Brainwashed..

         I wasn’t a huge fan of Seth Godin’s “Brainwashed” article, but it did raise some decent points. I do agree with Godin that it is imperative to learn, fail, ship, “acknowledge the lizard”, make art, be generous, and connect with others. But I don’t necessarily believe that public education and math are blatantly crushing art and the creative process as we know it. For example, (and I’m not claiming to be any sort of a fan of math at all) have you heard of fractical geometry? It’s math, but it’s also art! It’s incredible. Additionally, I feel that public education can either stifle great art, or foster it. It really just depends on the individual...

Fractical Art.

            Anywho, back to the article… I think that the two most important factors discussed in Godin’s article were MAKING CONNECTIONS & FAILING. As a frequent blogger I can speak toward how incredible and helpful it is to make connections in places all over the world. I’ve had conversations with people in other countries about their media systems, via Tumblr. I’ve discussed music projects and other art with people all over the globe. Blogs are an incredible resource if used correctly. The second point that I felt was important was failure. From failure we learn what works and what does not. It puts us in our place and teaches us humility. It really can be a great way to become a better artist, if you learn to take it the right way.

            As far as how useful these assignments are, in terms of fostering the creative process, I’d say that they help a little; some more than others. For example, I enjoyed the soundscape assignment. It invited me to explore different areas of sound that I hadn’t bothered to explore prior. I really focused on making the deep space in the photo present in my sound, and that was a challenge for me.