off what. But simply how to be the best we can.
Perhaps this is the very power of the statement. This distinction between borrowing and theft plays both sides. It recognizes that we all take. But it equally suggests there is a difference in the taking. Whether it is simply the luck of getting away with it or the effort of comprehension, one way or another, those who are great go further with it.
And this is really the essence of the matter. We must all go further. If not than others, than ourselves. Because when it comes down to it, it’s really not about copying at all. It’s about belief. Not the mythical form of the stuff reserved for the Einsteins, Lincolns, or Edisons, but something much more basic and much simpler. Something availed to all of us.
The type of belief I speak of comes from the smallest leaps of faith. What we really need to do is step forward into the uncertain something that is the world and let ourselves find the place to land. Uncharted territories are everything. When we force ourselves to engage the world in earnest, figure things out, and trust the power of the conclusions we make, that is when we grow. It’s never about a result. One person’s copying is another’s original. It’s about what happens inside of us.
Over this past week, for three and a half days, I had the fortune of working with eight wonderful photographers for a very personal workshop. It wasn’t a set of tips. It wasn’t a bunch of models. It wasn’t day after day of work flow or business coaching. This was something different. Simple and pure photography. Me using every resource I had at my disposal to keep them moving. Them using every resource at their disposal to make it work. I said I Will Make You Suffer. And suffering there was. I would never bill it as less. Breakthroughs happen in trials by fire. But there was also heart, character, and passion. My job was simple. To help each person crack their eyes open. To dig into themselves. To create an environment to foster the most growth in the least time. Could I add value to their lives?
As each photographer evolved, as each struggled, as each worked through an idea that started as a nascent fragment of a thought and grew into a full-fledged statement of self, I couldn’t help but think about notions of copying, replicating, referencing, inspiration, and homage. Is there really a difference?
No doubt, there are. But no words would be sufficient to end this debate. Each argument is an ether that permeates the air. Crafted of a gauzy haze they are both tenuous and sound. But there’s an easier way. We can sidestep the issue altogether. Forget about the sides. Leave it to the lawyers and academics to determine what is derivative, transformative, original, and staid. What I learned in this one crazy week is that at the end of the day, how you frame the debate really doesn’t matter. Not when it comes to learning. Not when it is about your act of creation.
What does matter is that your pour every ounce of yourself into it. Blood, sweat, and tears, are everything. They push, they cleanse, they commit, and they expand. And blood, sweat, and tears there were. Can you crawl down the rabbit hole and pull yourself out, inch by perilous inch? Are willing to put yourself in a place where it’s all questions and no answers? Do you stop when things are at their worst, or is that when you’re just getting started? And will you let it all get under your skin, seep into your bones, and creep into your head, until you just can’t let go? Watching everyone go out, session after session, I couldn’t help but feel immense admiration for what each person did. The results will come next week. But until then and in light of what I experienced, I’ll simply share this to everyone out there. Never accept the limitations. No one truly knows what they are. There is always a way, and each of us is capable of much, much more than we will ever know. Believe it.
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