We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gabriel Acosta a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Gabriel, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
For me, being creative is something almost instinctive and natural but I admit that it was not always like this, one of the biggest problems that one has as artists will always be the “creative blocks”. When these little moments of crisis happen to my life what I do is simply forget about my role as an artist, for a moment I focus on exploring things that have nothing to do with what I’m working on or thinking about.
A walk around the city, a short trip, a book or even a long trip on the subway or bus helps give me a long moment of silence or white noise, look for this moments is good to help me meditate and remember all the ideas that I have, of course is good to write it down and keep a journal of your ideas or observations, I suggest paper and pen to take notes and avoid distractions.
People think that being creative is a constant state of ideas and things to do, but the truth is that creative moments are difficult to find and our minds, our brain are not designed to function and create great ideas all the time, everyone must find the best method, opting for silence and contemplation is a good start.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I describe myself as an artist although my main tool is my cameras and images. As an artist I dedicate myself to exploring the visual curiosities of my life and looking for inspiration around me. Making photos, sculptures, collages, photo books and still lifes are one of my favorite themes to explore in art, at this moment I find myself learning and creating art.
What I like most about this is that I can mix my work with my hobbies and curiosities, in art I have been able to find a place of reflection that allows me to work on art but at the same time enjoy new things. I don’t like to stay in one place or do a single task, I like to explore different things and experiences, photography helps me to have a lifestyle that makes me travel and discover things around and inside me, this makes my time indoors something much more enjoyable and creative when it’s time to edit.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Throughout this journey of my life where I embraced my artistic side, there have been 3 qualities which took me time to train and understand, but I believe that they help any artist to be able to achieve their goals a little more.
Discipline for me was the first habit that I had to cultivate in order to improve as an artist, many times practice and perseverance comes from being disciplined, leaving excuses aside and adopting daily habits has made me a better artist, committing to my art and My curiosities have made it possible for me to create incredible projects and find extraordinary photos.
Curiosity, is always being open to investigate and learn new things in different areas, helps us broaden our perspective, this not only applies in artistic terms, this also applies to philosophies, inspirations or topics around us that attract our attention. This helps me to make my work more diverse and challenge myself to incorporate new things into my photographs.
Last but not least, I think self-motivation is very important, being an artist is not easy. Often people, family and we do not fully believe in what we do, this can fill us with toxicity and distrust towards what we do. Getting motivated and always being the first to believe in ourselves will make everything easier, whether it is doing a project, being disciplined, connecting with people or carrying out a project.
Despite being qualities that are within everyone, I believe that all of these habits help us not only grow as artists but also as people, the art world has always needed committed people who give everything for their passion.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Collaborating and meeting different people has been one of my favorite parts of my job, I like to meet more creators who like to work in the middle of the action in the city, the street, metro or the surroundings. I love outdoor portraits or taking documentary-style photographs of people that allow me to get to know them and the things they like. Apart from that, I also like to photograph products and objects.
Despite being a photographer I also like to collaborate with other artists to share ideas for short films, collages or even analogue photography experiments. I like to work with people who simply have a creative need and simply want to do something artistic or create an idea, or actors and models who believe their style should be shared with the world. If you want To work with me or collaborate, people can write to me on my Instagram. @g.acosta.journal
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/g.acosta.journal/
- Other: [email protected]
