Well, here we are... Governors Island opens today, and the Emergence Exhibition (www.emergenceshow.org) opens today! It's 10:15, and no rain yet... So let's hope it holds out! There's so much art happening on the island this summer, it really seems like last year's FIGMENT event really helped to push the issue of the arts as a catalyst for the rebirth of the island. There was a great article in the NY Sun on Thursday that talked about everything going on this summer, and a summer preview (with a picture from FIGMENT last year) in this week's Time Out. In anuy case, this should be a fantastic day, and this really kicks the countdown to FIGMENT into high gear!!!
David Koren
Marketing, Strategy, and Culture
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May 31, 2008
Governors Island Opens!
Posted at 04:58 PM in All | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 26, 2008
Thoughts on Fame
It's Memorial Day, and I'm on vacation. No meetings this weekend, only a little bit of work here and there. I'm watching a video on New Order that I never saw before, and I'm trying to send an email to David Byrne.
What do these things have in common? Well, strangely, Bono is interviewed in the New Order video. And he stands out as such a pompous ass. I mean, New Order are a relatively humble group. They were a bunch of kids from Manchester, who still seem relatively shy and down to earth. They're likable and somewhat inscrutable because they just look like people. They just sort of say, this is who we are. But Bono's another story. By comparison, he seems totally full of himself, utterly self-satisfied, self-important, and smug. He's on the video saying something about Ian Curtis's sacred voice or something, and you kind of want to slap him.
So... What does this have to do with David Byrne? Well, David Byrne seems to be a fairly down-to-earth guy. He's an incredible artist who's worked in a variety of media, and I've had a lot of respect for him since the Talking Heads first started making sense to me when I was in my late 20's or so (I never really got them when I was a teenager and they were actively recording). Well, David Byrne is doing an installation in the Battery Maritime Building with Creative Time this summer. This coincides directly with the FIGMENT event and the Emergence exhibition that I'm working on on Governors Island (the Battery Maritime Building is where the ferries leave to go to Governors Island). So, I thought, well, why not reach out to David Byrne and say hello? Invite him to FIGMENT, Emergence, whatever.
But the thing is, you can't just send an email to David Byrne, silly. He's a star! He's got a great website and journal (blog). He writes his thoughts about things there (just like I'm doing here). But you can't actually respond to anything he's written. You can't post a comment. You can't (heaven forbid) actually email him. Because, presumably, the volume would be too great for David or whoever maintains his site to respond to.
Now, in a 20th Century, pre-Internet way of looking at the world, this makes sense. You want more David Byrne? Buy a CD, go to a concert, consume media like a good fan. But we're in a world now where we have TRUE many-to-many multi-polar conversations, and loose organizations and connections that support this. I'm reminded of the article in the back of Time Magzine when they named "you" the person of the year a year and a half ago: "Andy was Right." This article was the first time that I read the rephrasing of Warhol's famous quote "In the future everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes" as "In the future everyone will be famous to 15 people." On the Internet, everyone can find their own audience.
David Byrne, of course, is famous to way more than 15 people. And that's why I can't just send him an email. But I imagine that 15 people is about the right order-of-magnitude for how many people will read this particular blog post that I'm writing right now. And that's why you can email me, but you can't email David Byrne. Is this the new dividing line between the "famous" and the rest of us? Can I google you? If I google you, and you show up, can I find out how to contact you?
As an artist, how insulated are you from communication? How do you stay connected with people, with what's happening right now, if you can't be directly contacted? How does being insulated by intermediaries (agents, representatives, managers, lawyers) keep you from really connected with the world we're living in?
The promise of the Internet is that should we should all be able to connect with anyone. But that said, there always need to be filters, boundaries. I guess the question is... how do we each enable as much connection as possible, while still being able to filter through all of the inputs that are out there?
What do these things have in common? Well, strangely, Bono is interviewed in the New Order video. And he stands out as such a pompous ass. I mean, New Order are a relatively humble group. They were a bunch of kids from Manchester, who still seem relatively shy and down to earth. They're likable and somewhat inscrutable because they just look like people. They just sort of say, this is who we are. But Bono's another story. By comparison, he seems totally full of himself, utterly self-satisfied, self-important, and smug. He's on the video saying something about Ian Curtis's sacred voice or something, and you kind of want to slap him.
So... What does this have to do with David Byrne? Well, David Byrne seems to be a fairly down-to-earth guy. He's an incredible artist who's worked in a variety of media, and I've had a lot of respect for him since the Talking Heads first started making sense to me when I was in my late 20's or so (I never really got them when I was a teenager and they were actively recording). Well, David Byrne is doing an installation in the Battery Maritime Building with Creative Time this summer. This coincides directly with the FIGMENT event and the Emergence exhibition that I'm working on on Governors Island (the Battery Maritime Building is where the ferries leave to go to Governors Island). So, I thought, well, why not reach out to David Byrne and say hello? Invite him to FIGMENT, Emergence, whatever.
