“What do you want?” was one of the most frequent questions that Markus Popp, aka Oval, asked us during our visit to him. He’s an interesting artist, and appears to hold strong opinions about the creative process.
There were many aspects of his process that I agreed with. He says that independent artwork often requires more grit and perseverance than working in a cubicle. In addition, one must constantly innovate and look for alternatives, since if you don’t, the number of people with similar talent, grit and ideas as you will shadow your work.
However, there were some ideas that I did not resonate with. He believes that you must have something that you’re after, a driving goal or ultimate desire of sorts, in order to push you to create good work. I believe that every artist has their own journey, and that journey does not always need a destination. Good art should be possible just through the virtue of curiosity, and shouldn’t require goals (like fame).