Go Blue, Beat OSU

Oddly, I've done a lot more graphics work for U of M since I've left, than when I was in school there. Currently, I'm working on the design for the Go Blue, Beat OSU game t-shirts. The first design was a retro simple look, with a derived image of the Big House (Michigan stadium for you non-wolverines) that aimed to feel bold, intimidating, yet understated, not flashy, reminiscent of the Roman Coliseum. While they liked the retro look, the resounding feedback was that it did not reflect the rivalry enough. Very true. So I went back to the drawing board. Sometimes it takes seeing one design before you can figure out what's missing to make it your ideal design. I coaxed some commentary out of them, and compiled a list of things they wanted the design to accomplish:

• Clearly brings the rivalry to life
• Goes beyond the basic "college sweatshirt" look
• Feels timeless, sophisticated and/or retro
• Incorporates the "block M" prominently
• Can be printed in a monotone color and still look good
• Can effectively translate to other applications, such as a poster

Design 1 and design 2 are above. I think the group is very happy with the second one. The detailing around the edges is an impression of the frieze work from the arch of the law quad, (off of South U. street) that I extracted from a photo. I try to incorporate details like this into my designs that help them more authentically portray what/who they represent.

Fenix de los Ingenios gets a facelift

I've been putting in a lot of hours this week on a website job. I befriended the lovely directors of Fenix de los Ingenios, an early music ensemble out of Bloomington, Indiana, last year when I designed their season brochure and concert posters and postcards. They are ready to take the plunge of updating their old website, and I am delighted to be asked to do the project. Here is the old site: fenixdelosingenios.com. And below is a sneak peak at what the new design will look like. It's not all built yet, but hopefully within our three week timeline, I'll have it up. More to come!

The Torpedo Factory

There is an old torpedo factory on the waterfront in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia. Now, pretend you're an arts administrator, and try to imagine what is the best possible re-purposing use of a building like this, provided there is no longer a market for that many torpedos. A non-profit arts center, of course, would be your answer. I visited last weekend, and though the idea was simple, I was really taken with the implementation of it. Its name and logo reflects its original use, and its interior structure has retained much of its original character, as well. The inside space has be split into smaller units that are usually shared by two artists, and used as both work studios and gallery sales spaces. On a Sunday afternoon when I was there, many of the artists were working or selling work in their space.

A few good things happening here:

• An opportunity is created for a conversation between artist and patron; many times a patron is more likely to purchase art, and it means more to them, when they develop a connection with the artist

• Putting lots of artists in one space creates a nice community for the artists

• Putting lots of artists in one space creates a fertile ground for idea exchange and artistic progress, many times resulting in higher quality work

• Putting lots of artists in one space creates a better sales opportunity, as patrons can go and find them all easily. If the artists were spread all over town, people would never make it to all of them in a day.

• Putting lots of artists in one space creates more possibility for exposure to art that a patron would not seek out on his own. Ex. You go to look at the oil paintings, and discover you like ceramic sculpture.

• Provides a lower-cost option for an artist than having his own studio

• Surrounding community probably benefits from having hip cool artists around - people are attracted to the area and generate economic activity in the coffee shops, restaurants, clothing stores, etc. (Though, as a good student of Dr. Rushton, I have to disclaim about the ability to generate an exact price tag for the economic impact.)

• An old building was not torn down so a new one could go up - the old one, full of character, was used for a new purpose, retaining character in the neighborhood, but allowing for new activity to thrive

• Torpedo Factory does the marketing for the group, like an antique mall

• Torpedo Factory is in a prime location in Old Town, and on the Potomac River, that artists probably wouldn't have access to for work spaces otherwise (the views out some of the studio windows are breathtaking)

• Torpedo Factory uses the building for special event rentals, and has a gift shop, for ancillary income. (From this gift shop, I bought an embroidered patch for my backpack. I like souvenirs, and I like to show my support of places doing cool things.)


What are some other benefits we can think of? Or any major drawbacks?







I took these photos during my visit. Yes, I brightened them in Photoshop. Don't judge - I had to - it was dark in there.

Smithsonian packs a (free) party and brings home the bacon

The Smithsonian was a zoo this weekend! (The cultural activity of my Oct 17; I'm almost up to date.) It was rainy outside, the museum was free, and the people came. There were children and strollers and umbrellas and wheelchairs. I was trying to decide if the museum staff was elated or frustrated.



My friend Stacie, who was visiting from out of town, commented that she really appreciated that all the Smithsonian museums are free. I said I definitely agree, but was surprised they were not more aggressive in collecting donations at the door - usually people will give a small amount when enjoying something free (this is how all NCTA folk festivals operate - what we call the "bucket brigade" - where volunteers wander the grounds and collect money in buckets). Maybe wandering is less appropriate in a museum, but they could have large donation signage and containers at the entrances. It occurred to me that maybe they don't solicit individual donations, because they receive a dominant amount of money from the government -- but I checked and there's a donate option on the Smithsonian website. I don't know how much of their income comes from public money versus private contributions, so I looked it up on GuideStar (a great resource). Here's the rundown: Their revenue was just under $493.5 million in 2008. Of this, $129 million was from public support, $119 million was from government contributions, $74 million came from program service revenue, $50 million came from membership, $43 million came from sales of inventory (gift shop, cafe, maybe?), and the rest was mostly split between assets sold, interest on savings, and special events (remarkably small at $262 thousand - recalling to mind a valuable lesson that special events are not all they're cracked up to be, in terms of relative earning potential). Their expenses came in at $406 million, giving them a solid bottom line in the black of about $85 million. So what have we learned? The Smithsonian is financially responsible, and has amazing free museums, with really high attendance, especially on rainy days.

