How to succeed as artist in spite of your own creativity | Tom Sachs | TEDxPortland

Tom delivers an honest, vulnerable Talk on how to succeed as an artist in spite of your own creativity. He explains how to define your own internal standards of excellence by sharing his concept of sympathetic magic - how to make things real, like a Chanel Guillotine. By being honest and transparent with your methods and intentions, success will follow. He shares three core maxims that define his life: authenticity, intuition and transparency.
With special thanks to core the TEDxPortland organizing team, 70+ volunteers and cherished partners - without you this experience would not be possible. Our event history can be found TEDxPortland.com
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.
A sculptor by priority, but also a willing participant in filmmaking, bricolage, painting, space exploration, and tea ceremonies, Tom makes his own rules. Playing with the idea of a consumer culture, Tom utilizes iconic brands to create his own unique take on pop culture or historical events, often highlighting the love and labor it takes to build what we so commonly use daily. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@lisengel2498]

I think this is truly inspiring and the best talk of art I have met. Some notes from my listening: Develop your own internal standards for excellence - great because that means you have to be 100% present and do what you do with love and passion no matter what others think -- authenticity ( make the experience real to you and do it for a long time, build a sense of mastery) Intuition - say yes and do it, art is a creative act, it is a discipline, chance and choice, Transparency, be honest and transparent with your own methods, letting the materials show Love what you do, cultivate what is authentic to your work, trust yourself .... and I really admire and smiled at your example with your “genuine fake” - what comes out of your doing is always dependent on how you do it - your ways of relating and acting

[@TheGimGamer]

Tom Sachs says things that just resonate with in me. I hope to one day walk in the studio and shake his hand.

[@UploadN0ob]

The Gim Gamer you won’t get in there without an appointment !

[@kikeheebchinkjigaboo6631]

The Gim Gamer he’s a Marxist socialist and youtube is sooooo 1984

[@fryderyktube3d]

@@UploadN0ob and you better close the door behind yourself, as quietly as possible

[@catsadilla324]

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should." As an artist that's had a billion ideas I resonate with this so much. The desire to just make something because it feels like a good idea in the heat to f the moment is self-standard degrading act. You have to believe your best work is the cream of the crop among all your works!!

[@deplant5998]

Each Tom Sachs talk is almost an exact replica of every other talk he has ever given.

[@dimitrilikissas]

I just realized that too. same slides and same jokes.

[@ducktaledudette]

12:58 Him realizing he just gave a Ted talk and it's done and he doesn't have to do it again. That's what that smile's about. XD

[@stevenlam7990]

"its all through working to foster your own Internal Standard of Excellence" 💧

[@jelenakalashnikova]

letting materials to..YES YES YES!ART IS ALSO ABOUT FIGHTING AND EMBRACING WITH MATERIAL..and dont use eraser when praticing art,just draw over it, draw that line freely.dont be affraid.

[@BAYqg]

In love with Tom Sachs. Incredible person

[@judilynn9569]

Love this! His work is fun!

[@vidiot509]

So glad I stumbled across this video ! So much food for thought.

[@deanvanetek4148]

Tom is an aboslute sage. Amazing advice from an amazing artist & person.

[@mallorymusallam9588]

wow i loved everything about this video. one of the best TED talks id seen in a while. so many powerful messages

[@demazy]

Tom. Van. Casey. As a progression. And 3 very different purposes. Don’t compare but see the transmission and evolution. Montessori education as a principle and how to find yourself through your authentic self and own mistakes.

[@EnzoDeMay]

Expand on this plz!

[@demazy]

@@EnzoDeMay Could you be more specific ?

[@lafeo0077]

Superb!

[@aliria9493]

best talk!

[@djstarsign]

one of my heroes

[@nitramomisoc]

Wonderful speech, Tom, thank you so much for the inspiration. I love your work.

[@suzanneboily5224]

Great talk! 👍

[@shannahdawn4724]

BRILLIANT!!

[@Bradleyshaw88]

My master..

[@demazy]

This is a beautiful and gentle soul

[@commanderrussels2612]

I used to be this guys Doggie System Manager. I managed the dog systems (potty breaks, food, day care, dog walkers, vet appts) and helped Studio Assistant with in-studio cats.

