We recently connected with Sterling Hampton and have shared our conversation below.
Sterling, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
You don’t really overcome imposter syndrome. The thought of doubt always approaches in every new experience. I think what changes is the amount of tangible evidence that is piling up in the form of achievement that suggests that voice in your head is wrong. After some time passes and said evidence becomes more and more compelling, you have no choice but to accept that your reality is excellence…at least I hope this is the case. I’m still building that pile of evidence.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
With my own curiosity and wonder, I communicate ideas that provoke and inspire others. These ideas are stories and the medium by which I communicate them is visuals and sonics. We call that filmmaking but really it’s just talking to people. The whole point of this living thing is to promote the experience/phenomenon of “oh…I felt that” and “ah…I understand what you’re saying.” Connection is the goal. Immanuel Kant said that humanity is the “end” in and of itself. What I take that to mean is that human existence is a big party. Our mere existence and sharing of ideas is the goal. Meaning there’s nothing further than this. We should celebrate by communicating with each other honestly, thoughtfully and open-mindedly. Art is a vehicle that helps this process because it has no language barrier. I am in love with sharing and I think I will always continue to do so within but not limited to the realm of filmmaking.
I started my company; Clash of The Artistic Minds to tell the stories that matter most to me. So far this entity has produced works that have screened at Sundance, Tribeca, AFI, Hamptons and 30+ other film festivals. I just finished a feature documentary and two scripts that I will share soon as well.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The ability to care really deeply and not at all is the most important quality of an artist. The former is obvious in that you have to place importance and effort upon the task at hand. The latter is not so obvious in that you have to have a sort of cluelessness about the gravity of the task. This is the case because you have to be able to carry a childlike carelessness to art. Mistakes are what make something beautiful. Perfection is god. Our goal isn’t to be perfect. Our goal is to be the most honest.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I’m looking for studios, funding and outreach personnel to connect the art with a elevated power source.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.clashoftheartisticminds.com/
- Instagram: @mastersterling @clashoftheartisticminds
Image Credits
Monica Lawless, Jana Akkari, Dan Vo
