Do It: 20 Years of Famous Artists' Irreverent Instructions for Art Anyone Can Make by Maria Popova “Art is something that you encounter and you know it’s in a different kind of space from the rest of your life, but is directly connected to it.” One afternoon in 1993, legendary art critic, curator, and interviewer extraordinaire Hans Ulrich Obrist — mind of great wisdom on matters as diverse as the relationship between patterns and chance and the trouble with “curation” itself — sat down in Paris’s Café Select with fellow co-conspirers Christian Boltanski and Bertrand Lavier, and the do it project was born: A series of instructional procedures by some of the greatest figures in contemporary art, designed for anyone to follow as a sort of DIY toolkit for creating boundary-expanding art. Obrist, who considers do it “not a sprint [but] a marathon” and the book a “progress report” on a perpetually open-ended project, writes: RECIPE FOR BUCKY FULLER Skin but do not stone a peach. Sculptor Nairy Baghramian (2012): Whatever you do, do something else. Paul Chan: Instruction (2005)
It’s Always Done This Way 6Share Synopsis Make it a habit to challenge the assumptions you make. Here is an easy exercise that must be done in your head only. Our confidence in our ability to add according to the way we were taught in base ten encourages us to process the information this way and jump to a conclusion. In 1968, the Swiss dominated the watch industry. When Univac invented the computer, they refused to talk to business people who inquired about it, because the computer was invented for scientists they assumed it had no business applications. When Fred Smith started Federal Express, virtually every delivery expert in the U.S., doomed his enterprise to failure. Chester Carlson invented xerography in 1938. Once we think we know how something should be done, we keep doing it, then we teach others to do it the same way, and they in turn teach others until eventually you reach a point where no one remembers why something is done a certain way but we keep doing it anyway.
Art as Therapy: Alain de Botton on the 7 Psychological Functions of Art by Maria Popova “Art holds out the promise of inner wholeness.” The question of what art is has occupied humanity since the dawn of recorded history. In Art as Therapy (public library), philosopher Alain de Botton — who has previously examined such diverse and provocative subjects as why work doesn’t work, what education and the arts can learn from religion, and how to think more about sex — teams up with art historian John Armstrong to examine art’s most intimate purpose: its ability to mediate our psychological shortcomings and assuage our anxieties about imperfection. Like other tools, art has the power to extend our capacities beyond those that nature has originally endowed us with. De Botton and Armstrong go on to outline the seven core psychological functions of art: What we’re worried about forgetting … tends to be quite particular. 'We don't just observe her, we get to know what is important about her.' But these worries, they argue, are misguided. 'What hope might look like.'
Chris Shrigley's Blog - Staying Focused and Motivated as an Indie Developer Working Alone. Staying Focused and Motivated as an Indie Developer Working Alone. The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company. (This article is cross posted on my website Indielicious.com) I’ve spent the past year working out of my home office on projects and side project and other hare brained ideas. Before I went independent, I worked in a busy studio in the thick of everything. Lately I’ve been struggling a little with focus and motivation, and I’ve spent some time trying to figure out what the problem is, and why I’m stuck in this uncharacteristic funk and rut. I’ve pretty much identified two main problems with being an independent developer and working alone. The first problem I have is lack of focus and my susceptibility to distraction. The second problem, which is more insidious and way more negative than the first, is staying motivated.
NeuroKnitting | knitic by Varvara Guljajeva , Mar Canet , and Sebastian Mealla Special thanx to Sytse Wierenga! We have plotted brainwave activity into a knitted pattern. Why have we used music? Concerning the selected music, the first case study uses Bach’s Goldberg Variations as a stimuli for the users. The knitted garments picture the listener’s affective and cognitive states during the experiment. Neuro Knitting represents a novel way of personal, generative design and fabrication. More photos about the whole process here>> Authors This project is a collaboration between artist-duo Varvara Guljajeva( and Mar Canet( and MTG researcher Sebastian Mealla ( Together they had brainstorm this art project to demonstrate art and science collaboration. The project is a perfect example for art and science collaboration.
