Dear Reader,

Someone is paying for all the stuff you see. Someone wants you to see it.
There’s a bounty on the fifteen seconds you’ve got free. 

And so, I deleted the apps. And I stopped posting all together.

In December, I picked up a copy of Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism. It reminded me of a paper I wrote on “The Mindful Use of Instagram” at UC Santa Barbara in 2015. My professor praised it as forward thinking. I redownload the apps.

I need to get back into the conversation.

For the last two years, I've found it difficult to create with the intention of releasing the work. During this long bout of depression that's now thawed into clarity, I spent a lot of time studying the success of my contemporaries in hopes of identifying a blueprint. 

The Blueprint
1. Find the audacity.
2. Create social-first works.
3. Monetize parasocial relationships.
4. Invest in promotion that feels organic.
5. Don’t get depressed.

I feel a dire need to present an alternative to the doom that has enveloped us as a generation. 

I believe that the perceived success of The Influencer has left each of us questioning at some point whether there’s any other path forward. We should have built statues of Jonathan Gold and Anthony Bourdain. They sought to teach us how to consume the world. They did not mukbang. 

I feel deeply for the artists who have lost the conviction to share in this era that champions views over substance. At the expense of clip farming and paid promotions, we may lose a generation of genius. 

I’ve landed on a new call of encouragement and a throughline for The Kollection’s curatorial lens this year: REBEL. I feel it is time to identify, champion, and follow those who are trying to break themselves and the audience out of this tired milieu. 

It’s been five years since COVID. If you haven’t picked up on it, there’s no random renaissance around the corner. 

We must celebrate alternatives to the doom that has enveloped us as a generation.

With love and hope,
Kian McHugh

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