Design as Art…and More

Check out Paola Antonelli’s talk at TED2007. The Design Curator at MoMa, Antonelli has a passion to expand the appreciation of design, and desires to tear down the stigma of design as pretty decoration. About mid-way through the talk, she says this:

“Design uses whatever tools it has at it’s disposal in order to make a point. It’s a sense of economy.”

Antonelli discusses how design is not just about nice curtains or hip chairs - but, that it’s also about gas masks, civil disobedience, better objects and so much more. She asserts that design can be beautiful art, but that it also goes beyond that - it can be functional and, whether we realize it or not, it is present in all of our lives.

For more TED Talks, visit here.

Wicked

This past weekend, my girlfriend and I saw Wicked, at Los Angeles’ Pantages Theater.

In an episode of the short-lived (but brilliant) series Sports Night, Dana (Felicity Huffman), the high-strung producer of a sports show, takes her niece to see the Broadway production of The Lion King. Prior to the show, she comments that she doesn’t have time for it and expresses her disinterest in the theater. However, after seeing the show, she returns with a new-found sense of discovery. She, excitedly, tries to tell her co-workers about her experience:

Dana: “It was really quite something. The music began and I just started to cry. I don’t know where it came from. It was like (pause) church. I didn’t know we could do that. Did you know we could do that?”

Casey: “Well, when I forget, something usually reminds me.”

Dana: “I didn’t know we could do that.”

Following the show, I shared Dana’s sentiments. Wicked is amazing. It is captivating and entertaining. I was raptured and in awe of the power of music and theater - the power of human emotion and the depths of artistic expression.

All I can really say after seeing it is, “I didn’t know we could do that.”

Robert Irwin: Primaries and Secondaries

It’s hard to argue that Robert Irwin’s work is anything other than prolific. The contemporary artist’s career has been described as epic - one critic commented that “odyssey would probably be a better word than career.”

Last week, my girlfriend and I revisited his Primaries and Secondaries exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. A vast survey of Irwin’s art, the exhibition is an enthralling experience. Irwin began as a painter and eventually moved to installation pieces, serving as a pioneer of the light and space school - one of the most important movements the West Coast has produced.

A few years back, he designed “1°, 2°, 3°, 4°” (below, left), at the La Jolla wing of MCASD. An enveloping piece - Irwin created three apertures in the large glass-paned windows overlooking La Jolla Cove. The result was an experience that transformed the space from gallery to a quietly transcendental environment.

About half of the Primaries Secondaries exhibition closed at the end of February, and I knew I had to see the piece “Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow & Blue³” (above) one more time. The pièce de résistance of the exhibition, it consists of six polished aluminum panels in primary colors. In groupings of two, one on the floor and one suspended above (blue above blue, et al) the MCASD’s Jacobs Building is transformed into a utterly captivating space. The piece vacillates between kitsch and divine - sweeping the viewer up in to itself.

If you have a chance, go see this fantastic exhibit. Unfortunately, “Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow & Blue³” is gone, but other pieces will remain on exhibit until mid-April. (The museum is free for those 25 and under).

The Green Room

Yesterday, along with 28 members of our Arts team (mostly volunteers), I attended The Green Room - a gathering for artists that serve in the local church. Presented by The Willow Creek Association, this regional one-day Arts event was an incredible asset to me and our team. We learned much, and I know all of us came away with at least one learning (though it’d be hard to find anyone who only had one - there were many learnings). Nancy Beach, VP of the Arts for the WCA, led the event and did an excellent job in casting vision about what the core values of an arts ministry should be. (If you’re interested in the use of arts in the local church, check out An Hour on Sunday.)

Here’s a two of my thoughts following the event:

1. We need more in our “toolbox.” Our weekend services can’t just rely on music and teaching. We need to broaden our use of the arts. (Which has led me to question how to spark movements in areas like dance and drama within our church.)

2. Evaluation, evaluation, evaluation. We need to grow in this area. We need to raise our level of thoughtful discussion following the execution of our weekend services.

On the drive home, two of our volunteers rode with me. Our discussion centered around learnings and thoughts of the event. It was a great discussion. They shared with me what they learned and also what they thought I and those who lead alongside me could do to better utilize their gifts and service. It was an invaluable conversation. My major take-away from the drive was this: I never want to become a leader who stops listening. I want those who serve under me to always feel as though they have someone who is for them, someone who is accessible and wants to see them become better at what they do. Because, when volunteers in the local church get better, the church gets better. And better churches are a big win - a big one.

Self-Indulgence

I was watching another of Hillman Curtis‘ Artist Series short films. This one focused on the designer David Carson. While not my style, Carson has a very innovative design eye. He helped to pioneer the use of “dirty” type and “grunge” design. Many critics argue that Carson is arrogant in his work, and that his style is self-indulgent. In the short, Carson responds:

“Self-indulgent was the big negative term, which I think is a very positive term. I wouldn’t want anybody working for me that wasn’t doing very self-indulgent work – totally absorbed in it. So, as we get more computerized I think it becomes more important than ever that the work actually become more subjective, more personal, and that you let your personality come through in the work. So, it becomes more important that you pull from who you are as a person and put that into the work.”

