David Koren

Enthusiasm Is Everything

This is one of those things that I just assume everybody knows, but every so often I realize that very few people actually practice this. So either they don't know it, or they don't act like they know it. In any case, hopefully this can serve as a little reminder.

Your enthusiasm for what you do is the most important attribute you have. It's more important, in most cases, than your actual ability. Your enthusiasm is actually what gets you laid. And by "laid," I mean, gets you the job you want, gets you that new client, gets people to pay attention to you, gets people to give a shit.

So why do most people act they don't care about anything? I really don't know. Most people just seem to wander around doing what they do, like nobody is watching, like nobody cares. Everybody is watching all the time and everybody is taking note of what you do and what you care about.

I've met a lot of successful people. The thing that links them all is that they have a really good idea what they want, and that they go after it, totally, nonstop, with all the passion and enthusiasm they can muster.

The people who aren't successful either don't know what they want or they don't take any actions to get what they want. Why not? Again, I'm not sure... fear? uncertainly? confusion? playing it too cool? waiting for something to happen? depression? feeling like a victim? living in an imagined alternate reality?

I can't possibly count the number of times I've met somebody at a party or a social event or an industry event or through an introduction or at a conference, and we hit it off, and really seem to like each other and want to work together on something in some capacity... but they never followed up. I usually try to follow up immediately with people I meet, even if it's, "Hey, great to meet you. Let's stay in touch!" Too often silence is the response. I used to think, "Wow, maybe I was too enthusiastic." But now I think, "Wow, I guess they really weren't all that interested." And I move on, and forget about them, and the great conversation we had. It's over.

If you want something, define what it is as clearly as you possibly can. Have a picture of it in your mind. And, when you meet ANYONE who can help you get there, in any way, be enthusiastic. Let your passion come through. It's palpable. People respond to it. People will want to help you. People like being around people who are passionate about something.

If you want something, take action immediately. There is no reason to wait. If you want to meet someone, reach out to them. If somebody emails you, and you want to have a relationship, whether it's personal or for business or romantic or whatever, write back write away. The longer you wait, the less interested you seem, and the person you're corresponding with will lose interest. Now I'm not advocating writing back in 10 seconds, but that's probably ok in most cases. A day is fine. Two days is probably fine. More than that and you look like you either don't care or like you've been in the hospital.

I can imagine a few murmurs in my head... "But, what if I was on vacation? What if I was away for the weekend?" When people tell me they couldn't write to me because they were on vacation I think, "Well, that's great you had a nice vacation. I'm sorry to hear that your vacation was more important than whatever we were talking about." It's fine, really. But it indicates your priorities. It says, "This is less important than other stuff I'm doing." Which never feels good to hear.

But what if I'm not really all that enthusiastic about what I'm doing? Well, you have two choices: (1) do something else, because you're doing the wrong thing, and you should be doing something you care about, or (2) fake it. If you want people to respond to you, act like whatever you're talking about, whatever you're doing, is important, and interesting, and what you want to be doing. Otherwise you look like you're wasted your time, and everyone else's.

Of course, you can't fake it forever. Why would you want to? It's no fun faking it. But sometimes you need to put a smile on when you don't feel like it. Sometimes you need to push yourself. That's ok.

And it's ok not to push yourself, too. It's ok to just sit there, and wait for life to come to you, and wait for opportunity to appear. But when opportunity finally shows up, and you shrug, it's probably going to keep moving.

Art and Populism on Governors Island

In Friday’s Weekend section of The New York Times, Edward Rothstein wrote a fairly evenhanded story about Governors Island as “A Playground for the Arts." As a follow-up, Ken Johnson contributed a dismissive and offensive post on the Times blog, the thrust of which is that good art requires money, the and if we want serious art people to take the art on Governors Island seriously, the best way for that to happen is to raise a few million dollars and throw an international art exhibition. Because, he writes, “Art just isn’t the kind of thing that lends itself to no-budget, laissez-faire populism.” He goes on to dismiss the work of No Longer Empty, FIGMENT, the Sculptor’s Guild, and even 4Heads, before their exhibition has even opened.

In his critique, Johnson manages to miss the point entirely. The art on Governors Island isn’t for him. And it’s not for the elite tastemakers who have decided who lives and dies in the art world for centuries. No, this is art for the rest of us. For everybody… for families, for communities, for every-day citizens who yearn for inspiration, for artists trying new things, and for connecting all of these pieces to each other in an accessible, fun, and interactive environment that encourages experimentation instead of censure.

Because Governors Island, unlike New York’s museums and galleries, is our place. It belongs to all of us. So the art that succeeds there is, by definition, populist (as you can see in videos of FIGMENT's projects). And, in the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, when foundations, individuals, and governments are stretched to their limits, that means low budget... reflecting the hardship in the lives of the people creating and enjoying that art.

And if this means that, to the elite sensibility, the FIGMENT minigolf course and interactive sculpture garden—enjoyed by tens of thousands of children and adults through summer at no cost (unlike MoMA, the Met, etc.)—is “an ugly mess.” Well, so be it. Better to be loved to death by the people of New York City than admired by an elite echelon of the art establishment.

We believe that public art is art created by and for the public. And Governors Island, as a place for all of us to share equally, is the ideal place for public art. And yes, this is a populist idea, and the point that Johnson misses entirely.

And, after all, as jaded as Johnson is about art that doesn't "thrill" him, what if something really important and innovative were actually going on here? How could Johnson tell? He is clearly so disinterested in populist forms that, if he had been writing at the time, he would have dismissed impressionism, dadaism, naturalism, abstract expressionism, pop art, performance art, and every other arts movement that came from the people, as opposed to those innovations, such as they are, that come from the establishment.

We believe in participation, the idea that we can all collaborate to create great art together that none of us could have created in isolation. FIGMENT has grown rapidly over the last four years on this simple idea, creating better and better participatory and interactive art each year. It's true that we're not in competition with the Venice Biennale, but that isn't really the goal. The fact that we're having this conversation in the blog of The New York Times is evidence that we're making tremendous progress in our goal to develop the island into an international arts destination focused on participation.

Mr. Johnson, we invite you to reconsider your position on what makes art important to society, and to learn more about FIGMENT and the other arts groups working on the island. We would love for you to join us and to be a participant in what we're building.

David Koren
Executive Producer
FIGMENT

 

 

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.