Are you down with your right brain? (part 2)

Against what many would consider common sense, I’m taking graduate classes in art education. The book I have to read for introduction to art education is going to tell me all about how great having a creative mind is and how it’s going to change the future of the world. It’s  A Whole New Mind: How Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel Pink. I have to admit the title alone made me roll my eyes.

In this week’s reading of A Whole New Mind, the author, Daniel Pink, reiterates his point: society is moving towards R-Directed (that’s right brain) characteristics, such as creativity and empathy, in conjunction with L-Directed (left brain) analytical thinking. It makes sense to me that the only way to compete in this job market is with R-directed characteristics. When competitors can make it cheaper and faster using computers the only way to make your services or products stand out is to be more beautiful than the competition. Furthermore, Pink explains the difference between High Concept and High Touch. High Concept involves the ability to create and the ability to synthesize seemingly unrelated ideas. High Touch involves empathy, joy, and the pursuit of meaning and purpose. This is especially true of baby boomers. “As people mature,” writes psychologist, David Wolfe, “their cognitive patterns become less abstract (left-brain orientation) and more concrete (right-brain orientation), which results in a sharpened sense of reality, increased capacity for emotion, and enhancement of their sense of connectedness” (p. 60). In other words, your 6-figure income, your SUV, your blonde highlights, your diamond stud cufflinks, and your Kate Spade purse won’t bring you happiness. Nor will they bring you fulfillment. I can relate to wanting to find meaning and purpose beyond our image-conscious, abundant, fast-paced society. Not because I have any of those symbols of wealth or hope to get any, but because, maybe, being dirt poor has given me insight (or maybe I was born in the wrong century).

Furthermore, Pink talks six “senses” to cultivate: Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play, and Meaning. He describes design in detail. Anyone can be a designer, he says, even your grandma! Robin Williams, a so-called top designer, wrote The Non-Designer’s Design Book: Design and Typographic Principals for the Visual Novice, a book on how anyone can do it—we can all be graphic designers! Shit! I shouldn’t have wasted my money on an education from UMass, Dartmouth. I love her acronym for good design: CRAP (Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, Proximity). Turns out that, according to Daniel Pink, Daniel Pink is right: unless you’re innovative, creative, and unique (in a socially acceptable sort of way), you’re fucked.

edited by AC Martínez

“…we worked harder than this!”

Job searching is hard work. If one is honestly looking, its a lot of work, even if you could do in your pj’s. After awhile they all start to blur into one job ad. You end up applying to the ones who don’t sound as if they were written by the exact same person who wrote the other twelve you just read. You work your ass off putting together the best resume/cover letter you can with the proper wording – tailored to the job being applied to, that perfect layout so they think about how great your attention to detail and design skills are.. and not a one seems to be impressed!! You email, mail, fax it and never hear from them. After about a hundred you start to wonder if its more than just the economy. I don’t limit myself… hells no… I apply to graphic design jobs, retail jobs, secretary jobs, temporary jobs, ect. I keep hoping one will think me impressive enough for an interview…

Today while looking through help wanted ads, I come across one of those insulting help wanted ads. Ones that insult your intelligence before you even get a chance to hit send on your email. Ones that think they are so much loftier designers than those of us that took a job designing menus because that is what was offered when graduating into the era of the Bush (joke) administration who f’d up the economy. Who knew designing menus for local restaurants was NOT good, honest work? According to these folks, its not.. they really really did put it in there. They went there. I got a paycheck, the clients were happy with my work, some I’d say even enthusiastic. Sure I wasn’t designing something the AIGA would ever show on their website. No, the AIGA (whom I can’t even afford to join) won’t be sponsoring a lecture by me so that people can pay money to hear me speak about designing wine lists and menu’s for Rhode Island businesses. Who knows, maybe they were from the local chapter of the AIGA and/or were looking to win some big whoopie-do award. I’d like an award myself.

your heart/your money • acrylic on board • 2008

A few weeks back, I found a design gig that claimed they wanted the cheapest bid for the project, not the best designer or even a sort of good designer, just one who would do, most likely a lot of work, for next to nothing. That is also insulting. I understand the economy sucks, and that they can pick and chose. But I’d like to not be insulted. I am a talented artist — that is what people tell me. I deserve the ability to pay my bills just like the higher ups who sign the check. Telling me my previous jobs were not “good enough” according to the design world is insulting, but also telling me that I should work for nothing and say, “please sir/madam let me do another” is also insulting. How does one expect me to pay bills and live on $25 for a shit-load of work? Maybe if I could “chose my own adventure” on payments for bills… I could pay them each a $1 and say, “this is it kids…” When that happens, you can pay me next to nothing for my art and design work, until then, for gods-sake stop screwing local artists.

new!

I’ve added my graphic design work for anyone who cares to view it. To whet your appetite.. here’s a piece I did for a design job that didn’t pull through… it was for a local bar’s Service Industry Night. I guess they decided not to SIN anymore… c’est la vie… its tough going freelance kids.

designing life

Lately I’ve been thinking about this life goal I once had. I had started scheming before even graduating mind you, that after college I would work in the graphic design field at a design studio – still haven’t ever done that, things were more promising before George Dubya fucked the economy and the US up big time. The last interview I went to at a real bona fide design studio, the dude looked at me, with my resume in hand and asked, “..So are you like a senior at UMASS?” I was 29 and had been out of college, well, long enough. Granted I still look like I’m in college and every time I tell people that I’m an artist, the response is, “so are you a student at RISD?”

So anyhow.. I was going to work as a graphic designer until like (okay this was when I was 20) 30 or 35, then I was going to go and take some business classes, perhaps at night, so that I could be fully knowledgeable and  functioning to open my own studio by say 40. I was thinking functioning design studio and renting out studio space as well and perhaps even a small art gallery in the lobby. I had the building layout kind of planned in my head – I wanted a nice big airy building with big big windows – I think I wanted the UMASS Dartmouth art department, but I hear that’s taken. Maybe a mill building that no one really wants, as long as it has heat – I like heat in the winter since I do live in New England and I wasn’t planning on moving out New England.

Oh and I was also going to – by like 25 – meet the person of my dreams, get married and have kids before 30. My family used to (and perhaps still does) think I was insane to have my life planned out, I wanted to do it all and prove them wrong and say, “Hah! You didn’t think I could do it, but I DID!” I suppose it could all still happen, I’m not dead yet…

unemployment and art.

I got my last unemployment installment, now I get to file for extended benefits, weeee! As I hung up the phone I said, “Thanks America!” here’s your American dream. I have a bachelors degree, true its in fine arts but it was a concentration in graphic design/typography. I should’ve landed a few poorly paid, boring layout type jobs but not even that! As a graphic designer I am, much like my paintings overlooked for someone else…. I hate to say it, but I’ve probably not gotten jobs because of some guy who could do the job, not necessarily better.. its a male dominated field. Its a boy’s club.

It cracks me up when I read things about gender and socialization and they always claim that the ‘arts’ are mainly a ‘female’ thing, clearly they didn’t do too much of a study. Try to name off 5 female graphic designers that are famous for graphic design. Zuzanna Licko, if the name doesn’t strike you perhaps the magazine, Emigre, will, she’s the co-founder of it with husband, Rudy Vanderlands. The other famous female graphic designer I can think of off the top of my head is, April Greiman. And of the two woman, I only like one: Zuzanna Licko.

Its like trying to name 5 female rock musicians that radio stations regularly play on a daily basis … if it were a drinking game no one everyone could still safely drive home later.