Artists Wanted: Art vs. Design

Art vs. Design Competition

Artists Wanted, a collaborative project between several New York City artists and creative organizations, recently issued a new call for artists to help settle the score between Art vs. Design.

You can submit your own art or design piece for a chance to win one of two grand prizes (over $11,000 in prizes including exhibiting your work at a gala reception at a major Modern Art Musem in New York City). The fee to submit is $25.

Alternatively, you can participate in the challenge by voting. Simply choose which moves you more: Art or Design?

I’m working on my own submission (due by May 31st!) and voting in the meantime. Will you participate with me? Let’s settle the score once and for all between Art and Design.

The Personal Value of Art

I began blogging just over a year ago, so, feeling a little reminiscent, I began scanning over my first few blog posts on my personal WordPress blog (deewilcox.wordpress.com). I found this one and decided to re-post it here. It is easy to lose track of the personal value of art. I hope you’ll take some time this weekend to soak in the beauty and art in the world around you, to let it lift your spirit, and to find a way to share your own art with the world.

Posted April 11, 2009 – “The Personal Value of Art”

My mom wrote a note to me the other day on our family blog to encourage me to create for myself and for the intrinsic value of creating, rather than for an audience. She said that the freedom is in the creating. And she is right, although that’s something I’m still learning how to do.

I believe in the personal value of Art. I believe that Art lifts the human spirit. I believe it is our medium for expression, but also for interacting with the world. Art isn’t a luxury; it’s a need. It belongs up there with food and shelter. Communities begin to dwindle and regress when Art is not valued; on the other hand, when Art is promoted and integrated into the culture, communities revive and grow.

During World War II, the film industry experienced a huge boom as thousands were drawn to theatres for the create release of entertainment. They wanted to engage in the virtues of life and distract themselves from the horror of the war. In contrast, in the early nineteenth century, Francisco de Goya used art to help him cope with atrocity. When the French committed horrendous crimes against the Spanish during the Inquisition, de Goya created more than eighty-five paintings in outcry.

On a practical level, the individual works of Robert Florida, Jane Jacobs, and many others have demonstrated the value of both public art and art in the community. Engaging in art as a community uplifts the community; being exposed to art within the community lifts the individual.

The German philospher Goethe once said, “Never let a day pass without looking at some perfect work of art, hearing some great piece of music and reading, in part, some great book.” The point is, we need art. Whether for the intrinsic value of creating or as a means of venting our emotions, we need it.

Kreativ Blogger Award!

Kreativ Blogger Award

I was so honored to receive my very first blog award from Amanda at Bread and Badger. It’s the Kreativ Blogger award, honoring favorite creative blogs.

Per Amanda, the rules for this award are:

• Add the logo to your blog
• Link to the person from whom you’ve received the award
• Nominate 8 blogs of your choice
• Leave a message on the nominees’ blogs

So, to pass the fun along, here is my list of my eight favorite creative bloggers. It was so hard to choose!

1. Bling on My Sewing Machine
2. Decor8
3. Design Sponge
4. Twig & Thistle
5. e.Soule
6. Uppercase Journal
7. Little Brown Pen
8. Stitching Buddhas

I love reading these blogs. Many of them are way out of my genre and/or are doing things and living in places that are just… cool. They inspire me, and I hope they inspire you as well.

New Study: Travel Increases Creativity

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post titled “Go Where You Haven’t Been” as part of the How to Be an Innovator Series. I won’t rehash the post here, but to summarize, it argued that new experiences gained through travel can enhance creativity and was largely based on my own experiences. However, a new study published by the American Psychology Association adds credibility to the long-held belief that time abroad increases creativity.

A Candle, a Box of Matches, and a Box of Tacks
Who’d have thought these items could help measure creativity? But the creators of this study did, asking participants to complete what is known as the Drucker Test.

In this problem, individuals are presented with three objects on a table placed next to a cardboard wall: a candle, a pack of matches and a box of tacks. The task is to attach the candle to the wall so that the candle burns properly and does not drip wax on the table or the floor. The correct solution involves using the box of tacks as a candleholder – one should empty the box of tacks and then tack it to the wall placing the candle inside.

The solution is considered a measure of creative insight because it involves the ability to see objects as performing different functions from what is typical (i.e., the box is not just for the tacks but can also be used as a stand). The results showed that the longer students had spent living abroad, the more likely they were to come up with the creative solution.

What Difference Does Travel Make?
While the Drucker Test is certainly an interesting exercise, the real value of the study was that the prominent differentiating factor among the participants’ was the time they had spent abroad and/or experiencing and adapting to other cultures. There appeared to be a direct correlation between this factor and the participants’ ability to solve the Drucker Test. Although the study does not prove a causal relationship between cretivity and travel, it does demonstrate that the skills acquired in learning to adapt to new cultures also influence creativity.

What do you think? Do a variety of cultural experiences enhance creativity? Should organizations offer and promote more study- and work-abroad programs? Please post your thoughts in the comments!

Can Creativity Change the World?

