Making Your Mark

Humans love to create.

We have an uncanny, universal desire to make our mark.

It's why we photograph and paint. It's why we build towers and businesses.

One of my favorite shows, MadMen, dedicated a recent scene to the concept of human creativity. The scene lingered in my memory for weeks.

Two characters are discussing a Kodak marketing campaign about memory and legacy. Harry says to Don:

"I've always been fascinated by the cave paintings at Lascaux. The bison get all the attention, but there are also these handprints, tiny by today's standards...It's like someone is reaching through the stone right to us, saying "I WAS HERE."

These cave paintings are among the earliest known works of art. They were discovered in 1940 near the village of Montignac in central France when four boys stumbled into a cave. Inside, they found paintings that were nearly 17,000 years old.

Secluded cave walls bear real imprints of humans who created the most beautiful Stone Age art. Something about these ancient human handprints is magical.

I remember when I first saw them. My Art History professor turned off the lights and projected an image of tiny handprints onto the classroom wall. The class was hushed, as if we were hearing a sacred secret.

Why does something so simple impact us so deeply?

I think it's because we are witnessing a tangible legacy left by fellow humans who responded to their desire to create. They made their mark. They reached through stone to tell us WE WERE HERE.

How will you make your mark?

In the Beginning...

Robert Doisneau, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Willy Ronis

Sometimes I just want to start over, at the beginning.

As the wedding season ends, hours of shooting and editing make me restless. Inevitably, I crave inspiration.

Tonight my eyes scanned crammed bookshelves for some photo therapy.

I turned the pages of my favorite books and began an hour-long journey that led to a simple realization: at the end of any photographic pilgrimage, I always return to the same place — the unaltered moment.

In the end, the photographs I value most are about moments. No more, no less. They are irreducible.

I am so thankful for these three photojournalists, who saw the extraordinary in ordinary, quiet moments. Indeed, the most powerful moments are the quiet ones, like a quick intake of breath.

"We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started... and know the place for the first time."
-T.S. Eliot

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

It's late and, as usual, I have an early flight to catch.

Instead of sleeping, I'm thinking about ambition and purpose. I am drawn to ambitious, passionate people who are hungry to achieve an audacious goal. They are wholly committed to a vision and are willing to work like trojans to make their vision a reality.

In order to contextualize my drowsy thoughts, I tried to think of my first memory of being inspired by this brand of ambition and purpose.

I immediately recalled the day my brother showed me one of the earliest Macintosh computers. Hidden inside that unassuming beige case is something surprising and spectacular: the individual signatures of the Macintosh creators. My brother and I stared at them, picking out familiar names like Steve Jobs and Steve "Woz" Wozniak.

I love the implication of this subtle detail. Since the Macintosh team considered themselves artists and took great pride in their creation, it was appropriate that they sign their work! Steve Jobs came up with the idea of having each team member's signature engraved on the plastic case, so they appeared inside every Mac that rolled off the production line.

Years later, Steve Jobs delivered a reflective speech to the graduating class of Stanford University. My Dad sent me and my brother the entire transcript. My favorite part is this quote:

"You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on.

I believe that ambitious seekers like Steve Jobs love their work and don't even consider it a burden. Their work is an artistic, joyful, fulfilling, highly organizing principle of life. By viewing work this way, it's possible to remove the ultimate creative block: money. What we want to do is what we're meant to do. By working hard to follow a vision, money comes, doors open and work seems like play. Creativity lies within a paradox: Serious art is born from serious play.

Sweat the Details

"The details are not details. They make the product."

My favorite design catalog arrived today. I always look forward to seeing incredible furniture and lighting, from mid-century classics like Isamu Noguchi's sculptural coffee table to contemporary show stoppers like Marcel Wanders whimsical Zeppelin S1 lamp. When I opened the catalog to find this great quote from designer Charles Eames, I knew I would have to save it! I think "sweating the details" is what separates great artists from good artists.


PS: I'm adding a new label for my posts..."Rachel's Random Ramblings!"