When Art and Technology Have a Baby

This afternoon I'm meeting with Lincoln Schatz (pronounced "shots"), an American portrait artist whose work has just been acquired by the Smithsonian. I first met Lincoln a few years ago at an event in his studio. I was mesmerized by the images that floated like ghosts across the walls. Part programmer and part videographer, Lincoln's customized computers deliver generative moving portraits of people the likes of George Clooney as commissioned by Esquire Magazine.



Not satisfied to just make art, Lincoln is also mastering the process of creating change. His Cure Violence project teaches Chicago area youth from blighted communities how to tell their stories using video art. Cisco is one of the project's sponsors. According to Lincoln, the project has been both gratifying and vexing. It's not easy changing a culture from destructive to creative in the face of grinding poverty.

I hope to learn about it.

I learn more from stories about disappointment than glory. Handling success doesn't really demand perspective or inner coaching. Creative people have vivid imaginations. It's part of their gift. And it can become their downfall when reality just never forms up the way it's been imagined.

I read recently that Buddhists believe expectation is the partner to disappointment. Willingness is the partner to happiness--being willing to accept what unfolds. Here's hoping Lincoln is willing unfold his secret to pulling off his wildly ambitious blend of art + technology + social action.

Why I'm Proud to Be From Chicago

Last Friday, I attended my first sketch comedy show at the Playground Theater. The show featured three acts (one of which was written and performed by two of my funniest friends, Alicia Eler and Daaimah Mubashshir) and lasted two hours. By the time it was over, I found myself wondering why I don't see comedy shows every weekend. Don't get me wrong--I try to take advantage of Chicago on a regular basis. I go to museums, movies, plays and the like pretty regularly. After all, we live in a pretty big and wonderful city. But nothing brushes a bad week off your back like spending two hours laughing. So I was thrilled to find out that the Playground has shows every single Friday night. You can bet I'll be back.

Here's another cool thing I found out about them: the Playground is the first and only not-for-profit co-op theater dedicated to improv comedy in the entire country. That fact alone makes me swell with Chicago pride. And it's entirely run by volunteers, many of whom are also actors. I love the idea that the guy setting up chairs before a show might be the life of that very show three hours later.

Then there are Fundraising Fridays, during which the theater assists organizations or individuals with setting up shows to raise money for various causes. Laughs and philanthropy--what more could a culture scout ask for? I don't know that I had a favorite theater before now, but after reading up on the Playground, I think they may have taken the prize.

See here for more info.

--Mo Hickey

When Waking up is Hard to Do: 3 Tips for Launching Your Dream Project

Dreamers can always conjure brilliant visions for projects that’ll fix things, change things, rock the status quo. But inevitably, dreamers must become doers. And, they must inspire other doers to take action. There’s the rub.

To manifest an important, culture-changing idea it’s essential to get people to go beyond the fascination stage and actually do something. This can be harder than you think.

Someone running for office can enjoy very high poll ratings before election day. But getting people to leave their jobs or homes and vote is tricky. You have to wake people up to the fact that lack of action means they’ll get left behind.

Where do you begin?

Here’s a nice little video featuring Kerri Martin, former Guardian of Brand Soul at Mini Cooper. Her 3 bits of advice will help you transform the idea floating in your head into a living, breathing reality.

Kerri Martin from eatbigfish on Vimeo.

Thanks to our colleagues at Eat Big Fish.

Who Gets to Decide What the Future Looks Like?

I’m doing my best to get through my summer reading list. I overloaded myself with non-fiction. Loved Switch, Chip and Dan Heath’s new book. Found Clay Shirky’s new title, Cognitive Surplus to be a twirl on the dance floor of what’s possible for digital culture. I started to sound like an insufferable smarty-pants. I needed some fiction.

So I just cracked the Kindle spine of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and am enthralled. It’s a novel aimed at young adults that predicts a future world of vast underemployment. Only a narrow elite prosper. The reality TV blockbuster is a game where teenagers starve themselves to the death.

It’s one of a few YA novels I’ve read recently, including Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother, where the logical assumption is that the future is grim, immoral morass ruled by autocrats. Adult writers of books for young people don’t seem to hold out much hope for the future. It makes me wonder. How much do dystopian expressions in books or movies, shape young people’s sense of efficacy? Are we inspiring them to give up hope?