David Bowie was so much more than a rock and roll star. He was an actor, a writer, a poet, a mime, a dancer, a creative super nova. He was one of a kind. David Bowie was a walking lesson in how to be original.
And he was a blatant imitator.
On visiting the Victoria and Albert exhibition, “David Bowie Is…” in Melbourne several years ago, I was totally blown away with what I saw as the source of Bowie’s creative power revealed.
Here was a boy who, from the very beginning just knew what he liked. From the books he read (J.G Ballard’s writing was a major influence of David Bowie’s creative inspiration), the shows he saw and obviously the music he listened to, David Bowie took it all on board and was on a hungry search for more.
Theatre, dance, literature, music, fashion, anywhere there was an idea that struck a chord, Bowie appropriated it. He used what other people were doing to create his own art. But it wasn’t copying or stealing.
Creativity, originality, innovation—it doesn’t come from nothing. Every time we see something we like, a movie, a book, a song, we’re sowing seeds in our own creative pastures.
The things we enjoy make creative sense to us and these are the things that will be most natural for us to create.
But this advice isn’t saying, go out and copy the artists that you enjoy.
Before David Bowie set to work on producing Young Americans (1975) he was listening to a lot of soul music. This lead to his wanting to make a soul album. This didn’t mean Bowie went off to record a copycat imitation, duplicating the African American artists he was enamoured of. He instead took what he liked about soul music and combined that with the way HE made music, his unique ear, his unique voice and his unique image. In imitation, David Bowie created originality.
Look at Hunky Dory (1971)—one of the most celebrated rock albums of all time. Hunky Dory contains three tracks that are testament to Bowie’s artistic influences – ‘Bob Dylan’, ‘Andy Warhol’ and ‘Queen Bitch’ (about Lou Reed). The album cover itself shows Bowie imitating the iconic pose of Marlene Dietrich. The album is rife with imitation and creative borrowing yet no one is about to claim Hunky Dory as unoriginal. Nothing like it came before but dozens came after, influenced by its unique sound and sensibilities.
How do we work like David Bowie?
Take what inspires you, take what you enjoy, take what teaches you something about something and add your own vision. You’re the only person who sees the world like you do, and that’s original thinking. It doesn’t matter how many artists you’ve copied along the way. Write that world view into your work and you’ve got an original creation.
How to be original? Just copy David Bowie.
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