Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

A central piece of Austin Kleon’s thesis is to imagine art as a genealogy of ideas. This means that artists should imagine themselves as part of a creative lineage rather than as a lone creator. Kleon argues that realizing that one is an individual point in a larger genealogy of artists takes the pressure off when creating unique work and allows artists to “steal” what they like, while still putting their individual twist on it. Kleon offers a variety of practical and conceptual advice to help people reframe their ideas about the “genealogical” creative community and discover new ways of connecting with people. Kleon encourages his readers to create individualized creative genealogies to unseat the pervasive myth that is it possible to be fully original. He urges artists to reconcile with the fact that “nothing is original” (7), and encourages them not to find that concept tragic, but hopeful and natural.

These genealogies of ideas within larger artistic genres are widely accepted; Kleon urges the reader to take concepts they already know, like how creative lineage affects the creation of artistic movements, and consider where they individually fit within them. In using the image of a “genealogy”, Kleon grounds his thought in a simple biological and sociological concept, helping to engage with reader.