Inspiration
What Does It Mean to Be Inspired?
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, inspiration is “the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something.” This especially rings true when we’re trying to be creative.
But for the working creative, the luxury of sitting around waiting for that spark — the big idea — is something we can rarely afford. There’s a perception that artists are always switched on, constantly brimming with ideas. The reality is a little different. I believe that, as visual artists, we live more on the side of motivation than inspiration. Meaning, we have to think by doing. Action fuels ideas.
And sometimes, that motivation comes from looking at the accomplishments of others. Solving a creative problem is often easier when we seek out great work that’s come before us. It’s almost spiritual in a way. That’s the reason art, in all its forms — visual, musical, cinematic, theatrical — continues to fascinate. It gives us a glimpse into what it means to be human. Creativity connects us to one another, across time and culture.
Personally, I’ve long been drawn to Social Realism. My motivation comes from the events and icons of the 20th century. If you want to understand how we navigate today’s challenges, look to the 1900s — it’s all happened before. War, disease, famine, natural disasters, oppressive regimes, crime, racism, greed — the list goes on. The difference today is that, thanks to social media, these issues are more visible and immediate than ever.
My work often revisits those parallels. I find endless inspiration in the art and music of the last century. Call it nostalgic if you like. Artists such as Charles White, Ben Shahn, Diego Rivera, Thomas Hart Benton, and Charles Alston continue to resonate with me. So do designers and illustrators like A.M. Cassandre, Milton Glaser, and Norman Rockwell.
Sure, by today’s standards, the 20th century may look like the Dark Ages. In some ways, that’s fair. But despite all our technological advances, the same fundamental issues persist. The 20th century wasn’t a simpler time — just an earlier one. And through it all, art has remained a mirror to its era. Visual history can be both beautiful and deeply unsettling. It reminds us who we were and who we still are.
No one can make you like a piece of art. That’s your freedom. But if you approach creativity with an open mind, you might discover something meaningful along the way. And that’s your freedom too.
Charles White
Charles White is recognized for the richness of his graphic work and his paintings, which typically depict aspects of the history, culture, and life of African Americans. A native of Chicago, White attended the School of the Art Institute, the Art Students League of New York, and later the Taller de Gráfica Popular in Mexico. Beginning in 1939, he was employed by the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration. Read more about him here.
Milton Glaser
Milton Glaser, American graphic designer, illustrator, and cofounder of the revolutionary Pushpin Studio. Drawing upon various influences, Glaser and the Pushpin artists forged an innovative conceptual approach to graphic design, often using simplified images that functioned as signs and symbols.
Norman Rockwell
Norman Percevel Rockwell was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of the country’s culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine over nearly five decades.
Bill Evans
American jazz pianist known for lush harmonies and lyrical improvisation, one of the most influential pianists of his time.
Ben Shahn
A.M. Cassandre
Cassandre, the pseudonym of Adolphe Jean-Marie Mouron (24 January 1901 – 17 June 1968), was a French painter, commercial poster artist, and typeface designer.
Charles Ashton
John Coltrane
American jazz saxophonist, bandleader, and composer, an iconic figure of 20th-century jazz.
Miles Davis
American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musical directions in a roughly five-decade career that kept him at the forefront of many major stylistic developments in jazz. Wilkipedia
Thomas Hart Benton
Thomas Hart Benton was an American painter, muralist, and printmaker. H
Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera had a profound effect on the international art world. Among his many contributions, Rivera is credited with the reintroduction of fresco painting into modern art and architecture. His radical political views and tempestuous romance with the painter Frieda Kahlo were then, and remain today, a source of public intrigue. Learn more about the artist here.
Elizabeth Catlett
Elizabeth Catlett was born at Freedmen’s Hospital in Washington, DC. Both her maternal and paternal grandparents were born enslaved, a family legacy that influenced her art. Catlett knew from a young age that she wanted to be an artist. After Carnegie Mellon rescinded her acceptance due to her race, she attended Howard University, graduating in 1935 with a BS in Art.
Augustine Barrios
Agustín Barrios Mangoré was a Paraguayan classical guitarist and composer who dedicated his life to music and writing poems. He composed more than 300 songs for which he would first write the lyrics and then the guitar accompaniment.
Barrios was famed for his phenomenal performances, both live and on gramophone recordings. His works were largely late-Romantic in character. Many of them are also adaptations of, or are influenced by, South American and Central American folk music. Very many of them are of a virtuosic nature. Philadelphia Chamber Music Society