About me!
Thanks for stopping by :)
My name's Sam Berg and this is my Open Journal! Or at least that's what I like to call it. At the core of what I do, I want my art to be as emotionally transparent as if you were reading what I put down in the writings of my own journal. When it comes to stories, I think we as humans crave authenticity. When we talk about our favorite stories or philosophize as to why we didn't like the way a certain story made us feel, I believe it almost always points back to the experience of emotional authenticity of its expression. This expression is different than a morally valid expression, it's different than an emotionally healthy expression--this form of expression I'm focused on getting to is simply a genuine one. We're happy, we're sad, we're angry, we're confused, we're jealous, we're curious, we're content, we're hungry. Is it helpful to deny the reality of lived emotional experience in the hopes of pursuing the "good" feelings? How do we really process our experience? How can we become more present with our reality?
Where do we put down where we REALLY feel? What is so enticing or compelling about the idea of flipping through the pages of someone's journal? Why do all of the best stories feel like we're peering into the lives of someone who is actually completely fictional? What makes stories feel "real"?
I'm on a journey to find out the answers to these questions and I think it begins with me committing to creating with a complete transparency. I'll draw, write, make videos, and create with the intention in mind to keep it as real as anything I'd actually write down in my journal. In the end, this creative endeavor is all in the pursuit of what I love.
My life story starts by being born in Kerrville, Texas in the year 2000 to a family of 6 where I was homeschooled with my siblings until moving to Kibogora, Rwanda at the age of 12 for my dad to practice surgery as a missionary doctor. In 2013 my family adopted my little brother, becoming a family of 7, and In 2015 my family moved to Kenya. I graduated from a boarding school called Rift Valley Academy in 2018. I transferred through several Universities until I ended up at the University of Texas at Austin to pursue a degree in Radio/Television/Film.
I've been drawing my whole life, I can't remember the first time I picked up a pen and paper. The first images I made focused on mad scientists, cool demon guys, and the antics of two guys named Jim and Bob. I later picked up my love of filmmaking by messing around on photo booth and iMovie with my mom's 2010 macbook pro. My love only grew for filmmaking, compelling me to decide to pursue it in higher education. Countless moves, friendships, and schools later, I realized the only thing that's truly been consistent in my life--the only thing that's been there for as long as I can remember--has been creating and, well, drawing.
The question of what you can truly take with you is compelling. Everything comes and goes, seasons change, people pass, time marches on. I look at myself in the mirror and question what it means to be me. What does it mean to be Sam Berg? Over my life it's come to mean many different things. Nevertheless, one thing that's always been there has been the urge to create and tell stories. It's in the pursuit of sharing these stories where I have found the highest level of happiness.
Whether storytelling and creation comes in the form of drawing, filmmaking, writing or something else is inconsequential to me. All I know is that I need to create and share stories. Drawing is by far the easiest and most compelling medium I can accomplish this goal through. More than that, it's the realization that no one could ever take it away from me. I can always draw. I will always draw. I love sharing my drawings.
Thank you for caring about what I love doing. Being able to share this part of myself with you is my greatest privilege.
Much Love,
Sam Berg.