We also ventured into the East building of the National Gallery of Art and perused the contemporary art floor. My favorite viewing was Matisse's Paper Cutouts, on special exhibit, the bright colors of which covered entire walls. He began to make them when he was recovering from surgery and painting was physically difficult.

Photos are of the main hall of the Natural History Museum, and an overhead shot of the Sea Life wing. I took both of these. The one below is me in front of the Smithsonian Castle, taken by Stacie.

Richmond Folk Festival and School Outreach Performances

From October 5-12, I spent a week in Richmond, Virginia working on site at the Richmond Folk Festival. What I had the privilege of coordinating was the school outreach program - for which we sent 6 bands of musicians into 16 elementary, middle, and high schools in the Richmond Public School district. Participants included Debashish Bhattacharya (Indian slide guitar), Jorge Negron's Master Bomba Ensemble (Puerto Rican Bomba Percussion and Dance Ensemble), Khogzhumchu (Tuvan throat-singing), Phil Wiggins and Corey Harris (acoustic blues), North Bear (Northern Plains drum), and Min Ji Kim and Bora Ju (Korean music and dance). It was a fantastic program - the principals all expressed to me how much they value having the musicians come perform for the students. Some crammed their entire school population into the auditorium for the shows - as large as 700 students at one school.

The best I heard back from the musicians were these 3 things:

1. When Debashish came back to the hotel, I asked, "Did the kids seem to enjoy it?" to which he responded in his thick Indian accent "Oh, I had more fun than kids!!" (He good heartedly endured a 6:45 AM lobby call for that performance.)

2. The artist buddy said that the gym/auditorium in which Phil and Corey played had historic hardwood floors, and when Phil made the rich sound of a train chugging on his harmonica, all the kids enthusiastically thump-thumped their feet on the floor in the same rhythm, resonating the feel of a train through the whole room.

3. When we showed the non-English-speaking member of Khogzhumchu that he was on the front page of the Richmond Times Dispatch newspaper the morning following his school performance, he put both hands in the air rock-star style, and said "SUPA-STAH!"

Huge thanks owed to Tim Timberlake and his non-profit JamInc for providing sound and transportation support.

It was a great festival week. And with a heavy heart, my last with the NCTA this season.




Photo at top is of the Virginia Intertribal Drum and Dance group, whose performance I coordinated on Sunday. Second photo directly above is of me and Max, delivering sound equipment in a golf cart.

The Dinner Party

While in New York City over October 3-4, Stephanie and Salina and I went to see Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. A feminist piece from the 1970's that has had difficulty finding a museum home in the past, it was something I didn't know a lot about. Stephanie had done ample research on it previously (I believe in grad school under Dr. Michelle Facos - one of our favorites - at IU). The exhibit space was really well put together; it created an experience that was quiet and reflective, and dark, as you can see from the picture, with the lighting focused on the place settings. And what I thought was unusual for an art museum and contributed particularly to my appreciation and understanding was the contextual information provided. First, to carry around with you, there was a laminate-cards flip book with a brief summary of the accomplishments of each woman whose place-setting graced the table (Virginia Woolf, one of my favorites, was chosen, but many names I did not know. Woolf's place is the pale green one, second on the left in the photo). Second, beside the exhibit room, there were large panels detailing all the research of women's history done to complete the piece. There were benches in front of these, and we sat and read for a long time. Judy Chicago did her job, because I left thinking about my identity as a woman (which I do not often do) and how fortunate I was to have been born in a time period after all the brave women who fought for civility toward and equality for women for so many centuries. Also of note, the Brooklyn Museum of Art's lobby signage reads with specific admission prices. But when you go to pay, they reveal it's a "suggested" donation - and you can pay what you wish or are able. I think there's value to a pay-what-you-can pricing structure, and also a "suggested price" when accepting donations but I'm wondering about the type of research they did to conclude it was the most beneficial structure to maximize patronage. We were there on a Sunday and it seemed quiet.

Working Waterfront Festival

On September 25-27, I traveled with an NCTA co-worker to help out at the Working Waterfront Festival in New Bedford, Massachusetts. It was sunny Saturday and rained hard on Sunday (part of reporting the how-it-went of any outdoor festival inevitably includes a weather report). During the very last dreary hours on Sunday, there was scheduled to be the second performance of the New Bedford Harbor Sea Chanty Chorus. They already had one performance earlier in the day, the festival was nearly empty of its visitors, and the rain location for the concert was in a building a bit off the beaten path; suffice it to say I had low expectations for the turnout. Assigned to serve as the coordinator and presenter, I showed up half hour before the start of the set, prepared to say, "You know, you guys don't have to perform; I'm so sorry to say there may not be an audience to appreciate your songs." I didn't get a couple words into this sentence when they said, "Oh, not to worry! We're used to singing for ourselves! It'll be fine! And someone might show up to listen - you never know!" So they went on, and slowly but surely, people started to trickle in the warehouse. They pulled up chairs and the singers circled around them; an inverted and encompassing experience for listeners. Grandchildren showed up with bright eyes; neighbors came. I sat and listened quietly. They sang about their town, their traditions, the sea, the fishermen, and the Schooner Ernestina that they all volunteer and raise money to restore. They forgot some of the words to their songs, but the inside of the warehouse glowed with their spirit. And this is what it reminded me: festivals have different purposes. The NCTA folk festivals serve to bring artists and types of music to towns that otherise wouldn't be exposed to them; they focus on access and exposure; they bring in something new. The Working Waterfront Festival serves to encourage a community to come together and discuss its working culture, political issues related to commercial fishing, and celebrate its unique identity; it relishes and renews something old. So this is what all people who work in events, festivals, and arts orgs should ask themselves: what is the purpose of this event, who is it really for, and measure its success by how well it serves that purpose and those people. The Working Waterfront Festival left me feeling very satisfied. And I'm not even from New Bedford.

