inspo

People who in spire me and why:

 

The first artist to ever impact my virgin psyche was Gus Van Sant. I watched Elephant at a very young age with my sister and 3 cousins. None of us were older than 15 and we watched in awe of the simple yet disturbing way Van Sant portrayed the psychology of school shooters. I would be forever changed after those 90 minutes and continue the obsession of studying psychopathology and the art of human interaction. I love both sides- the horror and the beauty. One cannot exist without the other.

I fell in love with the wholesome and quaint styling’s of Wes Anderson. The perfectly centered scenes and saturated color pallet. While some of the characters faced strife, the score and cartoonlike costume design let you know everything was going to be alright. From Wes Anderson I turned my attention to Paul Thomas Anderson. His characters were more hopeless and depressed. The world was cruel to them but they were crueler to each other. Against this were the few characters who demonstrated resilience. Rising phoenix from the ashes types who allowed a model for the audience to assimilate with.

I will shyly admit my obsession with surfing culture. It contains personality, sport, and the natural environment. A company that is the absolute epitome of my desire would be Volcom Stone. They are goofy, relaxed, but more importantly, risk takers. They are representing sport in a whole new light through personality and art.

I will proudly admit my largest influence is WildBoyz. I could not get enough of this show growing up. When MTV2 wasn’t airing their day long marathons I would use my mom’s laptop which I still believe is the reason it got a virus and crashed. This show had everything – humor, personality, travel, and stunts. I believe Steveo and Chris to be the greatest TV duo ever. You could see them improvising for most of the shots and this transparency was the funniest part. Shenanigans aside, they still respected a space to spotlight a certain culture or animal in a personal and unique manner. I could travel the world with them forever. When the show ended I packed my own bags and decided to face the world on my own. I won’t be kissing cobras or getting tribal piercing, but I am inspired by their boldness. They fully commit to engaging in a local practice no matter how extreme. They usually struggle through it but ultimately form a deeper connection with their local guides.

The act of stepping outside form oneself and giving the upper hand to a stranger, animal, or foreign place is the greatest part of traveling. Yes what other people do may be strange but if you’re on their land, you’re the stranger. Differences can be seen as either scary or hilarious. The media chooses the former while life is so much better engaging in the latter. The only way to experience the hilarity is to be the other half of the joke. The vast majority will refuse this all together but when you drop the wall of self preservation you unlock connection.