A Bias against 'Quirky'? Why Creative People Can Lose Out on Leadership Positions Creativity is good — and more critical than ever in business. So why do so many once-creative companies get bogged down over time, with continuous innovation the exception and not the norm? Wharton management professor Jennifer Mueller and colleagues from Cornell University and the Indian School of Business have gained critical insight into why. In a paper titled, “Recognizing Creative Leadership: Can Creative Idea Expression Negatively Relate to Perceptions of Leadership Potential?” That reality should be of concern to those who sit in corporate boardrooms around the globe. But understanding the need for creativity within a large company is not the same as actually fostering it. The group found a significant correlation between being creative and being seen as poor management material. ‘Idea Pitcher’ vs. That finding was borne out in a second study. According to Mueller, these findings are consistent with how people have traditionally defined business leadership in the past.
Anyone can learn to be a polymath – Robert Twigger I travelled with Bedouin in the Western Desert of Egypt. When we got a puncture, they used tape and an old inner tube to suck air from three tyres to inflate a fourth. It was the cook who suggested the idea; maybe he was used to making food designed for a few go further. Far from expressing shame at having no pump, they told me that carrying too many tools is the sign of a weak man; it makes him lazy. The real master has no tools at all, only a limitless capacity to improvise with what is to hand. The more fields of knowledge you cover, the greater your resources for improvisation. We hear the descriptive words psychopath and sociopath all the time, but here’s a new one: monopath. The monopathic model derives some of its credibility from its success in business. Ever since the beginning of the industrial era, we have known both the benefits and the drawbacks of dividing jobs into ever smaller and more tedious ones. In fact, it wasn’t. I thought you were either a ‘natural’ or nothing.
BSc (Hons) Computing & Games Development - Course overview TECHNOLOGY SUPPORTED LEARNING - ipad mini and ebooks As a computing student at Plymouth, a key aspect is how we use the technology itself to support your learning. You will receive an Apple iPad mini to give you access to various additional resources that support your modules (e.g. podcasts, eBooks (see below)), as well as to enable you to participate in interactive activities such as in-class voting and feedback, and for accessing various University online systems such as module sites, the electronic library, and of course email. Free eBooks for all first-year undergraduates on computing courses First year computing students at Plymouth University have access to free of charge eBook versions of textbooks. This exciting initiative facilitates the learning process and enables lecturers and students to annotate texts and share their notes and views online. The list of books currently available comprises:
100 Ideas That Changed Graphic Design by Maria Popova From visual puns to the grid, or what Edward Tufte has to do with the invention of the fine print. Design history books abound, but they tend to be organized by chronology and focused on concrete -isms. From publisher Laurence King, who brought us the epic Saul Bass monograph, and the prolific design writer Steven Heller with design critic Veronique Vienne comes 100 Ideas that Changed Graphic Design — a thoughtfully curated inventory of abstract concepts that defined and shaped the art and craft of graphic design, each illustrated with exemplary images and historical context. Idea # 16: METAPHORIC LETTERING Trying to Look Good Limits My Life (2004), part of Stefan Sagmeister’s typographic project '20 Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far.' Idea # 83: PSYCHEDELIA Gebrauchsgraphik (1968). Idea # 31: RED WITH BLACK Heller and Vienne write in the introduction: Idea # 19: VISUAL PUNS Idea # 17: PASTICHE Idea # 80: TEEN MAGAZINES Idea # 35: EXPRESSION OF SPEED Idea # 25: MANIFESTOS
Nine Steps for Creating and Maintaining Team Ownership of Ideas and Goals As a leader you know results and productivity are higher when people are committed to their work. You also know higher levels of commitment or engagement also increase job satisfaction, safety performance and focus while reducing on-the-job stress and turnover. Commitment, engagement or buy-in – whatever you want to call – it’s a good thing. One sure-fire way to increase all those things is for people to feel ownership of something. The question you might ask is how do you do that? It is an important question, and I’m glad you asked. The Nine Steps Be genuine. Will these nine steps guarantee that your team will feel 100% ownership and commitment to what is said? Unfortunately, no. However, using these steps will significantly increase the engagement, belief and, yes, ownership people feel in the ideas, goals and next steps created through this process. Think about a situation, big and complex or even simpler and safer, where you can apply these ideas.
