Steal Like an Artist

I stole it, I admit it. I stole the title. I stole the topic. For this blog post I did exactly what the author of Steal Like an Artist begs: stole like an artist. Austin Kleon’s book is a treasure trove of ideas for cultivating a creative life. I encourage you to read his book. Meanwhile, let’s examine his line about stealing and put it in context.

How do you steal like an artist? It starts with copying. In order to become good at, let’s say, songwriting, you have to copy the songwriters you like. “Even the Beatles started as a cover band,” says Kleon. Do you like Vienna Tang’s music? Get a songbook and start hammering out her songs on a keyboard, a piano, whatever you want. Play one song of hers after another. Just get in there and play her music. Then, start to notice what chord changes are particularly pleasing. Kleon writes that it’s one thing to copy something; that’s the easy part. It’s the next steps that will help you nurture your own distinctive style. 

In singer/songwriter Catie Curtis’ songwriters’ retreat one year, we practiced a technique called “scaffolding.” Basically, you take a song you like and write and play the chords only. Then write your own words to it. Take the new lyrics and write new chords. Voila! You have a new song that’s uniquely yours.

Whether it’s music or magic, think about your heroes. Analyze. Dis-assemble. Put together. Do all of these things to the art you love. “Don’t just steal the style, steal the thinking behind the style. You don’t want to look like your heroes. You want to think like your heroes,” writes Kleon. When you start molding your idol’s work into something of your own, that’s when you know you’ve found your unique voice or expression. He points out that great comics started out emulating other great comics, until they found their own personal style. Conan O’Brian, for example, started out emulating David Letterman. Failing that, he became Conan O’Brian. In broadcasting, we say imitation is the sincerest form of television. Cue laughter.

Starting with copying and then analyzing what works and what doesn’t work - that’s going to help you evolve as an artist. One creative icon who exemplifies this concept of appropriating art is Gertrude Stein. She gobbled up the visual art of Cezanne and Picasso. And these painters’ works had a direct influence on her rhythmic, repetitive style of writing (think: “Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose”). She copied their visual style, including elements of Cubism, and adapted that into her unique writing. 

So the next time you think that creative output has to spring from some magical place never before mined, never before discovered, think again! Permit yourself to mimic away and you may find it opens up an entirely new creative path. 

“Start copying what you love. Copy copy copy copy. At the end of the copy you will find your self” –Yohji Yamamoto