People ask me, “What makes art? What makes it last through time?” There are several things but one of the most important is that a great work of art is UNIQUE. 

What makes our work unique? Diversity.  

Each one of us is unique. No one in the past and no one in the future will ever be exactly like you. There is only one you and you are unique. This is a fact. Even members of the same family have different experiences and collect different perceptions of their parents and siblings. Life at home was great for one but claustrophobic for the other. Even a clone will have a different life than its prototype. We’re all unique individuals. Only you are experiencing your life. And only you are thinking about its meaning and purpose in your singular way. If you realize this fact of life and understand just how unique you are, then, you may understand that as an artist NO ONE CAN COMPETE WITH YOU. 

Uniqueness comes from within. If we want to be a unique artist then all we need to do is go to the source of our uniqueness – ourselves. This is the secret to being unique in our work. 
Everyone with ethnical, religious or cultural diversity is extremely valuable. To be honest, I know of no one in the world who does not qualify in this area. Our place of origin, race, family and friends, our enemies and struggles, dreams and fears are unique to each of us. They are a wealth of information, a plethora of unique circumstances and a treasure of ideas.  

Each one of us has certain perceptions of everything we see, touch, hear, taste, smell and think. Our whole life is a gathering of these perceptions and understanding what they mean to us in our unique living experience. Everything we do is a reflection of how we think and how we perceive life to be.  

Look how far we have come as a nation of artists. When I was born, Jim Crow laws were still enforced in the south. Courageous people like Martin Luther King were marching nonviolently for a dream that one day we might be judged for our content of character. Russians were considered enemies and Arabs considered allies. Religious intolerance was acceptable in open forums. The Southern Baptist church condemned Buddhist, Muslims, Catholics and all other religions to hell. Art films were considered sex films. Foul language was considered rude and vulgar and in some places forbidden in public. Censorship was promoted in schools. Books were burned. Schools were segregated into male and female schools. Boys Town had no Girls Town. Priests were considered pure and without sexual perversion. The Olympics were amateur. TV was in black and white. And poetry, music, theatre and film were in color. 

Oh my god! Has it changed so much and yet so little? So, what happened? In some ways what we want and dream seems like a mist we can’t contain – a mist that vanishes in the light of day. But through the years I have become aware of the fact that in my life things have changed greatly because I have changed; or let’s say more precisely, I have grown. Like a seed when planted in good soil grows into a tree. We all grow into something that was not there before. In order to grow as an artist we must be willing to expand our perceptions. Life is an evolution. We as artist must evolve or die.
 
Today, more than any time in previous history, artists have access to the world. Information is at our fingertips. There is no excuse for ignorance.

This month we are celebrating diversity in arts. In order for us to enjoy this process let us do a few things that we may not have done before. Try this: if you are a filmmaker attend a local equity waiver theatre. Visit the story tellers on Wednesday nights at Jennifer’s Coffee house in Studio City, or try a local museum, a ballet, or try out Kulaks Woodshed on Laurel Canyon, or attend a fencing competition, a high school theatre production, a poetry slam or a magic cabaret. If you are a “stay at home person” go outside and do something new. What ever you do, do something new. Like modern businesses – diversify. Do something that brings in new information – a new world. Volunteer for something. Get into to the grass roots of your neighborhood. Attend a town meeting. Talk about drama, you’ll get a stack of it in all of these places. This is living. By living we expand our perceptions - our uniqueness.
Simply go and learn everything you can about everything. Then use it in your work. True diversity comes from life experiences. Continually step out of your box and enter a new world.

An artist, a writer, director, actor, painter, photographer or otherwise, must be willing to strip naked in front of their audience. An artist must bare their soul. Be happy in your work. And be honest. This takes courage. Entertain a point of view that takes into consideration an opposite point of view. An artist must be willing to be hit with criticism and willing to listen carefully to it. An artist must grow. A rose bush that stops growing is dead. If you want to make something beautiful, dig deep into life. Grow strong roots. Reach up to the sun. Sprout many branches. Bare much fruit and feed the world.
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