‘Art Is 99 Per Cent Robbery’

You’ve probably heard the saying before that “Good artists borrow, great artists steal”. Another way to look at it: “Art is 99 per cent robbery.”

This unattributed quote and the image above were posted by Steal Like an Artist author Austin Kleon. The idea that creativity is basically about remixing previous ideas and there’s nothing new under the sun might sound dismal, but it’s actually pretty freeing. Your art and your ideas don’t have to be 100% original (and probably can’t be). After stealing from the best, the one per cent that you put into it that’s yours is enough.

Keep on creating.

99 per cent robbery [Austin Kleon]