Reverse Grafitti by Moose

I believe it can. There are many arguments that creativity doesn’t stand well on its own in the social sphere. Some say it’s self-absorbed, or dare I say it, too fun. To these individuals, only productive creativity matters. For them, innovation is everything.

Until very recently, I must admit I was among that group. Our world is facing many challenges, and it needs innovation to solve those issues. Motivated by this desire to be part of the solution, for a time I became focused on creativity as a means toward innovation. But that is like pursuing love or any other virtue as a means to an end. It may work, but its value is naturally diminished.

Does Creativity Matter?
I was driving the other day and thinking about some of the fantastic guerilla art I have discovered this week. I’m a fan of Banksy and Moose, in particular. Then I thought, “Does Banksy’s work matter?”

In other words, in my own pragmatic mind, I questioned, “Is Banksy’s art innovative?” Does it change the world? I like Banksy’s work, and because I felt the answer was no, I felt defensive and internally conflicted. I told myself the question was irrelevant and then realized, that is exactly correct. Whether Banksy’s work meets the standard criteria for innovation is irrelevant. His art changes the world by its mere existence.

The Difference Between Creativity and Innovation
I read a challenging article over at ZenStorming the other day that honestly, to me, seemed to attack innovation as crowding in on creativity’s turf. The paradox did not make sense to me. So, I took some time yesterday evening to work in my garden and mull over the argument. After a while I could see the validity of it.

Creativity is a fine art and is close in nature to a virtue. Like music, it is both a quality and an activity that flows out of the core of who we are; thus, our creative works are very meaningful to us. Innovation is focused on production and is closer in nature to math and engineering. In fact, innovation has become big business; its a buzzword flowing from Silicon Valley and Stanford straight to the ears of venture capitalists. Innovation is the next big thing.

Producing a Product vs. Inspiring an Emotion
Innovation is focused on creating a product; creativity is focused on creating an emotion. While innovation cannot exist without creativity, attempting to harness creativity can have a reverse effect and squelch it. This is the crux of the problem. Alas, the world needs both.

Art That Lifts the Spirit
Creativity does not need to qualify as innovation to change the world (although Banksy’s work can be considered innovative in its own right). There is empirical evidence that art lifts the human spirit, and that public art lifts the spirit of a community. By its existence art changes the world.

Top 10 Guerilla Art Blogs

“It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so make a few object beautiful; but it is far mor elgorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look. To affect the quality of the day – that is the highest of arts.” ~ Henry David Thoreau, from inside the cover of The Guerilla Art Kit

I have really enjoyed reading Keri Smith’s book The Guerilla Art Kit. It’s fantastic and inspiration and practical for any artist who wants to see art break through traditional borders. And her disclaimer on “Going Out” is fantastic:

“It is true that some of the exercises contained in this book may be considered ‘illegal’ by some. On a societal level, I question why it is perfectly acceptable that we are forced to look at advertising ona  constant basis (on billboards, bus shelters, public restrooms, etc.), and yet something that is a form of personal expression (not created with the intention of selling us something) is deemed ‘illegal.’ I do understand that people have a problem with material and property being ‘damaged’ and so in my own personal practices I try to be conscious of using materials that are environmentally friendly and nondestructive.” (p. 22)

Join the movement. To get you started, Kerri’s book is full of the techniques and resources you need to begin your journey as a guerilla artist. Here are the top ten blogs by fellow guerrilla artists. May they inspire you to put your own art out into the world.

1. Wish Jar | Kerri Smith. Kerri is the author of The Guerilla Art Kit and lists some great ideas on her blog. You can also participate in a community of guerilla artists in her comments section.
2. Banksy. Banksy doesn’t have a blog, but you should visit his website just to be inspired by the images of his brilliant guerilla art. You can learn more about him here and here.
3. Bearded Bunny Blog. William’s sticker monster art is hilarious and appropriate. I wish I could see it in person.
4. GRRL + Dog. The Global Guerilla Knit-Up Challenge began here and started a knitting-meets-guerilla-art movement. See pictures from participants in the challenge here.
5. Jafabrit’s Art. Whether she admits it or not, this girl is a guerilla artist at heart. She finds new and creative ways of putting her art out into the world.
6. Purl Interrupted. Lauren is a guerilla artist living in London. I love her take on life and art and community. She “knit-up” at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Bold!
7. Madly Creative. Lady’s P’s determined (and successful!) “yarn bombing” guerilla art just makes me smile.
8. Guerilla Innovation. Sebastian Campion’s blog is like a newsfeed of the many creative, out of the box, guerilla art innovations going on around the world. Definitely bookmark- and RSS feed-worthy.
9. SIT Projects. Guerilla art meets sustainability meets social in this installation by Paola Mojica and Daniel Clapp. Learn more about the installation here.
10. Sam Morrison. Sam is an artist based in Michigan. You can view images of his guerilla art installations on Flickr and YouTube and purchase his art through Etsy.

One of the hallmarks of a true guerilla artist is plausible deniability, which unfortunately makes them a little difficult to identify and their work hard to share across the blogosphere. If you have a favorite guerilla artist, please post a link in the comments!