It's the day after Thanksgiving, and I must draw attention to a great upcoming event. On Dec. 2-3, MSU and Williamston Theatre will be hosting a reading of Barbara Ehrenreich’s bestseller Nickel and Dimed. I remember hearing about this book when it first came out about 10 years ago.
This event shows us that art can be transformative in terms of social justice. It's part of MSU's year of Work, Community and the Human Condition through the Lens of the Arts. I'll be highlighting events as part of the theme year on this blog, but you can find out even more at the MSU Arts and Culture website.
So support local theatre and the arts and get your tickets today to the reading of Nickel and Dimed. Tickets are more than a nickel and dime, but worth the money for those who are thinking about our economy.
What are you reading these days?
Friday, November 26, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Not so silent auctions: Selling art via videos
Last week I learned about Val's Art Diary, which features episodes of artist/painter/video editor Valentina Trevino. Each episode on her YouTube channel documents her process of creating a painting - with a heavy dose of her personality. She then sells the painting to the highest bidder online painting together with a longer-version "the making of" video. I'm sure that this business model is not without controversy in the arts community, but Val's take is that this is a modern "silent auction."
Here's a sample of Val's Art Diary from a Thanksgiving-themed post (almost that time of year again):
It's a thrill to see an artist use social media to great success. Val's innovative business model seems to be working well for her. She has sold more than 49 paintings using this business model, and she credits YouTube for helping to make that happen. I watched several of the painting videos, and here are some of the best practices I took away from her videos:
1. If you are developing a video diary of yourself, you should know how to shoot and edit video. I wondered (and still wonder) at some points if Val is doing all of the video work (from what I read, she appears to be).
2. Val is also comfortable in front of the camera. She's attractive, cute, optimistic, helpful, and she loves to talk.
3. Maintenance is half of the battle. If you are committed to doing a video diary for your marketing purposes, you have to keep churning out content (Val even did some shooting on vacation). Then you have to be prepared for the comments - good, bad and everything in between.
4. Make sure your blog and product is easily searchable. Val has capitalized on good branding and SEO by matching her website, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube accounts, and others too.
5. Find a fun and unique way to sell your product. I would imagine that some customers love the painting, and some love even more that they receive the "making of" videos - it makes it more of an interactive personalized product. It's like a beautiful white paper on video!
I think this business model has great potential for special artists like Val in many different media: photography, sculpture, crafts, etc. But it also has great possibility for other commodities and services, such as real estate (imagine a great agent who is also a fun videographer!), cooking (imagine a video of a meal complete with "how to" and then you can bid for personal time with the chef to cook that meal!), and membership services (imagine video career tips tied in with larger service purchases, like bidding on access to career workshops). The sky's the limit!
Kudos to Val for finding a unique way to share her art with the world.
Here's a sample of Val's Art Diary from a Thanksgiving-themed post (almost that time of year again):
It's a thrill to see an artist use social media to great success. Val's innovative business model seems to be working well for her. She has sold more than 49 paintings using this business model, and she credits YouTube for helping to make that happen. I watched several of the painting videos, and here are some of the best practices I took away from her videos:
1. If you are developing a video diary of yourself, you should know how to shoot and edit video. I wondered (and still wonder) at some points if Val is doing all of the video work (from what I read, she appears to be).
2. Val is also comfortable in front of the camera. She's attractive, cute, optimistic, helpful, and she loves to talk.
3. Maintenance is half of the battle. If you are committed to doing a video diary for your marketing purposes, you have to keep churning out content (Val even did some shooting on vacation). Then you have to be prepared for the comments - good, bad and everything in between.
4. Make sure your blog and product is easily searchable. Val has capitalized on good branding and SEO by matching her website, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube accounts, and others too.
5. Find a fun and unique way to sell your product. I would imagine that some customers love the painting, and some love even more that they receive the "making of" videos - it makes it more of an interactive personalized product. It's like a beautiful white paper on video!
I think this business model has great potential for special artists like Val in many different media: photography, sculpture, crafts, etc. But it also has great possibility for other commodities and services, such as real estate (imagine a great agent who is also a fun videographer!), cooking (imagine a video of a meal complete with "how to" and then you can bid for personal time with the chef to cook that meal!), and membership services (imagine video career tips tied in with larger service purchases, like bidding on access to career workshops). The sky's the limit!