NEA National Heritage Fellowships

Last week, I had the extraordinary honor of participating in the celebration surrounding the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowships, where eleven selected folk artists were honored for their contribution to our country's cultural heritage. There was an award ceremony on Tuesday evening, followed by a dinner in the Library of Congress. The honors continued Thursday, with a concert at Strathmore, hosted by NCTA friend Nick Spitzer, of NPR's American Routes. During Tuesday's dinner, each of the fellows stood up and spoke about their work and their heritage.
Every single one of them was incredibly thankful and gracious. A common thread throughout the evening was mention of what exceptional fortune they felt they have had, to come to be in America, be it through their ancestors or their own emigration; as our great country has given them the opportunity and freedom to practice their craft and carry on their tradition, as a true a receptacle for heritages and customs of all people who make this their home. Hearing them each speak was really a treat. Sophiline Cheam Shapiro came out of the Khmer Rouge holocaust to teach classical Cambodian dance to a new generation in California. Teri Rofkar continues a tradition of spruce root gathering and basket weaving from the Raven Clan in Alaska; she shared a story of a basket found recently in an archeological dig near her home that was dated at 5,000 years old, that bore the same pattern of weaving she uses and teaches today. Cowboy poet Joel Nelson stood up and said "This is the second greatest honor I have been given in my life. The first is sitting right over there," refering to his wife Sylvia who works side-by-side with him on their 24,000 acre ranch in Alpine, Texas.
LeRoy Graber was truly a delight, telling a story about two horses, to whom he felt he owed his life, that lead his grandfather through a blizzard to safety, over 80 years ago. His grandfather taught him to weave when he was ten years old. There are wonderful stories from each of the fellows, and I really encourage anyone to listen to their interviews posted on the NEA site. Another highlight for me was the chance to speak briefly to Rocco Landesman, newly appointed NEA chairman, near the end of the evening.

In the photo above, Rocco stands at the podium, the fellows to the left and right of him. The most prominent audience members sitting in front of me are Amma McKen's cheering section (she is on the far right). The second photo is inside the Library of Congress, a stunning backdrop for the evening, just as people come downstairs for dinner.

Banners!

I've been helping the University of Michigan Men's Glee Club, for the last few months, with their graphic design and brand image for their 150th year of existence. The most exciting pieces so far are these banners, currently hanging on 18 lamp posts on and around the campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I designed them and sent in the final digital drafts, but haven't made it back to see them in person yet. Fortunately, a photo found its way to my inbox! I'm thrilled - I think they look quite good! They'll be up all school year.


(Photo thanks to the Club, I did not take this one.)

Self Publishing

I came across this website: lulu.com where one can upload their writing, design a book cover, and start selling their own book instantly, without years of publishers reading manuscripts and saying "no thank you" before getting a break. I'm naturally skeptical, as this process bypasses the normal publishing and distribution system. I was taught that consumers view their time, not their money, as their most valuable resource - so they won't sit through the consumption of things they don't enjoy (movies, books, concerts). For this reason, we have gatekeepers - experts in respective fields that produce movies, books, etc, that say red light, green light, on projects depending on their quality and potential to sell well. (Though keeping in mind, "nobody knows," via Rushton and Caves, which is why we have flops sometimes.) Gatekeepers help weed out lesser quality projects from reaching the public, and make it easier for average consumers to find things they enjoy, without having to sort through every artist in a field themselves.

That said, gatekeepers became less important in the music industry, when homegrown bands started uploading their music on the web, sharing it, and experiencing success by the popularity democratically gained. Record labels are still useful, however, for marketing and distribution, and assumption of risk, but the way something becomes popular has definitely changed. I wonder if this could happen next with books. Lulu does rank top sellers right on their front page, so you can buy what other people buy - generally a good indicator you might like something. I guess the question would be, is are major book publishers paying attention? Are they cruising for their next bestselling author on these sites? (And if they bite, does it decrease their risk, because they have evidence this writer is already somewhat popular?) Or will they continue to read manuscripts and find their authors and take risk in the usual way?

NEA's New Chairman: "Mercurial"

The NEA has a new Chairman: Rocco Landesman. Here is a nice profile of him from the NYTimes.

Highlights of the story for me were the following:

His leadership style: smart, decisive and “a very entertaining person to be around,” but also “mercurial,” “unpredictable” and “an extraordinarily hardheaded businessman.” I'm always interested in leadership style - and particularly like the word "mercurial" meaning "subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind; sprightly, lively" when we perhaps typically think of good leaders as the antonymous stable or steadfast.

His branding with a slogan: The new chairman said he already has a new slogan for his agency: “Art Works.” It’s “something muscular that says, ‘We matter.’ ” The words are meant to highlight both art’s role as an economic driver and the fact that people who work in the arts are themselves a critical part of the economy. As for the former agency slogan, “A Great Nation Deserves Great Art,” he said, “We might as well just apologize right off the bat.” Really interesting - illustrating the undertones of a slogan - equating the language of appealing to what we deserve to an apologetic nature.

He must be reading Richard Florida: “When you bring artists into a town, it changes the character, attracts economic development, makes it more attractive to live in and renews the economics of that town,” he said. “There are ways to draw artists into the center of things that will attract other people.”

