This essay will not be a manifesto (I hope). Rather, this essay will be a synthesis of my current thinking on my artistic philosophy. I will use the term ethos to refer to this philosophy. Ethos simply means:

In modern usage, ethos denotes the disposition, character, or fundamental values peculiar to a specific person, people, organization, culture, or movement.

So, in this written work I am going to discuss what I believe my ethos to be, & how I will continue to develop it.

All artists have an ethos. I know many writers or conceptual artists among you will try to defy me. “I do whatever I want.” You do not. You are not immune to certain psychological principles such as having a personality. Some artists are aware of their own ethos, & to varying degrees they analyze their ethos or even question it at times. I don’t think a good artist has to be aware of their own ethos. However, I get the feeling that artists whose works become stale & repetitive over time tend to be lacking in self-wisdom when it comes to their own artistic principles.

My ethos has three general principles. I won’t end this essay with a conclusion as it does not require one.

1.  Art helps make sense of one’s self & the world

2. Art is a way to express collective & religious ideas beyond the individual.

3. Art should be aware of & engage its sociopolitical context without necessarily forcing a moral down the appreciator’s throat.

Myself, my artistic endeavors are driven by my relationship with art. Ever since I was a kid, when I first started writing poetry, I used art as a way to understand things. My first poems were simply vehicles by which I got something from others: attention, good grades, etc. However, I learned that poetry helped me process my feelings about certain experiences. I had a traumatic breakup with my first girlfriend, & I wrote poetry as a way to process those feelings. I wanted to make sense of myself & the world around me.

Fictional narratives help me understand my journey. Star Wars, shockingly, has been a major tool for me in self-understanding. I can relate to Jedi who fall to the Sith, as I’ve had to deal with my own dark side (bloody & violent in all its glory). I can relate to many concepts such as the wound in the force. Without all this, I would be a bit more confused. I would be trapped in the wastelands under the delusion of self-wisdom when I didn’t know jack shit.

Now, all these artworks I create poems, short stories, novels—even the lowly meme edits I post on Instagram—are simply the output of my meditations. The first step is my understanding of something. For example, take this reel about Girl, Interrupted. Originally, I watched this scene, & the scene helped me make sense of my life. I had been in psych wards. I’ve had people yell sense into me. Yet how did I go from such a dramatic scene to this goofy 30 second remix?

The second step: I try to capture my viewpoint using the tools of art.  First, I had to zoom in since vertical videos are predominant as mobile users are the most common kind of online user. Then I use sound effects to emphasize how cutting Whoopi Goldberg’s character’s words truly were for me. The ending where Supa Hot Fire gets a standing ovation represents how devastating those words were, the way a hot line in a tense rap battle is.

That’s the process. Now, I really don’t care at this point if people understand what I’m going for. I don’t expect the masses to understand my POV unless I hold their hand & publish some essay explaining the meme. My purpose in making artworks for external appreciation is instrumental: get prizes, get money, attention, etc. If it were up to me, I’d go into a cabin in the woods & turn my back on you sorry fucks. Unluckily, my need for attention & luxury keeps me here in the plains.

Another dimension of my art that I don’t discuss much is the religious aspect. Art is a way I express devotion to the Buddha. When I practiced religio romana, I started a project called pyrrhic victory. The project was a post-metal track as an homage to Mars, Roman god of war. Even though I’m now a Buddhist, I still feel some obligation to finish the track. I believe it’s simply good karma to follow through on a promise.

An interesting outcome of my religiosity is my religion’s mandates improving my artistic process. I am straightedge due to the Buddha’s Fifth Precept against taking intoxicants. I haven’t had an alcoholic drink or any psychotropic substance in months. I don’t even smoke cigarettes or use nicotine. I mention this as so many artists find inspiration in drug use.

Once upon a time, I might have smoked some weed thinking that my guitar music would be better. I was under delusion. The THC might have helped me explore different musical patterns, but overall, it also made me sluggish & lazy. Any pretty music I played on my guitar was undone by my lack of discipline (forgetting to record, not keeping notes, being sloppy).

It is this aspect of my religion that has a concrete impact on my creative process. Without intoxicants to cloud my mind, I can clearly see what I want to make. As the Buddha also taught that people should cultivate kindness, I try to make art with this in mind. Even though in my heart of hearts I don’t particularly care for the joy of others when appreciating my art, I feel a duty to at least make art that has the potential to bring joy.

I also believe that art should be socially engaged. I’m not a big fan of moralizing art. L’art pour l’art is my motto. However, art that is completely disconnected from its sociopolitical context is worthless. A great model to follow is the film The Zone of Interest (2024). This film depicts a commander of a Nazi concentration camp & his family living day to day in normality while offscreen the horrors of the campy can be just about discerned.

This film does not force you to hate the protagonists. In fact, this film has a documentary style that avoids casting any obvious judgments. This film, however, does invite you to form your own reactions & moral judgments. The Nazis are not left off the hook, but neither are they cast as mustache-twirling villains. It is up to you to feel outrage or not.

Thus, an artwork should be aware of the times it was made in without being overly preachy. An artwork is not a PSA that shames drug use. It might depict drug use & its negative consequences. A Scanner Darkly depicts the horrible effects of drug abuse without being too preachy. I might write characters that drink or smoke weed a lot. They might be fun, cool, & relatable. I might have another character that questions their constant partying. However, the reader must decide for themselves what to make of this.