I want furious furious beautiful enthralling art. With no commas.
I want hyperbole.
I am no longer interested in authenticity.
“Authentic” was the term du jour in social media in 2010. And possibly also 2009 (bleeding hearts age in dog years). A hazy catchphrase that alluded to the importance of presenting an open, frank, transparent, approachable persona online.
Picturing a million earnest faces staring back at me through my computer screen has hypnotized me into placidity. Lower your head, raise your eyes, and lend those faces your glare. The time has come to challenge with a hint of a smile and a guttural growl.
Show me what you’ve got.
Wow me.
Move me.
Punch me in the gut.
Make me feel!
Do not blink.
Stop explaining yourself. Stop qualifying. Stop using the words “maybe” and “in my opinion.” You need not assure me that you are not the definitive answer and that I need not agree with you. I know this. We spend so much damn time explaining ourselves. We dive so deep into other people’s feelings and opinions that we become diluted and hold back.
Tell me that The Runaways are the best band in history and do. not. blink.
Our art deserves better than tentative strokes. You are avant-garde artists standing before an auditorium of snickering school children. They are not going to understand you so you might as well stop flinching.
"Don't pay any attention to what they write about you,
just measure it in inches." ~ Andy Warhol
Unceasing art is not easy.
Controversy is the pulp fiction of blogging. Visceral, controversy gets your blood pumping and bosom heaving, but its value does not last. I do not want controversy. Cheap tricks don’t interest me. Try harder.
A friend asked me recently if I felt as though I should be further along in social media by now. My reply, “No. I know exactly what to do if I want to make a big leap, particularly a fast one. This pace is deliberate. Ten years from now, I won’t consider where I am at this moment as inconsequential. I keep riding the brake for a reason.”
Keep your head down. Do good work. Surpass. Stun.
I want furious furious beautiful enthralling art. With no commas.
Push. Pull. Rack. Why not?
I’m looking for physical reactions and compelling magnetism this year. I want your work to pull at my chest and push at the back of my knees. Catch my breath and bend my back. I know you are real. Show me how you can be surreal.
Damn it, do it now.
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Afterword:
Are you making furious art? Show me.
Story Bleed is accepting submissions again.
Do you want to make furious furious art but need inspiration and support?
Join us this Thursday at 9pm ET/ 8pm CT for our second #storied twitter chat with the Story Bleed Editors. We were astonished at the passion you brought to the table last time and we’re ready for more.
Just click #storied and join in on twitter or follow along. You’ll want to take notes.
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