Sergio Toporek - Profile and Q&A

Sergio Toporek is an artist, designer and independent filmmaker. His work explores the relationship between art, mysticism, science, and technology. He has designed over 80 cd covers, working with all major labels, and with musicians as varied as Luis Miguel and Cafe Tacuba. A native of Mexico City, Sergio moved to Vancouver in 1996, joining the faculty of theVancouver Film School in 2006. He is currently directing a transmedia documentary titled Beware of Images, which examines the intricate relationship between the technology, regulation and social effects of visual representation.

CMV: How do you define creativity and apply it in your career?

ST: In its purest form, creativity is the perceptible manifestation of curiosity. The reason I have a career is that I never stop asking questions. That said, experience has taught me that all creation implies destruction, so today I try to be very mindful about what and how I create.

CMV: Where do you find your best creative inspiration?

ST: When I’m as far away from myself as possible, and lost in the creative works of others. Music, science, literature, visual arts, and interesting conversations are among my favorite creative catalysts. Watching the world go by from any mode of transportation is also very effective.

Contemplating nature is probably my favorite stimulant. Natural dynamic systems are the best teachers any creative could hope for. They operate in all scales of time and space, apply mathematical grids better than any designer, deal with complexity better than any computer, and best of all, have no set agenda.

Of course, in a pinch, a nice hot shower always works.

CMV: What’s the one creative advice or tip you wish you’d known as a young person?

ST: Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.

CMV: Who would you like to hear speak at CreativeMornings?

ST: Douglas Coupland. I love the Marshall McLuhan bio he wrote for the Extraordinary Canadians series.

CMV: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

ST: At 19, I hitchhiked all the way from Cairo to Tel Aviv. I was almost penniless and had no way of communicating with friends or family. It took me over 10 hours to travel the 400 km stretch, as sometimes I had to wait patiently in small, middle-of-the-desert towns to catch the next ride. 

CMV: What books made a difference in your life and why?

ST: The first book that I remember having an impact on my worldview is Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s “The Little Prince”. I still consider it one of the most approachable and enlightening reads.

Lao Tzu’s “Tao Te Ching” is my bedside book. I’ve read over and over, and I keep finding new revelations in it.

“The Quantum and the Lotus” by Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Thuan is another favorite. It makes the point that the perceived conflict between science and mysticism is based on an arbitrary boundary.

The Dalai Lama’s “The Universe in a Single Atom” is one of the most fascinating expositions of the concept of shunyata (emptiness). Basically it challenges objective reality by arriving to the realization that all things and events, whether material or mental are devoid of objective, independent existence. If everything possessed an intrinsic, self-contained nature, the law of causation would collapse. This awareness is necessary to understand that interdependence, not objectivity, is the essential characteristic of the universe. It may sound a bit academic, but a more compassionate attitude is the result of such realization.