less curating, more creating
Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 12:35AM
A recent article's provocative title on PSFK recently caught my attention. After I read it, it unraveled something in me. Are We Becoming Inspiration Fetishists? was written in response to a blog post by Stephan Boubil at The Apartment. The original article talks about how the creative industry and the internet has in a sense has turned us into 'inspiration fetishists' that are more concerned about inspiration behind creative work rather than actually creating the work. I stumbled upon the quote above on The Mavenist and I felt it truly captured this whole line of thought.
As a creative person and a blogger, I feel that I'm always working. My blog does help me document my creative experience and my point of view. Although my blog started out purely as a documentation of my design and aesthetic preferences, I realized over the past couple of years that this isn't really what makes it interesting to read or follow in the long run. Considering the name of my blog, I was forced to question whether or not I have turned into an 'inspiration fetishist.' The answer is 'no.' Well, maybe a little. It's been great learning over the past couple of years through blogging – and discovery of other blogs – that what's most compelling is actually writing about and photographing my own life experience as a creative person. I have noticed that 'blogging' has become increasingly part of everyone's vocabulary. People are spending more and more time curating and maintaining their Tumblr or Pinterest accounts. Our Twitter streams feed us endless links to more inspiring visuals, topics and work. Sure, these sites can/do provide a great deal of inspiration (visual and otherwise) when needed. Some of it can be very seductive. But don't you get exhausted? I know I am. The point we're starting to miss through all of the bombardment is this: when are we/people actually CREATING when we spend so much time collecting and glorifying someone else's work? So much so that it's become so commonplace to appropriate someone else's images and/or text without the courtesy of crediting the author. Perhaps, to some, it has become a fetish. Consider this for a moment. It's something that has stuck with me this week. To rephrase Stephan Boubil's point about how he's tired of the word inspiration... what happened to action, awakening, motivation, ambition and influence? At the end of the day, what's more interesting to me is original content, real stories. As a blogger, it's certainly more interesting for me to share my own experience and my own work. It's about creating original content as opposed to only reposting someone else's. Good questions to ask might be: What's the ratio of time spent this week on collecting inspiration vs actual creation? At what point do you feel compelled to originate work? There isn't anything wrong with curating/collecting existing content and sharing it. I just believe that it shouldn't be taking away ALL our creative energy. What do you think?
Reader Comments (7)
I was just admiring your work as I was looking for inspiration for our website redesign--- I completely agree with the sentiment here, but will still pay you a compliment on your lovely designs!
thank you for your reaction catherine, i do think this topic is ripe for debate when all channels around us seem never-ending in their pursuit of content and disguising it as the generous gift of inspiration. i'm guilty of it too. and i think we, the dealers, have to bear some responsibility in the subsequent blandness that has resulted from our diligent efforts to inform. what do you think?
Thanks for your comment Stefan. This topic is ripe for debate, I agree. I think that the deluge of information is a result of changes in the way we communicate and the immediate access to it (via Twitter for example). My argument is for creating original content instead of only constantly pursuing existing content. The 'blandness' you speak of (I believe) is a result of the sheer volume of information out there rather than the quality of it. I see myself as more a participant rather than a dealer or an authority. And people will always have a choice of whether or not to consume content.
This is such an incredible post Catherine. I can't stop thinking about how this has influenced my own blog and its content. In my mind, repurposing and curating existing content is a quick and easy way to get a blog post up there and let's your readers somewhat get a sense of who you really are. I mean, why wouldn't a blogger opt for this type of post? I try, in most cases, to create original content and because of this cannot post as often which can lead to people forgetting about you while they wait for your next article. It's a hard decision to choose between these two manners of blogging, don't you think? So much to say about this topic.
Thank you so much Michelle. I believe we've all inflicted a kind of pressure on ourselves to "just post something." I was caught up in it myself at one point. I decided that for personal reasons and through discussions – quite a while ago now – about this same topic with friends like Nichole (@littlebrownpen) and Jenna (@whimsyandspice) that I wouldn't give into this pressure. Aside from a lot of personal things I didn't feel appropriate to share on my blog, I lost the desire to repost other people's work as much as I was doing. It started to feel like a chore. I feel that there's more sincerity when I blog only when I feel compelled to share an experience/photos. So I think it depends on how you feel about it. If your concern is that you might lose readership if you don't output a certain volume of content, then yes, that will influence what you decide to post (and how much). The way I see it, I blog for me. If other people find it interesting, then fantastic! I don't ever want to look at it as a chore and I'd like the content to be all mine (or at least have personal reasons for being there).
Catherine, this post is exceptional. I absolutely agree with your sentiments. When I started my blog I spent a lot of time thinking about what direction I wanted to take it. (I started another one that was short lived because I didn't think about my true desires and it became a time consuming chore). With my blog I decided that I would only ever publish my own content and only when I felt like it. I enjoy blogging a couple of times a week and I accept that my blog and online shop will grow slower due to my decisions. I am comfortable with this as it is about my quality of life in all areas and engaging with people who are genuinely interested in what I share. I find that I will unfollow blogs that never generate their own content. That is not to say that those who use a combination of created and inspiration material are bad. Indeed I follow some that fit into this category too. But my interest wanes if I start to feel like the blog is merely rehashing images from around the web (and lack of clearly visible credit to the image owners really turns me off). I am always consciously assessing the blogs that I follow to keep my feeds to a minimum and ask myself if I'm just filling my head with inspiration that results in a scattered mind. When I feel that I've exposed myself to way too much inspiration, I take a step back and assess again. I think it's probably a natural reaction to be pulled into inspiration fetishism but as long as we catch ourselves and pull ourselves back, I think it can be kept at a manageable and beneficial amount. Again, thank you for expressing your thoughts on these issues. I look forward to following the links to explore this further.
I couldn't agree more and I'm so glad you posted this. The issue of creating vs. curating has been constantly challenged when deciding what to use on my blog. When I started my blog I mad a rule that I would only use my own photography and projects (with a few exceptions of specific posts). I've stuck with it for over a year now and I have to say, although it takes a lot more time shooting/editing pics, staging and styling, it's worth it in the end. There's so much on the internet and circling around on "creative" blogs, so why not create something new rather than just copy & repeat. Great article...love it!