The emergence of talent: genius and precocity Ben Fountain was an associate in the real-estate practice at the Dallas offices of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, just a few years out of law school, when he decided he wanted to write fiction. The only thing Fountain had ever published was a law-review article. His literary training consisted of a handful of creative-writing classes in college. He had tried to write when he came home at night from work, but usually he was too tired to do much. He decided to quit his job. “I was tremendously apprehensive,” Fountain recalls. He began his new life on a February morning—a Monday. In his first year, Fountain sold two stories. Ben Fountain’s rise sounds like a familiar story: the young man from the provinces suddenly takes the literary world by storm. Genius, in the popular conception, is inextricably tied up with precocity—doing something truly creative, we’re inclined to think, requires the freshness and exuberance and energy of youth. Cézanne didn’t. Fountain was riveted by Haiti.
Leaving AAA: Why Naughty Dog's star designer became a teacher When Richard Lemarchand left Naughty Dog in 2012, he did so while at the top of his field. A lead designer on the studio's flagship Uncharted franchise, Lemarchand departed triple-A game development to join the faculty at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, within the Interactive Media and Games Division. At the time it seemed a puzzling career move - at least for those who didn't know him. "I’ve always had an indie kid’s soul, I think," he says. "I grew up in the 80s. Now coming to the end of his first academic year at USC, the school which produced the likes of Journey developers Jenova Chen and Kellee Santiago, Lemarchand has a few moments to reflect back on his transition from developer to educator. "I expected there to be a big, even jarring shifting of gears to have to deal with," Lemarchand tells Gamasutra, in reference to his professional transition. Lemarchand cites the work philosophy of his former studio for the easy adjustment.
Networked Knowledge and Combinatorial Creativity by Maria Popova Why creativity is like LEGO, or what Richard Dawkins has to do with Susan Sontag and Gandhi. In May, I had the pleasure of speaking at the wonderful Creative Mornings free lecture series masterminded by my studiomate Tina of Swiss Miss fame. These are pages from the most famous florilegium, completed by Thomas of Ireland in the 14th century. In talking about these medieval manuscripts, Adam Gopnik writes in The New Yorker: Our minds were altered less by books than by index slips.” Which is interesting, recognizing not only the absolute vale of content but also its relational value, the value not just of information itself but also of information architecture, not just of content but also of content curation. You may have heard this anecdote. Here’s the same sentiment from iconic designer Paula Scher on the creation of the famous Citi logo: Kind of LEGOs. And iconic novelist Vladimir Nabokov was a secret lepidopterist — he collected and studied butterflies religiously.
Why Fighting For Our Ideas Makes Them Better After studying newlyweds for just a short period of time, psychology researcher Dr. John Gottman can predict whether the couple will be together in five years with over 90 percent accuracy. So how does he do it? He gets them to argue. Gottman watches the couples debate, and he analyzes how they fight. Surprisingly, the ability to engage in healthy, respectful disagreement is a huge predictor of long-term success. It turns out that creative teams – and their ideas – are no exception. A significant body of research now suggests that conflict among teams is good, especially when that fighting is focused around creative ideas. When a project is being developed, but isn’t fully formed, criticism and constructive conflict are vital to testing the value of the ideas and helping increase that value. When a project is being developed, but isn’t fully formed, criticism and constructive conflict are vital to testing the value of the ideas. When the results were calculated, the winners were clear.