WEBVTT 00:00:00.719 --> 00:00:04.519 Welcome to Art Unframed. I'm Vulcan, and together 00:00:04.519 --> 00:00:07.839 with my Cohost Kafani, we dive into the raw side 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:11.380 of creativity. This podcast is about art without 00:00:11.380 --> 00:00:15.240 limits, art that questions, art that pushes back, 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:19.480 art that shows us who we are. Every episode, 00:00:19.620 --> 00:00:23.320 we sit with artists from around the world to 00:00:23.320 --> 00:00:26.420 talk about their journey, their struggles, and 00:00:26.420 --> 00:00:29.030 the stories behind their work. It's not just 00:00:29.030 --> 00:00:32.070 about galleries and pretty pictures. It's about 00:00:32.070 --> 00:00:35.750 freedom, vulnerability, and the power of creating. 00:00:39.390 --> 00:00:42.350 Welcome to Art and Friend, Season 2, Episode 00:00:42.350 --> 00:00:46.090 4. And today, we'll be talking about the myth 00:00:46.090 --> 00:00:52.070 of the perfect artist. You ever meet that one 00:00:52.070 --> 00:00:55.750 artist who's got their life figured out? They've 00:00:55.750 --> 00:00:59.310 got the perfect feed. Perfect lighting. Every 00:00:59.310 --> 00:01:02.549 post they make look like a magazine cover shot 00:01:02.549 --> 00:01:05.750 from Vogue. Even their messy studio looks so 00:01:05.750 --> 00:01:11.569 curated and perfect. And then there's us. We're 00:01:11.569 --> 00:01:15.409 just trying to find our sketchbook under a pile 00:01:15.409 --> 00:01:18.629 of clothes, eating cold rice and wondering if 00:01:18.629 --> 00:01:21.790 that one drawing we posted last week failed because 00:01:21.790 --> 00:01:25.909 of the algorithm or because it just actually 00:01:25.909 --> 00:01:30.280 sucked. welcome to the myth of the perfect artist 00:01:30.280 --> 00:01:35.319 spoiler alert that artist doesn't exist finding 00:01:35.319 --> 00:01:40.040 a perfect artist is just like looking for bigfoot 00:01:40.040 --> 00:01:44.180 with an art degree hey if you find bigfoot with 00:01:44.180 --> 00:01:49.480 an art degree do let me know you know where this 00:01:49.480 --> 00:01:53.060 myth starts um it starts the moment someone says 00:01:53.060 --> 00:01:58.579 wow you're so talented that's One sentence ruins 00:01:58.579 --> 00:02:03.519 lives. You know, because before that you were 00:02:03.519 --> 00:02:06.780 free. You just drew things that look like potatoes 00:02:06.780 --> 00:02:10.860 and called them people. You wrote weird poetry 00:02:10.860 --> 00:02:13.719 about moods and heartbreak. You didn't care. 00:02:14.860 --> 00:02:18.500 Then one person said, you're good at this. And 00:02:18.500 --> 00:02:21.460 suddenly you're no longer playing. You're performing. 00:02:22.259 --> 00:02:26.460 Now you're the talented one. You can't make mistakes 00:02:26.460 --> 00:02:30.900 anymore. Now every line feels like a test. You're 00:02:30.900 --> 00:02:33.719 not creating art anymore. You're defending your 00:02:33.719 --> 00:02:36.939 reputation. And that's how the perfect artist 00:02:36.939 --> 00:02:42.740 is born. Not out of skill, but out of fear. You 00:02:42.740 --> 00:02:47.080 know what's funny? The more we learn, the more 00:02:47.080 --> 00:02:50.620 scared we become. When we didn't know anatomy, 00:02:50.939 --> 00:02:56.189 we would draw... People with six fingers, with 00:02:56.189 --> 00:02:58.550 so much confidence and be proud of what we did. 00:02:59.389 --> 00:03:02.069 Now that we know human propulsion and lighting, 00:03:02.330 --> 00:03:05.669 we are terrified of drawing anything at all. 00:03:07.189 --> 00:03:11.090 Knowledge makes us cautious. It makes us think 00:03:11.090 --> 00:03:16.349 before we feel. It's like dancing. When you didn't 00:03:16.349 --> 00:03:19.530 know how to dance, we are so free. You move, 00:03:19.810 --> 00:03:24.539 you wiggle. you're having fun but once you start 00:03:24.539 --> 00:03:28.639 learning the steps suddenly your body freezes 00:03:28.639 --> 00:03:33.520 and then you become stiff you're like wait does 00:03:33.520 --> 00:03:35.240 it start with the left foot or the right foot 00:03:35.240 --> 00:03:40.020 and then the joy is sucked out of you heart the 