One of the most interesting panels I attended at SXSW was called Everything is a Remix, so Steal Like an Artist. It was a conversation between artist/writer Austin Kleon and filmmaker Kirby Ferguson. The conversation focused on the remix culture and Kirby, director of the popular web series Everything is a Remix, discussed the benefits and challenges of being a creator in the digital age.
Everything is a Remix is a four part series that explores the idea that “nothing is original” and that everything creative is remixed (or inspired by) from something in the past. Specifically…
Remixing is a folk art but the techniques are the same ones used at any level of creation: copy, transform, and combine. You could even say that everything is a remix.
The full series is below, with videos covering remixing and sampling in music, film, technology, and the legality of it all. The samples used in the clips can be seen here.
I’ve noticed that over the last few years, SXSW has showcased quite a few works dealing with this topic, including RiP: A Remix Manifesto (2009) and Re:GENERATION (2012). All are worth watching.
– Submitted by Jessica Reed, Social Media