051/365
December 26, 2015
Rockland, ME, USA
I saw an interesting shot on the way to town today. A Christian couple was preaching at the side of the road and I took a picture while we were passing by. It amazes me how often you see religious people going on the streets here. I don't think I've ever seen that in Europe. Religion is usually considered a private matter.
I thought a lot about creating vs. recreating today. I think that a lot of creatives are driven by the fear of rejection. I think deep inside every artist is afraid to be irrelevant and boring. So many people aren't able to accept who they are or are afraid that who they really are isn't good enough. That also reflects in any type of artistic work. The subconscious choice to recreate something is always a safe choice. Somebody else has already done a proof of concept for what you're doing and you can just choose to repeat that with slight variations - over swimming out into the open water and risking to drown. Or be rejected.
I think this is also the reason why a lot of people are so concerned about likes and faves on social media, to the point where it consumes them and completely controls their output. It's confirmation for a certain direction and affirmation of their persona. But the goal for any type of artistic expression shouldn't be to please other people. As much as I appreciate positive feedback for my work, I don't think it's productive to worry about how something is received while you create. That's why I think it's so important to create for the love of it - and let everything else develop around that.
It's ok not to be liked by everybody.