00:03:40.020 --> 00:03:45.099 same way you start worrying about balance perspectives 00:03:45.099 --> 00:03:52.340 rules and then poof the magic disappears because 00:03:52.340 --> 00:03:59.439 basically perfection kills instinct the internet 00:03:59.439 --> 00:04:04.680 made it worse you know if we talk about the internet 00:04:04.680 --> 00:04:09.800 the monster under every creative bed wake up 00:04:09.800 --> 00:04:13.960 we open instagram or x and boom someone's already 00:04:13.960 --> 00:04:17.379 posted a masterpiece A digital oil painting that 00:04:17.379 --> 00:04:19.620 looks like Michelangelo came back from the dead 00:04:19.620 --> 00:04:23.259 just to flex. And you're there, zooming into 00:04:23.259 --> 00:04:26.459 your own drawing like, hmm, this eyebrow looks 00:04:26.459 --> 00:04:30.600 off. We used to compare our hearts to what we 00:04:30.600 --> 00:04:35.620 made last year. Now, we compare it to 10 million 00:04:35.620 --> 00:04:39.399 strangers in real time. And you know what? That's 00:04:39.399 --> 00:04:42.439 not even fair. You're comparing your work in 00:04:42.439 --> 00:04:47.319 progress to someone's highlight reel. They are 00:04:47.319 --> 00:04:50.420 comparing your messy process to their finished 00:04:50.420 --> 00:04:55.220 edit. It's like comparing your kitchen while 00:04:55.220 --> 00:04:58.579 cooking to someone else's finished food photography 00:04:58.579 --> 00:05:01.899 that is well packaged with lighting and ring 00:05:01.899 --> 00:05:06.639 light of course. Of course the look of their 00:05:06.639 --> 00:05:10.379 food is going to be cleaner and they've already 00:05:10.379 --> 00:05:14.319 washed the dishes. Let's talk about their algorithms 00:05:14.319 --> 00:05:19.300 for a second. those mysterious god of social 00:05:19.300 --> 00:05:22.519 media that decide if you matter today you can 00:05:22.519 --> 00:05:25.259 spend a week on a piece that means everything 00:05:25.259 --> 00:05:29.759 to you pour your heart into it post it and then 00:05:29.759 --> 00:05:35.160 you get nothing and then when you decide to just 00:05:35.160 --> 00:05:39.300 sneeze to do the cat on a napkin post it as a 00:05:39.300 --> 00:05:44.160 joke it goes viral so then you have like a million 00:05:44.160 --> 00:05:47.839 views or 10 ,000 views or something like that 00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:51.379 and you're just like really this and it's just 00:05:51.379 --> 00:05:54.660 like the internet just said yeah we take the 00:05:54.660 --> 00:05:58.560 crumbs and leave the bread that's the moment 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:01.079 you realize that the algorithm doesn't really 00:06:01.079 --> 00:06:05.560 care about your art it just wants content but 00:06:05.560 --> 00:06:08.860 you you're not a content machine you're just 00:06:08.860 --> 00:06:13.069 a human being like you're a person So let me 00:06:13.069 --> 00:06:15.529 tell you about one of the dumbest thing I've 00:06:15.529 --> 00:06:24.769 ever done When I was in 200 level at uni We had 00:06:24.769 --> 00:06:28.970 this quick approach and then I had this design 00:06:28.970 --> 00:06:36.110 lecturer that I looked up to and he told me that 00:06:36.110 --> 00:06:40.230 I had potential and suddenly when he kept saying 00:06:40.230 --> 00:06:44.300 that to me it got to me when i was doing the 00:06:44.300 --> 00:06:48.139 quick approach and then when i was drawing doing 00:06:48.139 --> 00:06:53.800 my design like i kept i kept deliberating over 00:06:53.800 --> 00:06:57.860 one particular drawing i stored i was shading 00:06:57.860 --> 00:07:00.699 doing different things to that particular drawing 00:07:00.699 --> 00:07:05.319 i was making sure i got the detail to the like 00:07:05.319 --> 00:07:12.740 every little detail and Just then I realized 00:07:12.740 --> 00:07:16.439 that time has gone and I was literally doing 00:07:16.439 --> 00:07:21.019 nothing. I was shading nothing. And it was just 00:07:21.019 --> 00:07:24.420 then that it hit me that sometimes perfection 00:07:24.420 --> 00:07:28.139 is not about discipline, about wanting everything 00:07:28.139 --> 00:07:30.920 to be detail -orientated, paying attention to 