Martin Parr Quotes

A new medium always has a period when it is struggling inside the confining box of an earlier medium. Creators have to unlearn what they knew before they can see the fresh, uncharted vistas stretching before them.

I am somebody who focuses on a dialogue between generations - that's the drive of my work. I believe the young generation take the power; they'll take over at one point, but the older generation, they'll push it away only because of the fear. I'm the opposite; I'm curious.

Research the leaders in fields related to yours, synthesize their findings, and see how you can apply their hard-won wisdom to your work. Stand on their shoulders, and then make a leap into new territory that is distinctly yours.

La Cave was a great platform for me to learn and be able to listen in on conversations and just get a lot of notes and teachings from those older guys.

Creativity requires the freedom to consider 'unthinkable' alternatives, to doubt the worth of cherished practices. Every organization, every society is under the spell of assumptions so familiar that they are never questioned, least of all by those most intimately involved.

Share what you do profusely, because it will be remixed by others into something new, rich and strange.

As you get older, your mind gets a little more set. And it needs the poking and prodding and breaking through of stereotypes that I think young people provide.

Collaborate with people you can learn from

Try to achieve the impossible and direct your people to ways of achieving it.

If you just do something, then you're a five-year wonder and, goodbye, you're gone. But if people feel it's worthwhile, not only do they copy but they want to learn how to do it To me, that's what it's all about. If someone were to ask me, 'What's the number one thing, in essence, that you left behind?' It was the teaching of others so that they could take my work and take it further.

It is wonderful to work in an environment with a lot of smart people. It challenges you to think and work on a different level. If you play with better players, you learn a lot: perspectives, intellectual arguments, new ways of thinking about things.

Originality is dangerous. It challenges, questions, overturns assumptions, unsettles moral codes.

I think it's really important as a creative director, to always keep your ears on the ground and always surround yourself with people who've been in the business longer than you to really think of new and creative ways to present your designs to girls.

No matter what level you're starting at, it's about not only utilizing your time, but your resources and network. For me, I started my company with a small amount of savings; I never had investors and I was lucky in the sense that I had models and connections in the fashion industry who were willing to give me advice early on. So really, for anyone starting a new business, it's really important to seek out mentors and knowledge from those who have come before you. And to not let that be discouraging, but to take that advice and really learn from it and mold it to what you're trying to do.

I look for people who have a slightly different perspective and are trying to move the needle a little bit and push boundaries.

I am pleased and reassured by the fact that a lot of younger playwrights seem to pay me some attention and gain some nourishment from what I do.

If you want to be creative in your company, your career, your life, all it takes is one easy step...the extra one. When you encounter a familiar plan, you just ask one question: "What ELSE could we do?"

Einstein says common sense is just habit of thought. It's how we're used to thinking about things, but a lot of the time it just gets in the way.

Question everything, even if it represents generations of conventional wisdom.

All evolution in thought and conduct must at first appear as heresy and misconduct.

It is always the task of the intellectual to "think otherwise." This is not just a perverse idiosyncrasy. It is an absolutely essential feature of a society.

Collecting the dots. Then connecting them. And then sharing the connections with those around you. This is how a creative human works. Collecting, connecting, sharing.

I'm also a big believer of being a scrappy entrepreneur. To be successful you don't have to have all this crazy start-up capital or a ton of knowledge. I think it's actually helpful sometimes to not know all the rules because that way it's easier to break them. And that's why it's so much easier for younger people, I think, to start companies that are challenging more traditional business models than older people. Especially if you're trying to do something good.

Almost every significant breakthrough is the result of a courageous break with traditional ways of thinking.