This is a second fundamental point: once you are making things of your own, you’re no longer completely in anyone’s shadow. You can be derivative, or you can be trying too hard to distinguish yourself, or you can hope in your heart that the older artist recognizes the way you’re paying homage, but the fact of the matter is that once you start making things, once you take that leap, you have the same status as any other artist. I’m not saying that you’re as good. I’m not saying that you’re as important. But all of a sudden it’s a difference of degree rather than a difference of kind.
