I have always worked to make my creative voice and my creative taste one and the same. And it has never really worked. What I like to look at is rarely what I make. This is not to say that I do not like my work. I do. It's just not what I am attracted to seeing in other people's work. At no other time in my career have I felt so confident in my style and my voice. So why is it then that I am drawn in so much by work that is dreamy, feminine, ethereal and so unlike my own? Just take a look at my pinterest photo board to see what I mean. I am influenced heavily by the work of people who are often film shooters and who shoot in an otherworldly fashion. But in my own work I want reality. It is honestly a conundrum. This morning I was listening to Morning Edition on NPR, when film director William Friedkin, the director of "The French Connection" and "The Exorcist", was on the air discussing his favorite films. He said, "The films that I love are not the kind of films that I make, to be honest with you. But I learned from every one of these films that I continue to watch." Hearing his words on the radio made me feel so much better, as if I wasn't alone in this disconnect. This is one of the many reasons I love listening to the radio, seeing movies and reading books. It is a way that people open themselves up for others so that we can feel a bit less alone. It seems to be the human condition to want to be connected and to be similar. And I suppose this is the reason I want it to all be so simple. I want to produce what I like to look at, but I suppose life has other plans for me.
What about you? What do you think about this subject? Does your work mirror the work you like to see? Please share.