Werner Herzog Watches 4 Films in a Year
I've been reading this book (a memoir called "Every Man for Himself and God Against All") by Werner Herzog. There, in a closing chapter, he briefly mentioned one thing: he only watches "3-4 films in a year". I was dumbfounded. I've always thought of artists -- and especially film directors -- as these sponges of other works. Artists are the biggest nerds about art - they now everything and they are always in the know. The typical example is, of course, Quentin Tarantino, who expresses love for the medium through his own art.
But Herzog shattered this image. He is exactly the opposite of what I thought. And this revelation challenged me to think about this:
As an artist, there is a need for uniqueness, for a special perspective. We always want to come up with something new: new idea, new draft, new image. In this quest we turn to other works as sources of inspiration. But maybe the correct approach is doing completely the opposite.
Maybe one should isolate from other influences. For they blur the vision and make us question ourselves from the perspective of works we've already engaged with. Even on a subconscious level, we tend to replicate something we resonate with. This leads to corny, pretentious creations. "Write what you know", you know?
Instead, develop a style, or a method, that is unapologetically your own. It can be dirty, imperfect, straight up bad, but at least it will be expressing you through it.