“being aware, sensitive, passionate, concerned, committed, and above all inventive... – these are the necessary ingredients to a successful creative career.”
I consider my self to be all of the above as I am very passionate about many things - first of all, design, obviously, but many other art forms too and most importantly, to me, making the world a better place for everybody. Art has much more influence on the course humanity takes than people give it credit for, and I believe that be designing and creating with integrity I can communicate my values to others and encourage positive change.
For example, Keith Haring is known for his fun and lively paintings and graffiti, which to most people may not seem to have much meaning behind them and simply be intended as decoration. However, Haring was a gay man living in NYC in the time of the AIDS crisis - a crisis which many feel was not dealt with correctly by the government due to prejudice against gay and transgender people. Haring created art which forced the public to acknowledge what was happening and included simple phrases into his work to make it impossible for viewers to ignore the issue.
"By the late 1980s, AIDS felt like the most visible threat to life in America. When Haring (above left) created “Ignorance = Fear”, one American was being diagnosed with HIV every minute. Four people were dying of AIDS every hour. By 1991 the epidemic had claimed the lives of 100,000 Americans. "
"The solution was to make noise. ACT UP, a group of activists, coined the phrase “Silence = Death”, appropriating the pink triangle with which the Nazi regime marked homosexuals as a badge of pride. Their goal was to make as much noise as possible, and Haring joined the cause. " - TIM SMITH-LAING, 1843 Magazine
The Tate says: "Activist art is a term used to describe art that is grounded in the act of ‘doing’ and addresses political or social issues."
Art and design can define social and political movements. For example, when we think of the 'hippie' movement in 1960s/70s America, many people think of the art of Wes Wilson, even if they won't know him by name, his style is definitive of the era.
“Rejecting the possibility of failure is the first step. When you’re creating something from nothing – a painting, a novel, a movie script – the fear of failure is always there. This will compromise your idea. You have to be supremely confident in your ability to achieve something outstanding.” - This quote spoke to me because I struggle a lot with self doubt and it often holds me back from starting creative projects. I believe in the 'fake it till you make it' approach with confidence - you can't sit around waiting for confidence to come, you just have to throw yourself into a project, but I have to remind myself of this often.
It continues: “If confidence is one key to success, enjoying your work is another. Even more than confidence, the sense of excitement that accompanies being creative will spur you on. Just think of it as playing – you can do anything you want, go anywhere you like.”
“For most of us, anger amounts to stress, and the worst type of stress at that. But for artists, anger can be a positive force. If focused and channeled into a piece of work, it is capable of producing something of great profundity.” - this quote reinforces my interest in art and design as a form of protest and/ or social commentary. “So get angry but don’t let it eat you up. Instead, find a piece of paper, a canvas, anything, and get it out of you.”
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