41 pages 1 hour read

Austin Kleon

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

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2012

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Chapter 7Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 7 Summary: “Geography Is No Longer Our Master.”

Kleon shows how the internet age has enabled online spaces to be cultural and artistic hubs, rather than strictly geographical spaces. Artists with financial or geographical restrictions can use the internet to enter online spaces that complement their creative process. 

Similarly, artists should “build [their] own world around [themselves]” (90) by surrounding themselves with things they like. Even though artists no longer have to be restricted by geography, place is still important to the creative process. Leaving home and seeing new places can refresh the mind and brains. Whatever location artists settle in should feed them “creatively, socially, spiritually, and literally” (96). Changing one’s physical space doesn’t have to be overwhelming, since one’s online community will remain constant.

Chapter 7 Analysis

This chapter emphasizes how one’s surroundings—both physical and online—influence creativity. Now that artists engage in Creativity in the Digital Age, Kleon argues that they must think about more than just their physical surroundings, but that does not mean artists should neglect physical space altogether. This chapter explores how Technology in the internet age has drastically changed the way people can be creative or interact with art. There are more options for making art. People can use popular graphic design and photo editing software to draw digitally, manipulate photographs, or add new effects to visual art.