It’s Not About You
I have an incredible love for art in all its forms and find beauty in the passion put into the creation of different pieces — it’s like the artist has embedded a piece of their soul into it. I remember walking into the Albertina — an art museum in Vienna — and being absolutely blown away by its Van Gogh collection. That day, I was able to connect with a man that died in 1890 through his work; I could feel the intensity of his emotion imbued into every stroke of his brush. It was magic. I spent a whole four hours looking at the six pieces of his work that were on display. I never even made it past that floor of the museum.
I chose photography for two reasons.
First: I am an impatient person and seek instant gratification. (I gave painting a shot and quit out of rage in an hour.)
And second: I was dying to be able to be on the other side of that relationship. I wanted to create something that would resonate with the world. I wanted to be able to leave someone awestruck and have them stare at six of my photographs for four hours at a museum in Vienna.
And so I picked up a camera and got to work. I was certain that my masterpiece was right around the corner. It would not be long before I created something amazing and people would wait in line for hours and pay just to look at my work. I was determined. I spent three years trying to master this craft, consuming every bit of knowledge I could get my hands on.
It was around this three year mark that I realised I was running short of ideas. I had gotten better at what I was doing but I was arriving at a plateau. I began to look for reasons to justify this. ‘Maybe my camera isn’t good enough — I need a better one.’, I thought. This seemed fairly credible to me, and so I went out and got a new camera. Nothing really changed, however.
Despite the minimal burst of inspiration and excitement I derived from my new toy, I still didn’t know which direction to pursue, and I couldn’t figure out where I was going wrong. I tried reading books and watching videos on YouTube to try and expand my knowledge, but it yielded barely any success at all.
When it comes to art, I suppose, these things happen very suddenly at the most unpredictable of times. My breakthrough came when I was speaking to a friend about a completely unrelated topic. She said to me, “It’s not always about you.” Unbelievable. It took me a whole three years to get here. It really was that simple.
All that time, I was photographing for myself. I picked up creative work because I didn’t want to be a bystander — I wanted to participate in this movement of inspiration.
I did it for the sake of my own ego. Art, in my opinion, should never come from vanity.
As an artist, I need to keep loving people — I realise that art is a gift to people. Always people. Whether my work is going to be world-changing or is simply going help someone pass the time as they scroll past on Instagram, it needs to come from a love for people.
It’s not always about you. It is not about the glory, or the fame, or even the money. It is not about any of that. Vincent Van Gogh never got any of that in his lifetime.
Only after we realise that can we, as artists, truly change the world.
By Kieran Kuar
