Body painting …. boom!
Table painting
The hardware store is my constant source of inspiration. This wooden table comes with a metric ruler on it, folded legs, and a suitcase handle. I could not resist it’s charm…
PewDiePie & Socrates
If you are raising a teen you must have heard of this guy PewDiePie, He has more than 90 millions followers on YouTube and considered by his fans as a culture hero/ gamer / meme reviewer / an original creator and a celeb / artist.
anyhow
I am not sure what made this oxymoron happened but here PDP charming his way through the republic by Socrates, written by Plato.
And why should you listen?
One of the ideas discussed in this book is that philosophers are happier because they are all about the truth.
What is the truth? I know I am extremely interested in how things are. how systems work. what works what doesn’t work. expression and impact. Is that the truth?
Looking at the art world we are such a living example of how each has his own truth and each argues that is the official truth.
So can one be interested in “D” truth or its forever a personal context truth?
Hope for the Niche Artist
The world is changing, and with it the industries. The value exchange in the world, used to be structured into hierarchical industries with gatekeepers etc, now undergoing transformation.
Just like sandman turned to sand in the marvel spider-man movie the art industry is going through a similar process
And just like sandman it will be rebuilt again, only different.
The major difference is that niche artists are becoming the masters of their universe.
With networking thinking, and the shift in the means of production. any original artist with a mailing list will be able to find ways to make a living that are not entirely dependent on the system.
Artist will learn to see themselves as small business owners and their bread and butter will come from their mailing list.
sales too
The work with traditional relationships with dealers, galleries, curators and museum directors is not going to disappear, we artists need and love our dealers and curators, but we are becoming partners in crime rather than dom subs.
Ward Schumaker and the Painter's Radio
When I do my walks, I sometimes TedTalk to myself, explaining universal truths etc. One of my favorites subjects is that we painters are tuned to a transparent radio and we do our best to broadcast it to the public who cant hear it otherwise, the talk goes on and on about the structure of the old art world and how it shifts now, but to stay on point, some of us are tuned to the exact same radio station, hence explaining why the natives in the Australian desert and the 60’s in New York have so much in common.
Today I have this great example to share, with you.
When I shared my latest series Yellow pages, my dear San-Fransisco friend Ward replayed he was working on a book with the same title and similar colors, here, have a look :
Isn’t that great ?
you can learn more of Ward’s work here
fine art portfolio: https://ward-schumaker.squarespace.com
tumblr images: http://wardschumaker.tumblr.com
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/schumakerward/
WeDraw
Imagine someone telling you, Listen, I found this crazy app, It connects you to yourself, the universe and other people, all at the same time, and it costs nothing !
Hmmmmm what ??
But I’snt drawing just that?
Hasn’t it been doing just that since the dawn of humanity? After eating, taking a s**t, and having sex, humans practiced leaving a mark pretty early on. Think prehistoric cave walls and all.
Drawing is a free intimate tool, that requires no WiFi, no battery and no 1000€ devices.
Who ever you are, where ever you are, you can log in, explore and connect.
kids knows it, if you ever raised one, you know it takes forever to make a kid stop drawing on everything all the time.
Henry David Thoreau said 'All good things are wild and free.'
Thought of the day
This trio is my personal conclusion after three days of listening to Seth Godin.
he gives permission to respect the work, to be generous, and to redefine your audience.
Liberating and motivating.
The war of art
Listen here:
Seth Godin
“Do work that matters for people who cares” – Seth Godin
Connecting the dots between Art, education and entrepreneurship.
A true teacher, with a truly transformative body of work.
If you are stuck in the loop of not accepting the system as is but not knowing what to do this guy is the key to moving on…
Notice the 1:34 minute - kids education manifesto here in the Tim Feriss show, this is pure Unschooling values, and why I’m realizing more and more that unschooling is the future…
“Work that matters for people who care”
Seth books are generelly about modern marketing, and the way we spread ideas when we care enough to do it with respect, empathy and humility.
The pleasure of listening to his podcast
Go over his site
When in doubt
How do you know when it's time to call it quits on trying to be an artist?
The Gap
Show up to do your job