His money source for projects: Given the agency’s “almost invisible” budget, he said, goals like these would require public-private partnerships that enlist developers, corporations and individual investors. I like this a lot - my fiscally conservative upbringing still makes me question how much public funding should go into the arts - though not the merit of the art or the importance of it finding alternative funding sources than the traditional market provides - so I'm a big fan of private sources (developers/corporations/investors) trading resources for benefit and creating partnerships.

Trouble with Merchandise Sales

I went to Richmond, Virginia, with the NCTA for a couple days last week for planning meetings for the Richmond Folk Festival. While there, we stopped in a local music store that is an old favorite of my co-workers. The store is apparently not faring well, in part due to the economy, in part because CD sales are down due to the popularity of digital music downloading. Josh spoke to someone working there and reported back to the rest of us this fun fact: To compete with the downloading trend, some of the suppliers have been discounting CDs to only $6 or $7 dollars. The result has been an apparent skyrocket in sales, but only in the 80's hair metal band genre.

Next, during one of the meetings, we were discussing how to drive merchandise sales at the festival. We want to use some kind of incentive to encourage the marginal patron to buy. (Those who want to buy already are, those who don't, won't, but we want to capture the people on the fence about it - right at the margin.) Generally, this is done with price discrimination pricing structures - where the front row theater tickets are still $100, but you can sit up in the balcony for just $30 - so you don't lose the revenue of those willing to pay more, but you capture the "maybe" buyer with the incentive of reduced price tickets. Anyway, the problem with these folk festivals is that admission is free, and CD prices are all set by the artists, not within our jurisdiction to offer at reduced prices. One suggestion was made of offering a prize of a complete set of CDs - one from each artist at the festival - to one lucky winner in a contest you were entered to win with the purchase of any piece of merchandise. Not bad. But not sure that's enough to drive sales. Is there a way to offer incentives to marginal buyers to drive sales, without changing prices?

I'm also wondering why some markets can support $20 for an official poster (the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair), and some struggle to sell many for $5 (Richmond Folk Festival). The merchandise is similar - reproduced from original art work with similar appeal. The easy answer would be in the demographic differences between the audiences, which I don't have enough information about to report on, except that attendees of art fairs are there to purchase things, attendees of free music festivals go in without the expectation of purchasing things. But I wonder if it also has to do with the heritage of the event - the art fair being 50 years old, and the folk fest being 5 - and people kind of "wanting a piece" of something with more lineage? Any other ideas?

very sneaky Starbucks

I thought this was really interesting:
Stealth Starbucks: Seattle-based coffee giant opening neighborhood shops in disguise

One Starbucks location "is being rebranded without visible Starbucks identifiers, as 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea. Two other stores in Starbucks' native Seattle will follow suit, each getting its own name to make it sound more like a neighborhood hangout..."

Generally a reputable brand wants to be identified as themselves - their logo is a mark of the quality their consumers have come to expect from their products. Signaling is important here. This is such a powerful influence, we have trademark law to prevent others from using the all-powerful logo.

So what happens when your logo marks your brand so well it becomes a problem, and what it connotes to consumers isn't desirable anymore? Coffee drinkers apparently want a local joint, not big corporation. Can you keep peddling your product, but under a different brand image - not going to the trouble to reinvent your brand - but just covering it up? Will the consumers suspect (as Steve Johnson expects they will) the truth? And will it cause feelings of betrayal - or a realization for the consumer that the brand might be what he actually wanted? Maybe Starbucks will tell us.

the experience of airlines, before you get anywhere near the airport

I stumbled across this guy, who designs websites, and got so angry with his poor experience on the American Airlines website, he critiqued it, redesigned it, and sent them a letter about it. He's a smart guy - he rightly points out that we're at the point with marketing and technology that a poor website design, that does not provide for easy navigation, usability, and sale of services, is beyond useless, but detrimental to a company; it not only limits revenue possibility, but damages the brand.

As a part of my job at the NCTA, I book airline travel for our contract staff, up to 70 flights for a single event. Airlines prices are way down this season - fewer people are traveling for vacation, fewer companies can afford to have employees travel for business. It's not a good time to be an airline.

Curtis points out that "new, young, and innovative" airlines like JetBlue and Virgin America gain repeat business and thus market share by providing an "excellent customer experience."

What is the excellent customer experience? I might argue that once you're at the check in counter, and especially once you're on the plane, the service is all about the same. All the airlines pass out peanuts, and have equally educated pilots and polite attendants - no real difference there. The airline's only real chance to differentiate themselves is before you're provided the service - when you're making the ticket purchase, that is, when you're on the website. They differentiate themselves by how difficult or easy they make this process, and the emotions they inspire when the traveler is making a reservation. Do they feel calm and confident? Or stressed; bogged down with tedious search functions, nebulous options, and unclear pricing? This experience of booking a ticket may turn a consumer totally on, or totally off, to your brand (exactly as Curtis claimed it did for him). And consumers are both emotional and loyal - once they don't get a good feeling from your brand, or don't connect with it as a part of their identity, they'll quickly develop a disdain for it, and probably tell all their friends to do the same.

Who knew we'd come to a point where the actual product we're paying for is all homogeneous. It's the high or low quality of the free experience we get beforehand that determines which brand we prefer. This isn't always true - quality of actual experience certainly counts...sometimes. But more often, it's all in the packaging; the feeling we get when engaging with the company's image.

