Generically creative

in #art5 years ago

Is this a bad shot?

I like it even though it is grainy and far from crisp.

These days it is common that a good shot is one that is sharp, clear lines and (if not posted on Steemit) can zoom in and see every detail. I don't think of it this way, even though it frustrates my to not get a clear shot when I aim for it at times.

What about this one?

It is a throw away shot taken of the roof of a stall in the Flower Market in Amsterdam. One of my favourites. Perfect? Far from it but that doesn't matter because - it is mine and the moment it was taken at is mine too.

For me over the last few years, the concept of 'mine' has become much more important when it comes to what I consider valuable, whether it be my content or my time. Rather than finding the perfect accompanying image, prefer to use my own photography even if it is a mismatch for the content because, it gives me the sense that what I am posting is indeed mine. This is important for me with my work and I actually don't care much when people use sourced images... unless they claim them as their own.

What I find interesting on Steem is that a lot of people are trying to get popular by being generic rather than finding what makes them unique. There are plenty of people who post what would be considered "good quality" content yet, there is no original thought of their own anywhere to be seen, just repeats of what they have consumed and regurgitated in their own words.

Even when they talk about their own experiences it is trying too hard to fit some kind of mold they have picked up along the way as they read, watch and listen to the ideas of others. Is it bad to be generic and repetitive of other's minds? Not at all and it is probably recommended as people will support what they like and what they like generally is similar to what they have liked earlier. Familiarity s a big driver of repeat sales. There is nothing wrong with looking to sell one's creations, even if not overly creative.

Still for me though, I like to play with my own thoughts and processes regardless of what people generally think of them or if, someone has thought them before. In my opinion, there is such a thing as an original thought if the thought of another is not known at the time of having the thought. I would say that a person who grew up on a deserted island and had the same stream of thought as Plato did a few millennia ago, would be a pretty decent thinker - regardless of if their thoughts had been thought before.

Someone who reads Shakespeare and then writes in the same style as Shakespeare, is not overly creative - even if talented as a writer. It is like a highly skilled forger of renaissance art, they are not really an artist. Well, not of the creative side of the composition, there is definitely art in the skill of the replication. There might of course be no original thought if one considers that all thoughts are evolved from past thoughts meaning that there is always a driving connection from experience.

When I was a kid I came to the conclusion that art was decent if I couldn't do it myself and this meant either on the skill side or, the creative side where I wouldn't have thought of delivering the idea. This doesn't mean I necessarily like the art itself but I can appreciate it for what it is, the creation of another. But as I grew I added in the layer of generic content where if it is like all the other art of the time, it is a trend and therefore, not so original - no matter the skill involved.

Does originality matter? Not to some but to others it might and when it comes to the collectors of value, scarcity of course plays a part, whether it be a in the box Barbie doll, a Da Vinci painting or a dress that Audrey Hepburn wore in one of her movies.

I am not very original perhaps but my perspective of the world is of course unique to me, as is yours is to you which means, no matter whether there is overlap, we can never think identically. The overlap in thought processes is growing in my opinion though as even though there are more sources for varied views, most people surround themselves with the familiar and usually, that is a confirmation bias position to support why their thinking is correct.

As I see it, there is correct in word and correct in behavior and often those who believe themselves correct in word are the most incorrect in behavior, the most conflicted from their own spoken position. What is the better person - someone who says all the right things or one who does them? To me the answer is pretty obvious.

I like to dance and I have had the pleasure of dancing with some very good dancers in my time and the best of them are the ones who don't know how to teach how to dance, the ones who can just flow with the music and move themselves accordingly. Those who have learned how to dance and follow a rule book, are akin to dancing with a 1950s robot - automatic, predictable, stiff.

I find it the same with the people who's knowledge is all borrowed from someone else's who likely said it better, with more grace and understanding. It is a type of programming and perhaps similar to being brainwashed or, brainwashing oneself through absorption of information without consideration nor action upon that information. Quote Buddha or Jesus while explaining why those foreigners don't deserve help because they are not one of us.

As said, people support similar to what they know - generic.

We live a lot of our lives on repeat at the individual and of course the societal levels and then we also wonder why things don't change or, why they take so long to change. When it comes to the people with the ideas that change the world, they tend not to be generic thinkers. Of course, the world can be changed on generic thoughts too as long as enough people act upon them. This is what populism counts on of course - ideas that are popular with the people who they want to back it, the majority.

The majority of people are average thinkers though, and another minority are below average. I find it funny when people talk about intelligence as if they themselves are intelligent yet struggle to grasp that all of their information is borrowed from others who are more intelligent then themselves. This means that that information might be presented in a way that will be accepted by their less intelligent kind of person without it being detected as - self-serving. A psychopath need not kill to fill a blood lust if they can convince others to do the killing for them.

Well, that went of track a little from the opening but, that is okay by me. Often when I start writing I am unsure where it will end because I generally freewrite with very little preparation other than a loose idea to begin with, maybe only a title or an image that I come across. Sometimes it is based on a fragment of a conversation, a sliver of a moment caught in the eye of another or, the observation of my own mind as it passes thoughts from one point to another in an endless game of hot potato.

The beauty on the internet is, no one is forced to consume anything from the internet at all and pretty much, everyone can turn off their digital lives and go outside for a walk in the garden or street. Yet, people fee that it is their duty to condemn and complain and argue about why they are right and others are wrong without ever having the intention of acting upon it and behaving in the way they feel is the best course of action. That is okay, they are doing God's work - their ego is their god, and their God is an attention seeker.

Attention seekers in the attention economy - pretty generic.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]

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Just be yourself and that is it. People who try to hard to fit a certain mold won't hit the spot as it is not them. Write about something that means something to you and sod the rest. I wish others would just write and not put too much thought into what others might think.

Yep, I agree with being yourself wherever and whoever one is. What I find on the internet is often a lot of people trying very hard to brand themselves something they are not.

I remember knowing someone who was on here and I didn't recognize the person they were portraying. It was a load of nonsense and a total joke. No names, but they have gone for now and hopefully permanently.

Original continues to garner interest but generic will always have a following given the sense of average you mention. Not sure if it is even worth going for it in the short term as it will just add more barriers to the ordinary people here, which like me are the majority. While we are each unique in our own way, I have seen that we are still people/humans on a social network...

Posted using Partiko iOS

Only so many can benefit from having mass appeal before the masses see it as passe and move on. The original creator can always ave an audience, even if only a dedicated niche.

Is it me or did the image quality get worse in recent times?

'It worked for them and so it will work for me', is less true these days I think. Curie would be all over a certain type of post in the past, but i think the curation guilds are more open to the original and non-generic now.

I do like to find an image that suits, but have no issue working with my own phone's content either - at least you know that then you are providing something unique, even if it is not perfect.

This post is all over the shop, i'm not replying to the other 97 points of interest :P

Is it me or did the image quality get worse in recent times?

It was a cost saving measure and bumped them down to 480p or something :D

This post is all over the shop, i'm not replying to the other 97 points of interest :P

Lol, yeah.. it got a little wild up in here ;P

I don’t think an original idea was created since the wheel. Everything is built off others work.
Art is an exception exception, but only to a degree

It is only really enjoyable when just letting the words flow, or the paint move on the canvas. Even if incomprehensible, I suppose it has "originality" going for it :)

The availability of good cameras nowadays is actually a little disappointing to me. Or maybe it is just the availability of good quality pictures on the internet. Perfect pictures are a dime a dozen. I like my imperfect ones too.

I discover long ago that been yourself is the key. Any concept that comes to my mind to post, i always post. I want to be original

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