Issue no. 5
“The true definition of a snob is one who craves for what separates men rather than for what unites them.”
― John Buchan
Look, I'm sorry that I had to bring the barf emoji into it - but you've got to understand how much I hate snobs. And as someone who lives in a snobby city - I run into them a lot. Alain De Botton defines a snob as “anyone who takes a relatively small part of you and uses it to come to a rigid, un-budgable conclusion about how much of their attention we deserve.” The kind of person who makes a lightening-fast decision about your worth and what you can do for them based on a quick once-over. Basically the reason why ⅔ of the conversations you'll have in your adulthood are destined to start with “so what do you do?” and, depending on your answer, end with a polite excuse to leave or an offer to “connect”. But the number one reason I have such bitter and profound disdain for snobs is because they inhibit creativity and are like…weirdly proud about it.
I remember some of the first advice I received as a photographer was you don't need the most expensive camera or the best gear - what matters is your eye. If you do not posses a curiosity and passion for the world around you and the artistic ability to frame a moment and communicate your message to the world through your image, then no matter how much money you put into your craft you will never will be any good. Your ability to notice is what matters above all else. Now, this is advice I've gotten directly from some of the world's most critically acclaimed photographers. Alternatively, I have also had the distinct misfortune to make the acquaintance of many - less talented, but much louder people -who believe that truly good images can only be made on cameras that cost upwards of $5,000, people who have the family connections to be placed in top galleries, who have $10k cameras prominently displayed around their neck at all times, and people who won't bother having a conversation with you if you have below 10k followers on social media. I consider these people to be egregiously closed minded and often tasteless parasites sucking the soul out of a city that is defined largely by its art scene. (harsh I know) I am deeply agitated every time I pass a mediocre exhibit by a rich artist who could afford to take up a block of space and have their events catered by struggling artists who are ostensibly more talented than them, just not as well connected or financially flush. And I am inspired to sharp-toothed-red-eyed-vitriol-laden monologues about how so much of the creative fuel for art these days comes from culturally rich, but economically struggling regions that go largely uncredited.
I love Cuba. Havana is one of my favorite cities in the world. It was love at first sight. One long stroll through a neighborhood full of faces like mine looking back at me, dancers and musicians rivaling the best of Europe or the United States unpretentiously exhibiting their talents in the street. The most talented storytellers I've ever heard in my life regaling neighbors from the stoop or park bench. I love the distinct lack of snobbery. I love how art - music, dance - is accepted as just a part of life that everyone takes part in. I know Cuba to be one of the most artistically diverse countries I have ever visited, brimming with talent that most of the world will never have the pleasure to experience due to travel restrictions but more likely due to a long-standing prejudice based on inaccurate depictions. Dancers, singers, painters, photographers, musicians who's names belong on the world stage, who are struggling to obtain the basics needed to practice their crafts.
A few years ago some friends and I visited Muraleando, a community arts center in Havana built in an abandoned water tank. Our tour guide, Victor, a professor of Russian Lit and an avid cinephile told us how this place used to have garbage up to the roof, and how a team of 11 volunteers secured the deed to the property and cleaned it out by hand to create an arts center, not too far removed from a time that he remembers eating scraps of fabric just to feel full. Muraleando has now been open somewhere around 20 years and is now a well awarded and globally recognized fine arts center with a constant stream of visitors from all over the world. Some of their students have been with them since the age of 5. The entire place is run by volunteers - many with prestigious degrees in varying art forms. Kids that attend courses here are receiving free education and creating art that would rival any private arts schools in the united states with a fraction of the resources we are afforded. My friends and I fundraised and brought donations of colored pencils, watercolors, paper, and other art supplies. Although it felt like a lot at the time, I knew, and any teacher or artist knows, that those supplies in the hands of passionate artists disappear alarmingly, despairingly, quickly. I doubt those supplies made it more than a week or two. A sight like this makes two things evident:
The will to create is not something that belongs to one group of people - it is a deeply human force that fights to be expressed.
Anyone that implies by word or deed that the creation of good art is only possible in small, exclusive, wealthy circles is either criminally disingenuous or deplorably short-sighted.
Unfortunately, the reality is that snobs have a larger platform than ever and the unabashed and highly curated flaunting of their exclusive access and wealth whether real or a facade does seep in and affect us. We worry that the gap is so large that trying to get to where they are from the ground up may be impossible. We worry that we can never catch up. We worry that we can not produce something good with less than what they have. They want you to feel this way because their status and privilege is hinged on you internalizing and believing that they are better than you are. Who are they if you don't put them on a pedestal? Being just like everybody else is a gut-wrenching fear that they dearly hope they can be separated from with every moment of posturing. I'm here to tell you that expensive gear and a posh lifestyle does not mean the same thing as good taste. Access does not mean you're a good person. Transactional friendships can look very real in the right lighting, and just because someone flaunts all of this online does not mean they are happy. And none of what they have - none of it, NONE of it - invalidates your talent or ability.
I've gotten to a place in my creative life that I hope I can maintain and I hope you find your way to Snobs no longer detract from my belief in my own ability? Why? Because they're pathetic. Okay, that was harsh (again). What I mean to say is - because they crave outside validation so badly that they are willing to intentionally create a class of people “lower” than them that they rely on to feed their ego - their self-worth is at the mercy of the very people they step on. They are either too myopic to see that they're cutting themselves off from deeper, richer experiences because everything is based on placating the people they deem to be their peers, OR they know exactly what's up but they're so invested in avoiding a fall from “grace” that they are willing to keep up the charade at the expense of their own self-expression, freedom, and peace of mind. To insist on the democratization of critical respect and consideration for all artists (this includes you) is to upend the system that they rely on to keep themselves at the top. So I say go ahead and enjoy the delicious rebellion of your self-assurance and unyielding creativity.
