Style Wars?
by Adam Monster
Have you ever looked at the work of some of your favourite creatives and instantly wondered how they found their style and question why you haven’t found yours?
Firstly, stop. It’s a load of crap. It’s easy to admire top artists and take a step back and say, “wow, they know exactly what their style is” but you need to realise that it takes time to create your own personal style — a stamp of individuality for your work. For me, I’ve found that the more creative numbers I’ve punched, the more my style will develop.
I truly believe your style develops from a young age and your approach is strongly influenced by your surroundings. For example, I grew up in Melbourne in the western suburbs, being somewhat involved in the graffiti side of art in the 90’s and I can’t seem to shake this more fat, loud style that has plagued me for years. I am constantly yelling in my head “be more like this person” but I think with a bit of wisdom, I can now say who gives a fuck — I am a work in progress and always will be.
The difference between invention and innovation is the ability to skillfully execute ideas in your mind and transform them into reality.
So why should style be any different? We are constantly standing on the shoulders of giants who all hit that magic number of followers on Instagram, that identifies you publicly as an ‘artist to follow’ or ‘kind of a big deal’. The key is to do your own thing and at your own pace — remember, recognition doesn’t equate to importance.
I admit that throughout my career, I have cited influences and brought them together in my own way, and in the early days of the Internet this would have been perceived as copying. I don’t promote companies ‘pulling a dodgy’ to make money off an artist’s work but I do believe we need to allow our youth to develop and find their own style, and if it’s through admiration of another artist’s work and translating with their brush of choice, that’s okay. After all, they do say ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’ right? If I was a top dog and major influencer in the creative world, I would definitely take that as a compliment.
So, a shout out to all the creatives out there who have influenced my style, and I hope to one day be that inspiration for at least one up-and-coming young creative.
Adam Monster is a Creative & Shit talker + Art Director at Vinomofo.com.