The essence of programming, and a roadtrip mix

Program is an overused, tired word - anyone can call anything a program. But in the context of the arts, there's a big difference between a quality program and a pointless one, or a season being well or poorly programmed: How well did we really communicate with the audience? Did we do anything to bring new light to the work? Did the art presented mean something together, as a body of work?

A programmer for a presenting arts organization, for an outdoor music festival, say, or a performing arts center, selects work from a variety of sources, to be presented to the public as a collection. A good programmer presents some background information: here's why these works were selected - here's what they mean in context of each other - here is why this work is artistically important, and what we are trying to do for the world by presenting it - here are the themes and ideas that can be extracted from each individually and as a group - and here's what I hope you'll be able to take away from seeing them together. For a producing organization, this function is performed by the artistic director, who selects the work the company will perform that year. At a museum, this job is done by the curator, who selects different individual works and puts them together to create an an exhibit focused on a time period, or theme, or genre.

The important thing, I think, is this: A programmer does not just select random work and set it before the audience, hoping for magical fireworks of understanding, but rather uses his background and expertise to give information, a short, informal education to the audience about the work (plural) and its relevance as a collection.

I went to a concert here in DC of the University of Michigan Men's Glee Club spring tour, in which my brother was singing. I was struck by how extraordinarily well their director, Dr. Paul Rardin, programs and presents the program to the audience. The concert was split into sections, with themes such as "House of God" and "Youth and Pleasure" and "Love and Water" which would otherwise seem nebulous to an audience not well-versed in the music. With Rardin's brief, insightful explanations before each section, however, the audience became privy to the intricacies of sound to listen for, the meaning of foreign-language lyrics, and the connection between the varied cultural traditions from which the songs originated - it was impressive how much meaning was packed into what could otherwise seem to be a simple selection of songs. I could look around and see by the delighted faces responding positively to his witty remarks, many were able to better enjoy and understand the music. A true expert and excellent programmer - who prioritizes not only the music, but equally important, the audience's appreciation for it.

So Rardin being a good example of a programmer, I am truly a lower-end one, but here is my lesser quality example that illustrates my new idea about programming at its simplest:

My mom and I went on a road trip to her home state of Nebraska a few weeks ago to see our family and say goodbye to my grandpa's house. For the twelve-hour car ride west on highway 80, I put together a burned CD for her, made up of songs about "home, travel, and leaving," I called it. Its tone was a solemn one. I pointed out the lyrics to her, "one more song about moving along the highway" in So Far Away, and "Home where my thought's escaping" in Homeward Bound. And as she said, "You know how much I love Carole King!" I said back, "Well, it's my small attempt at programming."

And then it occurred to me, I think the mixed tape (I'm just barely old enough, but I did indeed make mixed tapes in the 90s before CDs came out) is one of the greatest rudimentary programming endeavors that we've all tried our hand at. You put together a collection of carefully selected works with a common theme or story, and hand it off to someone else with a perhaps fumbled explanation, hoping the collective message, if you've communicated it accurately, will be as meaningful to them as it is to you.

Well-informed Giving

I have a few brave friends going into Development, or plainly, fundraising. We've learned both in study and practice, I think, that donors and philanthropists are becoming more hip, more aware, and more investigative regarding the organizations to whom they give their money (and rightfully so!) I was reminded of our discussions about this trend when I stumbled across this website: http://www.charitynavigator.org/. They are non-profit themselves, and have earned numerous accolades since their 2001 inception for their endeavors in evaluating and publishing financial health information on charities, to help donors make better decisions. They specifically report on how responsibly a charity functions day to day, and how well it is positioned to sustain its programs over time. There are "top 10" lists of different qualities - some fun ones such as "10 Highly-Rated Charities with Low Paid CEOs" and "10 Charities Drowning in Administrative Costs" (Jobs with Justice, and Boys Choir of Harlem tops this list).

New Radicals

Today, I read about Julia Moulden, who has authored an idea called "New Radicals" about how regular, everyday people can change the work they do to make a living, to help save the world. She alludes to social entrepreneurship, but approaches everyone's ability to give back more broadly. I liked this column, where she poses six questions for "Emerging New Radicals" because as I read them, I found them quite similar to the questions I posed to myself when I decided to go to grad school for arts admin a couple years ago: How can I contribute seriously to the world I am a part of? What do I love to do, what am I good at, and what things meet both qualifications? Now, what do I need to do to get there? Answering these questions for myself keeps me focused. I want to be a festival director; because I believe art and community activity have the ability to greatly influence quality of life for many people; I like to organize, coordinate, think, plan, and execute. A graduate degree will give me good preparation to do these things, in both the title and knowledge it totes. Focusing on these questions also has prepared me with a decent response when people ask, "Arts what? Administration? Is that, like, museums?" I always happily explain, and almost always get, "Wow, what a cool job." I am so very fortunate to have found something I like, I'm decent at, and that makes a contribution.

Tax time

I am a very lucky kid, and my mom helps me fill out my taxes. I better learn fast, though, because now all 501(c)3 non-profits are required to file taxes (it used to be only those with income over $25,000, and those of us working at really small non-profits didn't have to worry about it). Now those with less than $25,000 need to file a simplified version of the 990, called a 990-N, or an e-Postcard. The IRS website says, "The Pension Protection Act of 2006 added this filing requirement to ensure that the IRS and potential donors have current information about your organization." Interestingly, though, they're not due until a month after everyone else's tax day: "The e-Postcard is due every year by the 15th day of the 5th month after the close of your tax year" (so May 15, presuming your tax year ends Dec 31). Last year was the first year this was required.

