Is Art Dead?
May 12, 2009
(In the creative business arena, that is.)
In his latest book, “A Whole New Mind”, the author Daniel Pink writes about our culture moving from the Information Age to the Creative Age. And you know what? He is dead on. I’m seeing signs of it everyday.
Also on the rise is a book by Richard Florida explaining the rise of the “Creative Class” and how we should start to embrace it if our community hopes to grow. This book showcases the vital emotions of optimism in the creative world—and what a refreshing find!
You ask, “So what?!”…
Well…this dialog regarding the currency of design started at a HOW Design Conference where Jose Said Osio was giving a talk titled “Dealing For Dollars”. This was the first time someone was actually explaining the process of bridging the gap between art and commerce—Not the theory of making a living at design, but actual application of visuals that, in turn, brought in revenue. The session brought a new concept of talking creative language to business-minded companies.
Over the years Said and I reconnect to check in on the other’s life’s journey and to share new ideas in the area of visual innovation. After all as design professionals, we’d both had our ups and downs and more importantly, both had climbed out of our ruts and adapted to a changing market. Said had faced the demise of the type industry and the downturn of the “.com world”.
I had been confronted with the “perfect storm”— change in the illustration industry, an embezzling employee, plus the crash in the stock market. Both of us, having survived these downfalls, chose wisdom over bitterness, and a friendship formed.
Earlier last year I contacted Said regarding a marketing idea for the HOW Design Conference in Atlanta. Being the always-inquisitive person that he is, Said wanted to check out Adobe’s trade booth (which the firm he hangs out with, Tolleson Design, had helped direct the branding of Adobe’s CS3). Along with that, he volunteered his time to connect with attendees and also helped out with our own booth. It was a learning experience for all of us.
During our time in Atlanta, Said and I collaborated to analyze the market of visual content. Our koan thus became “Is art dead?” How do creative minds view the visual element of the process? How did they view the world of illustration, stock images, visual content, and the future? What is the new currency?
While interviewing attendees and discussing topics with our attending artists, we realized a community of like-minded thinkers was starting to develop—People who were asking the questions, a tide was rising, a new wave rolling in:
• Who are the visual content providers that can provide the next expression?
• How can we create opportunities for creative thinkers to express their own thoughts?
• What’s it take to identify the right what-ifs?
• What business models are working?
• Can the Visual Ambassador be a catalyst in mentoring a culture that is asking to be established by visual thinkers?
So begins the renewed journey of trekking different territories in search of the effects of visual storytelling in the global bazaar. Perhaps we’ll discover some of the answers, uncover new complexities, perhaps we’ll only find more questions. However, one of those enduring truths is that emotional involvement has to be there at every step of the process. Passion doesn’t just make the art of a visual expression more fun to create—it gets results, it provokes a response because it mirrors the collective journey of the human experience, and it intrigues and moves people.
That’s what.
Illustration courtesy of Larry Moore