What a smart thought. Great creativity cannot exist without its creator. Our designs, art, creation are inherently self-indulgent - otherwise they aren’t truly ours.

Watch the film here.

Paula Scher

In my opinion, Paula Scher is one of the greatest living graphic designers. A partner at Pentagram, Ms. Scher has created some of the most memorable corporate identities, signage, and branding systems in the world. Her work - which includes branding for the New York City Ballet (above), Citibank, Tiffany & Co., Criterion Collection, The Metropolitan Opera, and many other notable identities - is constantly fresh and innovative. It is both captivating and draws out deep emotional responses from its viewers. She is a guard of good design - refusing to compromise her creative vision to fit within the MBA-ese of the corporate world. She advocates vision, ingenuity and passion in design.

I recently came across this short film by the artist Hillman Curtis, in which Ms. Scher discusses her creative process and growth as a designer and artist. Through the interview - one can see her brilliance.

The best moment is about halfway through the film - Ms. Scher talks about how an idea comes to her - that the idea has to come quickly or not at all. She says:

“I operate very strongly with my instincts…If I don’t get it in the first crack I get it in the second and if I don’t get it in the second I almost never get it. Because, as I said, it’s a very intuitive kind of process for me. I’ve never been a refiner. My best work is kind of big bold strokes that came very quickly.”

For more on Paula Scher, read Fast Company’s profile on her here.

Hidden and Unfamiliar

For a month or so before Christmas, I had been admiring an inconspicuous book at my local Borders. The dark grey and black book had no images on the cover. The title was announced in small and simple text - An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar.

On Christmas, my girlfriend, aware of my secret lust of the book, gave it to me.

Inside, is a book of great wonder. Artist Taryn Simon set out to photograph things we don’t ever see - the “Hidden and Unfamiliar.” The book is filled with incredible images - images of a cryopreservation chamber (above), nuclear waste, a braille issue of Playboy, a death row inmate, live HIV, CIA Headquarters. The index takes a look at subjects that have remained inaccessible or unknown to the public. Vast and innovative in its scope, Ms. Simon’s art is something to be looked at often, but with a grave sense of awe.

The author Salmon Rushdie, who wrote the forward for the collection, had this to say:

“I am always immensely grateful to people who do impossible things on my behalf and bring back the picture. It means I don’t have to do it, but at least I know what it looks like. So one’s first feeling on looking at many of these extraordinary images is gratitude, (followed quickly by a momentary pang of envy: the sedentary writer’s salute to the woman of action).”

The 70 color plates sneak us into classified territory - we’re given a behind-the-scenes look at things we’ve always wondered about, and several of which we didn’t even know existed. As Mr. Rushdie concludes his forward, “When a photographer comes up with an image as potently expressive as that, even a dedicated word-person such as myself is bound to concede that such a picture is worth at least a thousand words.”

2007, Steidl Publishers.

Keep it Simple, Stupid.

I just started John Maeda’s The Laws of Simplicity.

I’ve only read the preface and the first chapter (or law). But, seriously - it’s so good.

I’m already inspired.

Learnings from The Myths of Innovation

I recently finished Scott Berkun’s The Myths of Innovation. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read - but also incredibly insightful . Berkun’s book is a must for anyone who tracks in the area of ideas (pretty much anyone who is trying to be creative - in whatever field). Here are several of the learnings I walked away with after finishing. (This is the very short version of a list that could stretch for quite a while).

1. Take time to be still - don’t rush into solving the problem right away. (Read a previous post about this here, which received a comment from the author himself - what a nice guy!)

2. “The secret tragedy of innovators is that their desire to improve the world is rarely matched by support from the people they hope to help.” (p. 55) Don’t just assume that everyone will love or adopt your idea - no matter how incredible.

3. Never stop being an innovator. Just because you have succeeded, don’t hold too tightly to the idea. Continue to pursue new ideas…don’t stop!

4. Read and study subjects you have no association with. In reading about astrophysics or painting, I can find a new way of tackling innovation in my field. Innovative ideas are not limited to their specific field - don’t apply a filter too early. Berkun says that true innovators “turn their filters off for long stretches of time, trying to go where other’s haven’t been.” (p. 90)

5. Innovation among a group isn’t a characteristic, it’s a culture. “Teams with healthy idea life cycles are easy to spot: ideas flow between people easily and in large volumes. Conversations are vibrant with questions and suggestions, prototypes and demos happen regularly, and people commit to finding and fighting for good ideas.” (p. 101)

6. Define the problem before you try to solve it. (Einstein: “If I had 20 days to solve a problem, I would take 19 days to define it.”)

7. Both change and tradition are good. New doesn’t always mean better. Old doesn’t always mean perfection.

For more learnings from Berkun, read the book and his blog.

2007, O’Reilly.

Death and the Powers

Check out MIT Media Lab’s new endeavor.

Seriously. Talk about innovation, creativity and imagination.