[@mlebron20]

I feel your pain.

[@penncakes07]

he gives me hope

[@blonded9965]

The legend

[@auntrosa5240]

is this the real frank?

[@bikinggal1]

Well Tom, after reading the comments, you are now loved, respected and appreciated, ON YOUR TERMS!!

[@cymbolic_space1832]

so there is a definite lefthanded-ness that is revealed in his family crest, from the inverted pentagram to the 666. It could be all just tongue in cheek or there might be more to it. Something i struggle with as an artist, is that it seems almost required that you open yourself up to the animating spirit of materialism (Mammon) to gain wealth or success. My personal belief is that, by doing so, you sacrifice a part of your soul. So in me the question is begged: Is there not another way? can we not find success or security without giving into destructive spiritual forces?

[@codeninja100]

Its never tongue and cheek. Art is subjective and at its root its a luxury. The greatest attribute of art is its impact on the consumer. The powers that be use art for propaganda. These artists you see in very high places are playing their role. Perpetuating materialism. Commercials disguised as fine art. More programming. Keeping the culture focused on the shallow and vain. If your goal is notoriety from the world this is the path you take. Brandishing 666 on your work so those at the top can keep you funded and in their museums. Selling your soul for fame and fortune. The other way? Forget fame and devote yourself to the craft make art for arts sake and appreciate those who enjoy it.

[@cymbolic_space1832]

@@codeninja100 Do you truly believe art is a luxury? I have the tendency to believe art is a necessity. a process of expressing aspects of the soul, (and the experience) that lies beyond formalized systems of language or pattern. And this expression needs outlet within humanity as a whole. perhaps not a need of each individual, but a higher need of the species. And that without this expression we would be unable to continue our evolutionary process. unable to live out our spiritual destiny if you will.

[@pony3284]

​@@cymbolic_space1832 its a luxury for those who can afford it, a necessity for the rest of us.

[@janelolita7890]

@@pony3284 that’s such a good way to put it

[@peaeeter]

why does this have no views

[@phoebed5333]

Honestly I love Tom Sachs but this talk makes almost no sense

[@susan137]

How many views is "no views"? On 02/21/2020 this talk has 41K views which is a lot more than "no views". I don't think though that this video will ever "go viral" because it isn't for crowd followers. It is for those who by birth or living come to a place where are willing to express through their own creativity what they've always known are important in life. (Sigh) To bad I didn't write this yesterday that would have been an awesome date.

[@1300zw]

peep the shoes tho

[@UploadN0ob]

1300zw those are his shoes - he designed them. Tom Sachs x Nike Marsyaards

[@greedgreed4411]

hence peep the shoes tho @@UploadN0ob

[@UploadN0ob]

Greed Greed not really. It sounds like 1300zw didn’t realize he created those shoes. If you created a pair of shoes wouldn’t you wear them 24/7, you don’t need people to bring attention to the fact that you are wearing a pair of shoes you made

[@greedgreed4411]

@@UploadN0ob what are you on about? He and the 20 people that liked it probably knew that they're his shoes. They're coveted amongst sneaker heads world wide. People know about the shoes dude. He's just pointing out how cool it is that he's wearing his own creation

[@zachyoungyuen]

The real Tony Stark

[@OY3AH2023]

OY3AH!

[@dellycomicsinc.4164]

I felt recharged once again! I still believe my creative talents can give me financial freedom, with the support of good people out there. My greatest career dream is to wake up everyday and work on comics. Kindly check out my graphic novel Trailer clip @

[@gerrylk9]

At least he knows he's full of sith

[@geirbalderson9697]

Ahh well...

[@stephenbrown7550]

Only 36k views? :(

[@JuanMiPibernus]

I'm sorry but I just keep thinking about how this *must* have influenced Casey Neistat. I mean just look at the man! You can see a lot of parallels. What this guy does in sculpture Casey seems to do in video. Does anyone else agree?

[@JuanMiPibernus]

Oh... I just looked up his Wikipedia page...

[@eliseogutierrez5307]

Juan Mi Pibernus I absolutely agree, from his studio to his video making, to the story telling there are many similarities. I’m not sure why casey neistat has never brought him up in a video?

