“If I don’t create, I cease to exist.”
+ Ingmar Bergman
Perhaps my most influential filmmaker couldn’t have said it any better. Existentialism is by far an area of philosophical study that I’ve given the most attention to in the last couple years of my life. Who are we? What makes us human? What makes me individual? These are the questions at the core of my existential quest. What I’ve discovered there has led me to the path of an artist.
The most fundamental truth that I’ve learned is that what makes us both human and individual is creativity. When we are being creative, we are being both original and individual. If we are not being creative, we are being robotic and mechanistic, just operating off of rehearsed input/output functions. Throughout the course of history, cultures and populations have thrived and ultimately perished. However, the art that they’ve left behind has survived the longest. This is a clear example to me of the power of art. Within each artifact is encoded information about the culture and the individual who created. For me, this is the blending of the two modes of existence in life, the individual and society. It is incredibly important for me to express my existence in this society. It is of existential necessity that I pursue art.
Another secret I’ve discovered lying in art is it’s evolutionary capabilities. Throughout history, the people who have progressed the mental capabilities of their society have been philosophers and artists. In today’s world this has not changed. So with this in mind, I have dedicated my life to the blending of both art and philosophy. Both have proven to be excellent investigatory mediums for the discovery of reality and existence.
In conclusion, I have discovered what Ingmar Bergman discovered. If we are not creating, our identity ceases to be known. So, for me, my outlet for creating takes the form of video. This has proven to be the medium that I gravity mostly towards. I’m still exploring the possibilities with film, and when one is in a constant state of exploration, one is also in a constant state of discovery.