Hi! Before we get into the newsletter, I have a big announcement: today is the official launch of my new clothing brand Cœur.

Cœur is the French word for ‘heart’ and I love how similar it is to the word ‘courage’.

In fact, the first records of the word courage come from the 1200s, from the Old French ‘corage’, from ‘cuer’, meaning “heart” (and when you go far enough back, it leads back to the Latin word ‘cor’, meaning “heart”).

I like it because it is a reminder. I believe it takes courage to live life with heart. It’s not easy putting yourself out there, to expose yourself and not hide. But it’s worth it. Life is more beautiful that way.

I’m doing a limited drop that is only available for 5 days. You can check it out here if you’re interested.

This really supports my work, so thank you. Now onto the newsletter.

I’ve always struggled to explain to people who I am and what I do.

For a long time, whenever someone would ask me the classic question “what do you do?”, I would refer to myself as a “content creator.” I wasn’t really sure how else I could easily explain the wide range of things that I both do for work or enjoy doing for fun.

We all wear many hats. We’re told that we must have a job with a title, but the reality is that we must show up in many different capacities in many different situations. With your brother or sister. With your piano teacher. With your boss or neighbor.

We’re all teachers and students, monsters and lovers.

How is it possible to boil ourselves down to one thing?

And so instead of listing off all these titles, whenever someone would ask what I do, I would just say that I was a ‘content creator’.

Slowly, however, it dawned on me that the word “content” doesn’t really mean anything. It’s such a vague, broad term that can mean so many different things that I realized I wasn’t saying anything at all.

But it’s also a difficult question to answer.

And eventually, it occurred to me that other labels, labels like being an ‘artist’ or a ‘creative’ are not so different in that they’re both vague and subjective as well. In fact, we all create our own personal definitions for these labels that we choose to give ourselves.

In time, I’ve come to see that the label itself matters very little.

And this is where it’s easy to fall for the trap and think: I am my labels.

That is a lie. People are bigger than their labels.

What matters far more than my title is the intention and energy that goes into everything that I do. What matters more is how I show up to life, rather than the exact words that I say or the exact labels I give myself.

In other words, it doesn’t matter what you are. What matters are your intentions, your energy, and how you live your life.

I. Il Maestro by Martin Scorsese: Federico Fellini and the lost magic of cinema → fascinating essay by Martin Scorsese on his views on the art of cinema and how it is being devalued and reduced to “content”. A powerful piece by a man committed to art.

II. The problem with the internet that no one is talking about → An excellent video where the YouTuber Struthless discusses the ever-growing issue of art vs. content, and artist vs. content creator. This was the piece that inspired the theme of this newsletter.

III. How Social Media Is Shaping Art – The Impact of an Instagram Obsessed Culture → Another great article takes a look at how social media has taken over informing the art world, and questions if what we experience on Instagram is genuinely about the appreciation of art or rather a desire to fit into a world endorsed by social media. The author poses the question: “Is the relationship between art and social media about profit?”. They offer an upside to the content creator v. artist debate, using examples of street art, and showing how social media is able to bring new connections and genuine experiences for the artist and viewer.

IV. Was Andy Warhol the first influencer?

The two links below provide an insight into Warhol’s work and its importance in the art world (and society). Learning about Warhol is fascinating on its own, but even more so when you begin to draw parallels to the work he was creating and how he was creating it, his impact on the art world and how it affected society, and what social media is doing today. Recalling his famous remark “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” you might suggest he predicted social media and the “art world” we live in now.

The Case for Andy Warhol