{art + innovation} #inspiration
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Ephemeral Art in the Streets
August 8, 2011
Today is the last day of the wildly popular Art in the Streets exhibit @ the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). Although books, posters, sites, & magazines abound on the exhibit, I had to try to capture some resonating pieces here. Perhaps it’s the fleeting, ephemeral quality of street art, which makes it more precious than other mediums. Whether it’s spray paint, stickers, or Sharpie pens, street art reminds me of Tibetan mandalas: amazing works of art created with intense devotion, only to be obliterated to show our humanity.
You have to measure the change you are hoping to create with your invention.
Martin Fisher
August 2, 2011
How do we fundamentally end poverty instead of wasting millions on aid? Offer affordable, quality tools for people to make a living quickly. Listen to how KickStart‘s CEO, Martin Fisher, concisely tells the transformational story of millions of lives around the world. It’s Product Design improving the human condition.
How KickStart Nips Poverty From the Ground Up
August 2, 2011
Sustained Passion
August 1, 2011
It’s not enough to just to be “interested” in something. It becomes too easy to go through the motions and rush to the finish line when one is casually interested. Joy, on the other spectrum, is fleeting. Thus, we must seek and forge sustained passion.
Is passion a does-not-pay-the bills cliché? We cannot let it become a self-help cliché. Do not succumb to the ubiquitous I am Ultra Unique Syndrome. No one cares. We don’t have time to waste so we must focus like it’s the only that matters. The one thing.
It is through our inevitable struggles where our passions can emerge like a powerful phoenix from the black ashes. Passion self-generates and buoys you up through life’s rolling and crashing waves. The entrepreneurial “niche” is the market-differentiating version of passion. An artist’s belabored medium is the manifestation of their passion. An athlete’s daily, muscle-wrenching practice is the embodiment of their passion.
It is through creating and living our passion that we experience deep-hearted joy. Delicious delight.
“To discover the mode of life or of art whereby my spirit could express itself in unfettered freedom.” James Joyce
Adopt an endangered word & get Scrabble ammunition: savethewords.org
July 31, 2011
Nothing Stops a Bullet Like a Job
July 30, 2011
The phrase halted me. It’s one of those perfectly true, super-poignant lines applicable to so many scenarios: “Nothing Stops a Bullet Like a Job.” Given how America’s latest unemployment rate varies from 9.2% to over 20%, depending on the pundit, this little tote packs punch. You can also apply this concept to war-ravaged countries rebuilding their looted land or gangs plot planning their next drug trade: most people will ultimately choose self-sustaining work over dead-end violence for a chance at a better life in the long run.
The phrase holds more meaning because it’s actually the tagline for Homeboy Industries, America’s largest gang intervention program. Did you know that it costs on average $79 for a day in prison vs. $3.42 for a day on probation? That’s why this non-profit is inspiring: this enabling engine has been teaching and placing at-risk gang members into gainful employment for 23 years through their own businesses. The model program operates 5 businesses around Los Angeles: bakery, farmer’s market, cafe, silkscreen, and a just-opened diner in City Hall. Talk about applying what you learn. Yes, homegirls are equally included. It’s like these citizens learn how to fish on their own fish farm! Brilliant.
This tote can be purchased at L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art’s (MOCA) online store while available. A portion of the proceeds goes back to supporting Homeboy Industries.
This reminds me of the tune from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs… “Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work we go!”
Freehand Life 