Preposterous Propositions IV: Let No Wall Go Uncovered

Why do we leave our exterior walls barren and lonely? Paint them. Make them creative and beautiful. Challenge ourselves and the people around us.

Simple as that.

Building owners. Do not be complacent. Emptiness is not an option. Philly is doing it, as reported on NPR (this is a must listen). And Wooster Collective is full of examples of unbridled creativity, beauty and inspiration.

Just a thought.

What Does Your Stream Look Like?

We make things too complicated.

And, while the list is long... I'm specifically referring to how we communicate. And that's not to say that we need to communicate more clearly or succinctly; after all, succinct communication takes effort, time and heavy filtering, which can ultimately lead to message alteration/loss of poignancy. We shouldn't create a mess of our words; but, we should be careful not to lose purity of meaning through our filters (let's learn a lesson from bottled water).

The above said. Here's the source of motivation: the work of artist Michal Kubacki, the man behind "timeless line" (note I'm not a fan of "branding" a technique, but I like the motivation behind this). Timeless line is an exploration of how the unfettered subconscious is expressed. It's direct, unfiltered art. And I dig it.

There's a lot to learn from an approach like Kubacki's. What happens when we deconstruct our filters? Are we, and our clients, doing ourselves an injustice by operating within the confines of social norms, tradition and the established service relationship? Does true synergy require the meeting of the subconscious?

Here's Kubacki's statement and a quick video. Thanks to Atielier29

It all began one day when I was drawing.

I began to realize that my subconscious, not my conscious self, was guiding my hand and I was merely holding the pen for my subconscious to draw through me. Upon this momentous realization, I began to notice life in different dimensions of time. This influenced me so much, that I could not deny absolute of being.

I draw "Alla prima" with ink, sometimes I use marker pen on paper. I invented a special technique which expresses my philosophy- TIMELESSLINE.'

Timeless drawing from Timelessline on Vimeo.

col*LAB*orate IV: Canned Beauty

Via unconventional art watch, Wooster Collective, comes news of a new installation of ProjectorRoom from Agents of Change. In ProjectorRoom, three members of Agents of Change work from the same canvas building off, and deconstructing each other's work in an organic collaboration. It's an unplanned unified vision driven by movement.

Dig.

col*LAB*orate III: If Monsters Can, Why Can't We?

Selecting Sesame Street for our next installment in the col*LAB*orate series was an obvious choice, the challenge is which feature of the production should be highlighted. Sesame Street bridged the socio/economic divide, it captured the spirit of the time, it taught kids, it taught adults and it was funny as all hell. But above all, what really struck me about this show, was its far fetched approach to diversity and tolerance.

Henson and his team tackled these mammoth topics with a light-hearted, caviler nature that we all too often shelf when we attack big issues. So we're tipping our hats to one of the most perfect col*LAB*orations I know, the bond between monsters and humans on Sesame Street...teaching us that if Grouchy-Trash-Can-Living Creatures, OCD Counting Nobility, Imaginary Animals, Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, Asians, Old, Young and everyone else can get along...what's our problem?

Thanks to A&E Biography for their inspiration from their feature on Sesame Street.

aRt.

via one of my favorite resources for street art, Wooster Collective, comes this beautifully subtle response to our slimy friends at BP by artist: aprovocateur.

col*LAB*orate

Artists getting together. Getting together to make things. Giving things they make to the people. What more can you ask for?

I get all romantic and jealous when I think of Harlem jazz gods floating in and out of hole in the wall joints and blessing lucky bar goers with epic phonic journeys. And like all narrow minded soldiers of today I think...shit why couldn't I have been part of that. And that's bullshit. Yes those were great times, but today with the digital wonderweb connecting everyone we get glimpses into greatness. And I love it.

So with that set up. We direct you to Beck and his merry making rock n rollers. True there's oodles of amazing music and great collaborators and we'll talk more about them later, but right now it's Beck's Record Club project that has me hooked. Simple: friends hang out. pick records to cover. record it. we watch. I dare you to ask for more. Right now it's INXS. Dig on.

Record Club: INXS "New Sensation" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.