I opened a Twitter account last June to replace my personal Facebook page (the latter became distracting and problematic in a number of ways). I tweeted 161 times in 2013 over the six months I had the account.

When I was a teenager (well before the time of The Internet), I used to write things and post them on the back of my bedroom door. Occasionally, I would remove notes that seemed stupid or were no longer relevant to my life and keep the ones that still “spoke to me”.

Here now are my favorite tweets of 2013 (in chronological order), some of which may seem stupid or irrelevant by the end of 2014…(!)

1. True artists are self-propelled…the fanfare is nice, but that ain’t why they’re doing it
2. Art has become a hard sell it seems. Entertainment, however, continues to attract a hearty share of people’s “disposable” income.
3. Belched and said “excuse me” with only my cat in earshot. I suppose there’s nothing wrong with manners between species..
4. I like doing #photography, but it’s not about being a “photographer” for me. It’s about communicating something interesting.
5. Facebook is not necessary.
6. Making money “doing your own thing” requires mega marketing because you have to convince people “your own thing” has anything to do w/ them.
7. Once upon a time, people had to buy books or magazines, or go to a museum or gallery to see artistic photographs.
8. When you wipe all the friends off your FB list, what happens? There’s less to see on FB, so you move on to other things, like taking walks.
9. W/ few exceptions, there’s no such thing now as shooting the one photo that knocks people out. consistently producing..that’s where it’s at.
10. Important thing I learned at Grassroots Festival today: use porta-johns that are in the shade! Otherwise they get up to 150 degs in the sun.
11. I don’t like to copy/repeat what others have done. I don’t like to repeat/copy what I’ve done.
12. And somewhere in my mind is the thought: If I ever became famous for my photography, I’d have to quit and start doing something else.
13. I need to go to more art museums…whether there’s photography included or not.
14. For some reason, I find it way more interesting to watch programs about musicians than photographers to gain insights into creative process.
15. A photo that doesn’t distinguish itself is a commodity
16. Doing your own thing and hoping someone notices isn’t a very efficient way to get notoriety or make money
17. Most successful artists were able to dial in “commercial” when it came down to it.
18. Some need others’ opinions to have their own opinion
19. I don’t think there’s an option: if u don’t like what the art photo “establishment” calls good, develop a dialog directly w/ the collector.
20. A successful photograph investment-wise requires that it contain a good amount of “cultural currency”.
21. I just think if my name were David Butt Philip, I’d tend not to use my middle name.
22. I find it kind of funny how artists refer to their artwork as “The Work”, thereby distancing themselves from it
23. The web is like putting *everyone* in charge of television programming and having all of it broadcast simultaneously.
24. Sex: the adult pacifier
25. I used to think I wanted to be a web designer, but the promised land turned into a shitter. This is the last one I do, I swear.
26. Size “zero”? sounds like the clothing size one’s imaginary friend might wear
27. I find it interesting that YouTube seems to group Amy Winehouse and Janis Joplin together in search results
28. I think there’s something alluring about an artist who’s work you sense was created without looking for your (the viewer’s) approval.
29. One of the things that stands out about Marilyn Monroe: she was pre-cosmetic surgery.
30. Without communication, the best we could do would be hedonism.
31. Taking a photo is not the end. It can then be contextualized and recontextualized. I see photos as fluid and dynamic.
32. Art that is not relevant is not art; if it doesn’t communicate something relevant or consequential, it’s decoration
33. “Though she never considered herself an unattractive woman, she felt like she was suffering from ‘premature ugliness’ in her middle age.”
34. Wanting to be rich & lazy is just a reaction to being poor and overworked. Ultimately, rich & lazy would be pretty boring.
35. Maybe if people focused more on creative activities, they’d spend less money on trying to purchase joy.
36. Maybe most photographers think that emulating past photography is what “doing photography” is
37. Art yearns for a unique voice, not a refinement of a previous or existing voice.
38. For me photography is just a way to capture portions of my visual experience so I can do shit with it.
39. The challenge is to find your own voice (when making art) & it may take a while. And it may come from a very different place than u expect.
40. Maybe I could come up with a better word than “art” to describe what I’m trying to do..
41. When you’re finally *not trying to be like anyone*…that’s when you truly get there.
42. Momentary “truths” have an annoying habit of expiring before you can string them together with other “truths” and make an actual dent.
43. What is needed is not *more* photography, but rather, better editing.
44. It’s pretty easy to like or not like almost any photo. It depends pretty hugely on the context and one’s frame of mind at the time.
45. “Michael is a self-taught photographer. His photography explores the relationship between his camera and his visible surroundings.”
46. A “good photo” no longer involves anything like light, composition, etc. It just means *people want to look at it*.
47. One of the big misconceptions: that a good or great idea will be instantly recognized as such.
48. With photography, I see stuff I would have *never* noticed otherwise because my field of view as I move through life is too fleeting.
49. One of the most splendid is capturing the hidden moment on display to all but only “seen” by a device that can pluck out a sliver of time.
50. Going forward while integrating backwards.
51. Maybe there’s an alternative to riding on the ever-increasing-shock-to-gain-attention train wreck…?
52. Aging = becoming a caricature of yourself.
53. Here’s one to keep pounding: There’s more to art than making pretty or beautiful objects. Meaning is not always pretty.
54. Circumventing the 140 character constraint..
55. Street photography is as much *sport* as it is art.
56. My (woman) dermatologist wears pink rubber boots during appointments

Hopefully my 2014 tweets will be even more fun, insightful, and goofy…:p. And, of course, feel free to “follow” me @MGMSBRAIN.

Visit Michael's Art Photography Portfolio at SaatchiArt.com!