Logo heaven at Danziger Projects

I'm working on designing logos for a couple things right now, and in reading for my last post, I looked up the Danziger Projects in New York City. (They're the ones selling Garcia photos that the Obama Hope poster was based on, for $1200.) What they have that is even more interesting, is an exhibition of graphics and art from the Obama campaign, including a draft page of early-on possible logos. I maintain his campaign is one of the most brilliant marketing stunts of recent history. Seeing the preliminary sketches, as a designer, is awesome.

Shepard Fairey and the Obama poster

This flashed me right back to Langvardt's art law class.

Artist Shepard Fairey is the creator of the famous Obama "hope" poster. But the high-contrast, red and blue shadowed images were apparently based on an Associated Press photograph, taken by freelance photographer Mannie Garcia. (Additionally, there still seems to be some contention about who holds the copyright between Garcia and the AP, but we might suppose Garcia took the photo on a work-for-hire basis granting the AP the copyright). The parties sued and counter-sued, and I've google-news searched it and I can't find any results. So the question stands: did Fairey violate copyright law?

Fairey's poster is a derivative work, and only the owner of a copyright maintains the right to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work. Strike, he's out?

Fairey might argue "fair use." Fair use includes use "by reproduction...for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching..., scholarship, or research..." and is not considered copyright violation, meaning you can use someone else's work without permission and without paying them if you're using it for these purposes. Fairey might claim commentary, but this wouldn't be obvious without his explanation. These four factors must also be considered in determining if the use of a work is fair use: (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes (Purpose of the original was to report the news, the purpose of the derivative was to influence a campaign and project an opinionated image of a candidate, giving the derivative some transformative boasting rights; that said, Fairey sold his posters and kept the money); (2) the nature of the copyrighted work (the photograph had been published); (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole (derivative used one of the two significant features of the photograph); and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work (use has definitely INCREASED, not damaged, the market value for the original work to $1,200 apiece for prints).

What do we think?

I might argue an additional consideration is that Fairey's Obama image is not so obviously derived from Garcia's photo, until you put them side by side. Obama is a consistent looking guy, generally lacking any drastic facial expressions - most photos of him look similar. A talented arist could render an image of him that looks seemingly identical to a thousand pictures of him. Garcia himself did not recognize Fairey's image as a derivative of his own. A Reuters photo by Jim Young was so similar, the photo was incorrectly reported as the source of the poster image, for some time. Fairey used only a portion of the original photograph; if the original was a zoom-in on Obama's face, it might be different.

Copyright infringment is qualified by three factors: (1) access to the original work can be proven (Fairey found the pic on google. Check.), (2) there was copying of the distinct expression of the original work, not just the idea, or style, (Maybe...AP/Garcia has a copyright on the composition of the photo, not on Obama's facial features and posture.) and (3) the substantial similarity to the original work is evident – that is, there is enough copying that it could not seem coincidental to an average observer (The buck stops here....) If I looked at Garcia's original photo, and all other Obama photos, and realized as I have that his facial expression is about the same, the copying of the head tilt in Fairey's poster would probably seem coincidental to me. It's not; Fairey did use Garcia's pic. But it took months for anyone to notice, and hours for image searchers to put the two together.

Arts supporters walk a fine line regarding which way we wish copyright law to fall - both sides are worthy of support: 1) you want intellectual property to be protected so artists can make a living from what they create, and have incentive to create, but 2) you don't want it too strict, so other artists can make new art from old art and not stiffle new work.

Illustrators

I've been thinking a lot about design recently, as I've been busy with my graphic work. Here are a couple of my absolute favorite designers' websites.

http://www.invisiblecreature.com

http://hughillustration.com

Contribution to a more peaceful world

Hunt and I didn't always agree, but I credit him with this good idea that I've held on to and have repeated for others: If we can expose people to art, to live performances, and thus to culture that they were previously unaware of, or misunderstood, and their new understanding causes them to connect with people different than themselves, in a new way, then we as arts administrators can make a difference; that is our contribution to a more peaceful world.

I thought of that recently when I read Tribeca Film Festival is hosting a second Tribeca film festival in Doha, the capital of Qatar, defined as an independent, progressive Arab state. "...The festival aims to bridge the east-west divide and showcase the most innovative films from the region." One leader emphasized developing a healthy climate of freedom of expression.

Sponsorship matchmaking

Now here's a good idea. This company is called Festival Media Corporation. They match big companies that want to engage in experiential marketing by being corporate sponsors of events (fairs, festivals, rodeos, etc.) with events whose audiences are appropriate for the market segment the company is trying to reach.

If I were running a festival today, I would want to be in these guys' database. They'd send the sponsors my way; I wouldn't have to hunt them down.

Facebook and copyright law

A friend directed me to this article about Facebook.

Facebook, apparently, can use your photos, videos, or any other content you upload on your profile in any way they want, even after you deactivate your account.

Now I remember in Prof. Langvardt's class, I learned a copyright on creative work is applied automatically when the work is created. No one can use your work without your permission, of course, even if it's just facebook photos and you haven't registered for a copyright. You are automatically protected.

So I wonder about the legal intersection of these two policies. I'm sure Facebook is a responsibly run company and they wouldn't have legal policies that weren't well researched, and they're so high profile, it'd be too high of a PR liability if they were to actually use a user's photos inappropriately. But out of principle, I bet their users aren't aware what they're giving up rights to.

Digital Graffiti

Now THIS is cool. This entirely white-painted Florida town makes its starkness useful for the Digital Graffiti Festival, the world's first outdoor projection art festival, where new works of art are projected onto the blank walls. The pictures are stunning. Organizers say that design, technology and architecture intertwine to create entirely new art forms. More info here.