[@rileyandersen7346]

@@eliseogutierrez5307 Tom has been in a few of Casey's videos actually. The one where he goes to do some Nike workout. My opinion is that Casey doesnt want to use Tom Sachs to boost his own name. Also - it wasn't really Tom that gave him his start, its just the place he started. He made videos with his brother and Van still works for him. Watch the videos on Tom's channel.

[@Andy-uf8jq]

They work for eachother so....

[@dnlgrmn7169]

27.8 million subscribers, but just over 62 thousand views. Hmmmm why subscribe though?

[@jakobvanklinken]

10:54 "be honest and transparent with your methods and I tensions" - is a pledge that he abandones only seconds later. He presents his work as defined by mistakes and error, and the crowd eats it up. In reality it's probably shaped with a lot of precision and focused decision making, and also just carpeting skill. It's not exactly honest to say well ooops that just happens like that

[@chaseaflu9722]

I feel dumbed

[@RogerBarraud]

This talk sponsored by John Frum.

[@BobPagani]

That's a great, obscure reference. Kudos.

[@RogerBarraud]

@@BobPagani Why thankyou Sir, you are a scholar and a gentleman :-)

[@BobPagani]

He's my all-time favorite hyper-local deity.

[@unrealnews]

I take issue with his preoccupation with materials and his willingness to become a brand emissary (whether intentional or not). I wonder if he is advocating for artists to restrict their creativity and to focus on ideas that are not quite yet fully formed because his starting point was a belief that if a product had backing in the form of an established brand, it was “real”. There is a sad sense of concession in his work. It’s as though he believes that his own originality can’t have worth in the world as it currently stands, and so by supporting the existing structure, he will gain access to to the support unfairly distributed to corporations. It reminds me of the lackeys who give praise to bully bosses, because by doing so, one gains a sense of security from that bully, even though that security comes with the price of continued psychological abuse. From a certain angle, he is like an anti-artist, operating with the intent to destroy budding artists and make them servants of big brands. If this is true, and he does this intentionally, he is a pretty brilliant conceptual artist, and I’m curious about what his next root idea will be.

[@RandomEarthCinema]

I think it's a matter of exploring the meaning behind his own desires for designer brands, as well as the deeper meanings of brand and what identity means. A key idea he says a lot is "making things I want that don't exist". And when you see the end product, you're sort of forced to ask, "Why would someone want this? And why did he want it like this?" I think the addition of the brand on most of his work is simply a wry joke, similar to why Warhol liked brands. There's an accessibility there (like Andy Warhol's stuff) which makes it easier to engage with conceptually (because it's familiar). In Sachs' vision there's a more futuristic, utilitarian, plywood industrial, militaristic approach that I think reflects the American identity quite well, in many ways that Warhol's work didn't. Also, to me, each "sculpture" is sort of a DIY performance in ingenuity. Now I'm rambling haha

[@ducktaledudette]

*me just sitting here watching two random people on youtube make convoluted comments* :)

[@puzonvlogs]

Is brendan dunne here? lol

[@maskretek4099]

Sir Robert Downey Junior .-.

[@donnydykes615]

The profuse libra immunohistologically prevent because pamphlet delightfully pick per a disillusioned inventory. present, remarkable comb

[@FRWHELAN]

Is this Robert Downey, Jr. after having gone through a car wash?

[@vantha5872]

xxxx

[@mitutoyo34]

He forgot to mention make friends with Millionaires and influential people...

[@GettingNegative]

The work is still done without them.

[@whatisiswhatable]

Depending on what you want in life, you oughta

[@kikeheebchinkjigaboo6631]

KZbin is soooo 1984

[@juanpadilla3203]

You get to do 50 push ups, it is a privilege

[@the77th]

Uhm....... 6:14 ......... uhm......... s/n 2014. ___ ?

[@cymbolic_space1832]

yeah i wondered about that.

[@jasonbutz5165]

JASON BUTZ 51 ARTWORK

[@puppude]

Hey i had horrible childhood. hahaha. hey she dumped me. hahaha. wtf is wrong with the audience :D