The Medium is Irrelevant

The other day, a friend of mine texted me a link to a podcast, along with a single sentence that read, “If I could be a small fraction of the photographer Sally Mann is, it would really be something.” Now, this friend is a terrific photographer but, like so many of us, he sometimes gets stuck in the rut of comparison. I get it. I really do. Sally Mann is an iconic photographer, but one of the most challenging—and I think harmful—things we can do to ourselves as artists is to unreasonably compare ourselves and our work to others.

Question:

Do you compare yourself or your work to others? If so, how does it affect the work you make?

LINKS

Sally Mann : https://www.sallymann.com/

Robert Rauschenberg: https://www.wikiart.org/en/robert-rauschenberg

David Carson: http://www.davidcarsondesign.com/

Shepard Fairey: https://obeygiant.com/

Bastille: https://www.bastillebastille.com/

Quarter Past Midnight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1VzzNbfPaM

John Dos Passos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dos_Passos

Nick Hornby: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Hornby

The Paris Review recently posted (or, maybe re-posted) a fantastic interview with the great James Baldwin. In it, he talks about what inspired him to became a writer, why he left America for Paris, and some of his inspirations. If you aren’t familiar with James Baldwin, I recommend his novel The Fire Next Time or I Am Not Your Negro, which is a documentary based on his unfinished novel, Remember This House.

CONNECT WITH ME

Website: https://jefferysaddoris.com

Twitter: @jefferysaddoris

Instagram: @jefferysaddoris

MUSIC

Music For Workplaces by Jeffery Saddoris