00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:35.360 details. It's just the fear of, it's just our 00:07:35.360 --> 00:07:39.379 fear, I mean, pretending to be hard work. Because 00:07:39.379 --> 00:07:41.990 the truth is, We are not scared of making bad 00:07:41.990 --> 00:07:46.269 art. We are scared of people seeing us make it. 00:07:48.029 --> 00:07:51.850 That's what perfection is. It's public fear in 00:07:51.850 --> 00:07:55.949 private clothes. You know, every artist you admire, 00:07:56.310 --> 00:08:01.889 the greats, the geniuses, the legends, they all 00:08:01.889 --> 00:08:05.230 live in this messy middle. That part of creation 00:08:05.230 --> 00:08:08.209 where nothing makes sense. Where you hate everything 00:08:08.209 --> 00:08:11.509 you're making. and you convince yourself you've 00:08:11.509 --> 00:08:14.990 lost it you know that feeling when you start 00:08:14.990 --> 00:08:19.629 a new piece and halfway through it looks ugly 00:08:19.629 --> 00:08:24.370 suddenly you want to quit that's the doorway 00:08:24.370 --> 00:08:29.550 and you know that's where our style begins you 00:08:29.550 --> 00:08:32.389 keep going through that ugly face enough times 00:08:32.389 --> 00:08:36.129 and eventually you start making something that 00:08:36.129 --> 00:08:39.220 feels like you And that's not the absence of 00:08:39.220 --> 00:08:43.279 mistake. That's our identity. Those mistakes 00:08:43.279 --> 00:08:47.840 are our signature. They are fingerprints on our 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:50.940 hearts. You can't erase them without erasing 00:08:50.940 --> 00:08:55.960 a part of yourself. You know, there's something 00:08:55.960 --> 00:09:01.980 called an ego problem. And I think every artist 00:09:01.980 --> 00:09:07.190 struggles with our ego. If we talk about ego 00:09:07.190 --> 00:09:11.710 for a second. Every artist have one. Even though 00:09:11.710 --> 00:09:15.370 we pretend we don't. We can say stuff like, I 00:09:15.370 --> 00:09:19.649 just do it for the love of art. Really? If you 00:09:19.649 --> 00:09:21.970 did it for the love of art, why did you refresh 00:09:21.970 --> 00:09:26.429 your notifications 20 times today? I mean, we 00:09:26.429 --> 00:09:30.769 crave validation. We want to be seen, heard. 00:09:31.529 --> 00:09:36.149 We want to be appreciated. That's not bad. and 00:09:36.149 --> 00:09:41.889 you know that's totally human our ego becomes 00:09:41.889 --> 00:09:44.909 poison when you start deciding what you make 00:09:44.909 --> 00:09:49.210 you know when you're not creating because it 00:09:49.210 --> 00:09:52.470 feels right you're creating because it might 00:09:52.470 --> 00:09:57.470 trend and then you stop taking risks you start 00:09:57.470 --> 00:10:00.230 repeating yourself doing things because it was 00:10:00.230 --> 00:10:03.490 successful before you suddenly become predictable 00:10:05.100 --> 00:10:09.820 And that's when our hearts die. Not from failure, 00:10:09.960 --> 00:10:16.519 but from the fear of failure. The real juice 00:10:16.519 --> 00:10:20.720 of creation isn't in the final piece. It's in 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:25.879 the process. It's in that messy, chaotic, what 00:10:25.879 --> 00:10:28.879 the hell am I doing stage. That's where the fun 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:33.299 is. That's where discoveries hide. Because... 00:10:33.659 --> 00:10:36.299 when you're too focused on the finish line you 00:10:36.299 --> 00:10:41.200 forget to live in the journey um every masterpiece 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:45.440 that you look at and say started as a masterpiece 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:49.519 it first started as a mess as a mistake every 00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:53.259 great artist has a photo of disasters they will 00:10:53.259 --> 00:10:56.460 never show everyone you don't get to skip that 00:10:56.460 --> 00:11:02.809 part you just keep making messing making mistakes 00:11:02.809 --> 00:11:09.009 um laughing learning and repeats just keep on 00:11:09.009 --> 00:11:14.929 doing it over and over again it's a loop so remember 00:11:14.929 --> 00:11:18.029 when you were a kid