Stimulus package - "arts: bonbons for a leftist elite"

I'm back home in Michigan to visit my parents for a bit. I was without internet for a bit, then traveling across Michigan to see friends for another bit, and I am behind on my posting. So back to it.

On Feb 6, the Senate voted to eliminate funding from the stimulus package to help "...museums, theaters and arts centers...." Apparently, some conservatives denounced the arts as "bonbons for a leftist elite." In the final package approved this week, however, $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts was included, after supporters argued for the economic impact of the arts.

This raises one of our most common questions in arts admin; should the arts get public funding, and why? And to complicate it, during an economic crisis? And to complicate it FURTHER, with the justification of economic impact?

I won't ever agree that the arts are "bonbons" of frivolity to our functioning in society. But in the face of crisis, I understand that perception. If the stimulus package were giving money only to the basics to get things up and running again, I'd say leave the arts out (though I make myself an enemy of my field in doing so). To argue for the economic impact of arts to keep them on the bill, too, has its flaws. The arts rarely cover costs independently; they rely on generous donations and grants. Yes, they employ a lot of people and generate tourism and spending, but so do restaurants, so do athletics. I'm trained to think you can't fund the arts based on their economic impact, because they're then expected to play by those rules that says what makes money deserves to stay, and the arts have always rendered their value outside of economics.

Am I happy I'm going to be paying through the nose for this bill until I'm 80? No. But as long as everything else got money (and there are pork projects on there more frivolous than arts) I guess I'm glad the arts weren't left behind. Though justifying funding the arts through economics is treading on wobbly ground.

NYTimes article on it here:
Saving Federal Arts Funds: Selling Culture as an Economic Force

Sundance is green, actually

Dr. Rushton pointed me toward this article (The Films Are Green, but is Sundance?) from the NYTimes just as the festival was starting. It ignorantly, and snarkily, asked if Sundance was eco-friendly, citing poor examples such as trucks idling on Main Street waiting to be unloaded during set-up, and vague conclusions about how many people fly in on private jets. That's all you've got? Did you research it at all?

Redford founded Sundance with the idea of connecting and fostering arts and the environment, and environmental protection and preservation is of the highest priorities of the Institute and Festival. Even as just a seasonal employee, I would vouch fervently for this commitment.

Dr. Rushton also sent me this article (NYT plays dumb about Sundance) that is a good response to the first.

Here are a few of my own examples:

This year, Sundance did not sell bottled water - they're giving out BPA-free nalgene bottles and placing Brita fill-up hydration stations around, with the message of reducing bottled-water waste. The number of film guides (~75 pages, newsprint) printed was cut way back to save paper. The city shuttle system is free for all, and beefed up with more frequent routes for festival weeks, so that driving private vehicles can be highly discouraged.

I did more research and learned this:
Electricity used for all venues and theaters is offset by clean, renewable wind energy, through a partnership with Rocky Mountain Power's Blue Sky program. The CO2 emissions avoided by these offsets is equivalent to protecting one acre of forest.

Just a few examples that I'm familiar with working in the box office, I'm sure there are many more. I was disappointed with the New York Times article, it was unresearched and embarrassing for them; clearly written by a green journalist, and I don't mean eco-friendly.

A couple more films

Mystery Team was amazing. It's written, produced, and acted by Derrick Comedy, which is a group of five kids that met at NYU and worked in the same comedy sketch group. They started making short videos online, that gained so much viewership and popularity, they decided to do a full-length feature, and landed in Sundance; further proof Sundance really is fostering new, young, filmmakers, not just hosting the dog and pony show for those already famous. Mystery Team made me laugh, the entire audience laughed; and I think it represented a new style of comedy, different from predictable tv sitcoms, more clever than blockbuster holiday comedies; it was original and fresh, and had wonderful characters. The humor style was geeky and sophisticated at the same time. Afterward, during the talkback, someone in the audience asked, "When can I get this on DVD?!" The response was, "When someone in this audience picks it up for distribution." I also found I was sitting right in the middle of the production crew, one guy on my left, three to my right, who all did the taping and editing, etc. None were much older than college students.

Then this morning I saw Lulu and Jimi, a German film, a scandalous love story set in Germany in the 1950's, which was fantastical, colorful, highly stylized, and filled with Rock and Roll. It had some dark undertones, but I really enjoyed it. I got a couple extra tickets for my Australian roommates, so they came along too. Ray Fearon (Jimi) spoke after the film, and was so charming and fun to listen to. We proceeded to act like fawning fans do, and got our photo taken with him. I went back into work after that, and the day went quickly.

More films tomorrow, and more updates later.

In the ticket line

Sundance is off to a bustling start. I work long days. I try to see films late into the night. I am sitting in line under a tent right now, waiting to get a comp staff ticket for Mystery Team. Last night, I saw Rudo y Cursi, a film from Mexico making its North American premiere, about two rival brothers played by Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna (both from Y Tu Mama Tambien). It was a beautiful film, and the director, cast, and crew did a Q&A afterward, which was really neat. I was walking down the street talking about it on my cell afterward, and the guy walking behind me says "it was just picked up by this afternoon, by Sony." "Congratulations, it was really great," I said back. Later, I stopped by the post-screening talk back for Spring Breakdown, a new comedy with Amy Poehler and Rachel Dratch from SNL. Someone asked, what was your inspiration for the film? And they replied something to the effect of, dumb stuff you do in college.