But the thing is, you can't just send an email to David Byrne, silly. He's a star! He's got a great website and journal (blog). He writes his thoughts about things there (just like I'm doing here). But you can't actually respond to anything he's written. You can't post a comment. You can't (heaven forbid) actually email him. Because, presumably, the volume would be too great for David or whoever maintains his site to respond to.
Now, in a 20th Century, pre-Internet way of looking at the world, this makes sense. You want more David Byrne? Buy a CD, go to a concert, consume media like a good fan. But we're in a world now where we have TRUE many-to-many multi-polar conversations, and loose organizations and connections that support this. I'm reminded of the article in the back of Time Magzine when they named "you" the person of the year a year and a half ago: "Andy was Right." This article was the first time that I read the rephrasing of Warhol's famous quote "In the future everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes" as "In the future everyone will be famous to 15 people." On the Internet, everyone can find their own audience.
David Byrne, of course, is famous to way more than 15 people. And that's why I can't just send him an email. But I imagine that 15 people is about the right order-of-magnitude for how many people will read this particular blog post that I'm writing right now. And that's why you can email me, but you can't email David Byrne. Is this the new dividing line between the "famous" and the rest of us? Can I google you? If I google you, and you show up, can I find out how to contact you?
As an artist, how insulated are you from communication? How do you stay connected with people, with what's happening right now, if you can't be directly contacted? How does being insulated by intermediaries (agents, representatives, managers, lawyers) keep you from really connected with the world we're living in?
The promise of the Internet is that should we should all be able to connect with anyone. But that said, there always need to be filters, boundaries. I guess the question is... how do we each enable as much connection as possible, while still being able to filter through all of the inputs that are out there?
Posted at 03:41 PM in All, Culture | Permalink | Comments (1)
The Momentum of Communications
Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is that communications have a momentum to them. This is more true now than ever, since the vast majority of our communications are now handled instantly or near-instantly. If I meet someone, and I have an urgent need to get in touch with him or her, I may send an email to them the next day. If they feel that it is important to respond to me in like manner, they'll write back within 24 hours. By this reciprocation of pace and energy in our communictions, we're saying that we're on the same page, that we feel the same way about whatever topic we're discussing. At the same time, if I meet someone and want to get in touch with them, but it is less urgent, I may write to them a week or so after I mention the topic to them. Then, either they'll write back write away, if they're really interested, or if they're more cool to the idea, they may give it a week. In this way, we can understand how interested other people are in what we're talking about.
This momentum is also reflected in the length and consideration of emails. We have all received the "long lost friend" emails... The "I haven't seen you in ten years so let me tell you about my kids" emails. You receive 1000 word email, and you read it. But you can't just quickly write back, so you sit on it. You want to make a thoughtful response that echoes what you received. So a week or two goes by and then you finally carve out time to write. And you write 1000 words back to your friend. Tag, you're it. Now they've got to find time to sit down and write an equally thoughtful email. Too often, one correspondent or the other drops the ball, and you're out of touch again. If you're lucky, the emails get more rapid (with less time between them) and shorter, until you're actually having something like a typical email conversation.
One place that the momentum of communication has been carefully documented is in dating. Books like The Rules (for a female audience) and David DeAngelo's work (for a male audience) include consideration of the rhythm of communications in their approaches to sending the intended signals to the opposite sex. Call within 3 days. The next day may seem too eager, while calling a week later may give the impression that, well, he's just not that into you.
I think the lesson here, and my point to writing this, is that it is important to consider your communications very carefully... You're saying something to your audience with the frequency, intensity, length, and timing of your communications. If you're aware of this, you can carefully tailor the message you send to make yourself heard and (hopefully) elicit the response that you're looking for.
This momentum is also reflected in the length and consideration of emails. We have all received the "long lost friend" emails... The "I haven't seen you in ten years so let me tell you about my kids" emails. You receive 1000 word email, and you read it. But you can't just quickly write back, so you sit on it. You want to make a thoughtful response that echoes what you received. So a week or two goes by and then you finally carve out time to write. And you write 1000 words back to your friend. Tag, you're it. Now they've got to find time to sit down and write an equally thoughtful email. Too often, one correspondent or the other drops the ball, and you're out of touch again. If you're lucky, the emails get more rapid (with less time between them) and shorter, until you're actually having something like a typical email conversation.
One place that the momentum of communication has been carefully documented is in dating. Books like The Rules (for a female audience) and David DeAngelo's work (for a male audience) include consideration of the rhythm of communications in their approaches to sending the intended signals to the opposite sex. Call within 3 days. The next day may seem too eager, while calling a week later may give the impression that, well, he's just not that into you.
I think the lesson here, and my point to writing this, is that it is important to consider your communications very carefully... You're saying something to your audience with the frequency, intensity, length, and timing of your communications. If you're aware of this, you can carefully tailor the message you send to make yourself heard and (hopefully) elicit the response that you're looking for.
Posted at 11:47 AM in All, Communications | Permalink | Comments (0)