you didn't draw to impress 00:11:18.029 --> 00:11:22.730 anybody you just drew it because you felt like 00:11:22.730 --> 00:11:27.389 it i mean you could draw a cup you could draw 00:11:27.389 --> 00:11:32.029 a car and You didn't say, I'm not good at art. 00:11:32.950 --> 00:11:35.889 You can just be like, look, it's a cup. It's 00:11:35.889 --> 00:11:40.710 a car. It's a dragon. And even though it looked 00:11:40.710 --> 00:11:44.490 nothing like a dragon, you believed it. We're 00:11:44.490 --> 00:11:48.690 so fearless. We didn't need followers or algorithms 00:11:48.690 --> 00:11:54.169 or fancy tools. We just needed a pencil or crayons 00:11:54.169 --> 00:11:57.029 or virus to draw different type of messages. 00:11:57.470 --> 00:12:01.639 And somewhere, Along that line, we've lost that 00:12:01.639 --> 00:12:05.039 kid. We've replaced curiosity with judgment. 00:12:05.620 --> 00:12:10.120 We've started chasing approval instead of wonder. 00:12:10.720 --> 00:12:14.879 But that kid's still there. You just have to 00:12:14.879 --> 00:12:20.580 unmute them. One of the things that I've figured 00:12:20.580 --> 00:12:24.539 out, you know what's funny? The older I get, 00:12:24.779 --> 00:12:30.820 the less I know what I'm doing. the more okay 00:12:30.820 --> 00:12:34.919 I am with that. I used to think being an artist 00:12:34.919 --> 00:12:40.039 meant being in control. Now I realize it's about 00:12:40.039 --> 00:12:46.139 being available. Being available to ideas, mistakes, 00:12:46.419 --> 00:12:51.840 being available to accidents, being available 00:12:51.840 --> 00:12:57.000 to change. And some days we are going to make 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:01.610 trash. Some days we are going to make gold and 00:13:01.610 --> 00:13:05.149 most days it will be rebuilt and that's fine. 00:13:06.250 --> 00:13:11.950 That's our heartbeat. Perfection isn't the goal. 00:13:13.830 --> 00:13:19.990 What's really important about everything is our 00:13:19.990 --> 00:13:23.730 presence. Being able to be there no matter what. 00:13:23.830 --> 00:13:27.159 Being able to push forward no matter what. even 00:13:27.159 --> 00:13:31.940 during the mess even no matter how bad it gets 00:13:31.940 --> 00:13:38.539 how crazy it can suck so bad because when you're 00:13:38.539 --> 00:13:43.039 truly in that moment uh uh brush moving whatever 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:47.179 tools we are using cameras clicking uh pencils 00:13:47.179 --> 00:13:53.700 scratching and uh mind quiet to write or just 00:13:53.700 --> 00:13:59.120 using our voices We don't care about being perfect. 00:13:59.759 --> 00:14:03.000 What we care about is the truth. And that's what 00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:05.360 people feel when they see your heart, the truth. 00:14:05.639 --> 00:14:09.279 They don't care if your lines are off. They don't 00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:13.659 care if the feeling is real. Sorry, I meant they 00:14:13.659 --> 00:14:19.120 care if the feeling is real. So if you're listening 00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:23.559 to this right now and you've been stuck and you've 00:14:23.559 --> 00:14:26.590 been doubting your work, comparing yourself to 00:14:26.590 --> 00:14:30.210 strangers on the internet. Take a deep breath. 00:14:30.450 --> 00:14:36.629 You're not behind. You're just human. And humans 00:14:36.629 --> 00:14:40.809 create in chaos. There is no perfect artist. 00:14:42.570 --> 00:14:45.710 There's just the artist who shows up anyway. 00:14:47.009 --> 00:14:53.149 So show up. Make the weird thing. Post the awkward 00:14:53.149 --> 00:14:58.039 thing. Laugh even if it feels. And remember, 00:14:58.340 --> 00:15:01.460 you don't need to be perfect to be worth something. 00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:08.600 Because maybe, and just maybe, your imperfections 00:15:08.600 --> 00:15:10.320 are the thing that makes your heart unforgettable. 00:15:15.179 --> 00:15:19.240 This is Art Unframed, and I'm Vulcan. And if 00:15:19.240 --> 00:15:22.870 your heart looks messy today, good. That just 00:15:22.870 --> 00:15:25.769 means it's alive. Thank you for listening.