Then in the afternoon I snuck out of work for a few hours and saw The Greatest, which is in the US Dramatic Competition. It stars Pierce Brosnan and Susan Sarandon, who were both there, and Carrie Mulligan, a young actress who has TWO movies in Sundance this year. It is about a family who loses a son. It was particularly interesting to hear the screenwriter and director, Shana Feste, speak about the central theme of grief, and how it influenced her upbringing, her father having lost a son before she was born. When she spoke, her expressive gratefulness and graciousness to have her film be selected in Sundance really showed, and made the film more endearing.

More updates soon.

More on blending arts & advertising, from Australia

I posted on this before; seeing more creative art in advertising because the only way to get people to watch ads anymore, and not zip right through them, is to give them some entertainment value. This is done, I imagine, by creative individuals, artists to some degree at least, not just sales/business people as may have been more traditional.

My Australian roommates Rachel and Edda pointed me toward this commercial for an Australian airline, Qantas, that uses the Australian Youth Choir singing in worldwide locations in their ad. I thought it was really great - it's a beautifully directed children's choir, and it makes me (and them!) want to watch the ad again and again.

On a side note, I thought it was interesting that the Youth Choir is part of the National Institute of Youth Performing Arts, but receives no funding from any government or corporate entity, and undertakes no fundraising. All of their income is from tuition fees, concert performances and merchandising. Hmm.. must be some high tuition. Rachel, now 19, tells me she was chosen from a singing line-up of everyone in her grade 4 class, to be apart of the Choir for a short time.

Fairness: Loyalty versus accessibility

At Sundance, tickets are in high demand, especially for premiere category films and particular screenings in the first few days. We don't say a film "sold out" because it may still be possible for people to get tickets in the waitlist line - but this does not appease many patrons who have bought ticket packages and called to fulfill them over our call-in line and can't get tickets to the screenings they want. Some patrons have been coming to Sundance for years, even decades, and understandably become frustrated that their lottery-assigned time to reserve tickets is later in the process and tickets for some screenings have run out.

Shouldn't they have had the chance to get the best tickets first? Shouldn't they be rewarded for loyalty? Good question.

In many arts non-profits it seems a good idea to offer preferential treatment (such as early ticket selection opportunity) to long-standing patrons, especially those paying big bucks for large ticket packages. The problem is, in an organization as big as Sundance, with an enormous number of people who have been long-standing patrons, plus the number of people who come in as part of the industry/press and artist groups, we would run out of tickets for anyone else if we rewarded everyone who has some kind of connection or loyalty to the organization.

Sundance honors a strong commitment to be accessible to a wide developing independent audience, and also to give some priority to the local Utah community. To be true to these goals, we have to make tickets available to these groups, not just those already in the industry, and those that have been attending for years. The most fair way the ticketing dept has found to make tickets available is with a lottery system - you register to get a time slot and one is randomly assigned to you within a few-day period. This results in happy people, who got early time slots, and generally less-happy people who got later time slots. This puts everyone on the same playing field for ability to obtain tickets.

The idea of accessibility is something we ponder a lot in grad school. As arts administrators, is it our jobs to make the arts accessible to all? To break down stereotypes and social barriers that serve up the arts as "elite?" It seems an ideal notion; art for all. And I've noted this week that this commitment comes at a price - telling loyalists preferential treatment is not available and perhaps risking their support and some sales. It's particularly difficult to honor this when other organizations CAN give preferential treatment to some (often without sacrificing accessibility for all). But I like Sundance's ideals - regardless of how big and popular they get, they seem to stay true to their roots "supporting independent artists and audiences." So I continue to explain on our customer service line this week..."I'm sorry you got a later ticket selection time, but this is the most fair way for everyone to have a chance to get tickets."

Top 40 non-profit websites

It's always fun to see good design, especially in non-profits.
Here is a list of the Top 40 Non-Profit Websites of the year by the DesignM.ag website
http://designm.ag/inspiration/non-profit-websites/
They're worth a look.
The webguys here at Sundance were pleased to make the list.

Democratization and gatekeeping

It's a common idea that entertainment has become more democratized with user-generated content dominating more of our attention in everything from blogs to videos to computer games.

YouTube presents a problem along with its opportunity: no gatekeeper function, resulting in bad videos. With no way to filter what content is good and bad, fewer people will use the service as a form of browsing entertainment. (I know it's most useful to my peers when we need to deliver a newly-made presentation to a group without transporting hardware.)

The Onion's reporting on this is very funny.

So they're stepping up with a little gatekeeping; or at least a way to steer users to making and viewing better content. This is what I've noticed so far:

YouTube Project: Report
In partnership with the Pulitzer Center, the project asks users to submit content that tells a 5-min documentary-style story. It's a contest "intended for non-professional, aspiring journalists to tell stories that might not otherwise be told." The winners were decided in Dec and now these videos are being promoted on the homepage.

YouTube Project: Direct
In partnership with the Sundance Film Festival 2009, the project asks users to submit short 5-min films incorporating 3 famous props. With a grandprize of a trip to Sundance and a screening of your film there, YT is pushing users to SUBMIT better content. Also by asking users to vote on the 10 selected finalists, YT is helping viewers to find better content to WATCH (and serving some artistic purpose, drawing some attention to young filmmakers.)

YouTube Symphony Orchestra
If you're a musician, you download your part of the custom-written song, and practice, and record and upload yourself playing it. And you can view other people playing their parts to see how you measure up. They then select winners to go play in Carnegie Hall. This is also interesting for what it means for the arts; a new way to find artists, an online-based community for musicians to connect and collaborate, etc.

What do we think? Will efforts like this increase YouTube's use for entertainment purposes, rather than simply looking up music videos? I took a few minutes and watched the Project:Direct finalist short films. Some were ok...