Kudos to Val for finding a unique way to share her art with the world.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
10 Ways to Work in Art and Culture into your Halloween
Happy Halloween!
Isn't Halloween really about creativity? I vote this holiday as one of the most artistic, from the costumes to the stories. Costumes are truly a way to unleash your creative spirit and an excellent excuse to role play. Pumpkins become sculptures or works of art. Front porches become spooky set designs. Still don't believe me? Look at these Halloween artists:
1. The pumpkin sculptor
Most of us carve a pumpkin, but not with motorized tools and not to the the extent of artist Ray Villafane of Michigan. Watch this CBS News segment from to see what I mean.
2. The theatrics
The MSU Department of Theatre's production of Evil Dead the Musical was complete with a splatter section. It was for mature audiences, sure, but I also attended a fourth grade Halloween musical that also got me in the mood. The department is continuing to frighten with scary success this weekend with Haunted Aud.
3. Old Halloween TV shows and movies
Is Halloween complete without a viewing of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, The Munsters or The Addams Family? I think not. Or for the really brave and the ultimate in screaming as acting, rent your horror flick of choice.
4. The costumes
Every costume is creative, but I personally think homemade costumes are the most creative. And homemade costumes of famous poets take it to a whole other level. (thanks to poets.org for the great post!)
5. The Storytellers
This Halloween season, I picked up a CD of The Story and Song from The Haunted Mansion (the original 1969 version voiced by Robie Lester and Ron Howard re-released on CD in 2009). Halloween stories showcase the best of suspense, foreshadowing, and mystery.
6. The Thriller, the music and the dance
Michael Jackson lives on in The Thriller. One of my goals is to learn the dance, and the M.A.C. offered a Thriller dance class this weekend. If you didn't make it, there are many YouTube videos available to show you the moves.
7. The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
This reading of The Raven is by actor/director John De Lancie, a QMx Masters Series video presentation. It's worth every second.
8. The haunted houses
As we speak, my son is decorating our house with spiders and cobwebs. I'll be tweeting tonight on some of my favorite haunted locations as we trick or treat. Look for my #Halloween posts!
9. The corn mazes
Michigan is famous for many things, including its intricate corn mazes. This corn maze at Rowe's Pumpkin Patch ends today, so it's your last chance to get in - but be sure you can get out.
10. *Drumroll* The candy
I love Halloween food, which is pretty much sweets and more sweets. I honestly don't know why we can't have candy corn year round. And it's safe to say that every year the commercial candy producers get more creative with shapes and packaging. Happy trick or treating!
Let's make this list the scariest one ever...what am I missing to make this holiday the most artistic and creative Halloween ever?
Isn't Halloween really about creativity? I vote this holiday as one of the most artistic, from the costumes to the stories. Costumes are truly a way to unleash your creative spirit and an excellent excuse to role play. Pumpkins become sculptures or works of art. Front porches become spooky set designs. Still don't believe me? Look at these Halloween artists:
1. The pumpkin sculptor
Most of us carve a pumpkin, but not with motorized tools and not to the the extent of artist Ray Villafane of Michigan. Watch this CBS News segment from to see what I mean.
2. The theatrics
The MSU Department of Theatre's production of Evil Dead the Musical was complete with a splatter section. It was for mature audiences, sure, but I also attended a fourth grade Halloween musical that also got me in the mood. The department is continuing to frighten with scary success this weekend with Haunted Aud.
3. Old Halloween TV shows and movies
Is Halloween complete without a viewing of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, The Munsters or The Addams Family? I think not. Or for the really brave and the ultimate in screaming as acting, rent your horror flick of choice.
4. The costumes
Every costume is creative, but I personally think homemade costumes are the most creative. And homemade costumes of famous poets take it to a whole other level. (thanks to poets.org for the great post!)
5. The Storytellers
This Halloween season, I picked up a CD of The Story and Song from The Haunted Mansion (the original 1969 version voiced by Robie Lester and Ron Howard re-released on CD in 2009). Halloween stories showcase the best of suspense, foreshadowing, and mystery.
6. The Thriller, the music and the dance
Michael Jackson lives on in The Thriller. One of my goals is to learn the dance, and the M.A.C. offered a Thriller dance class this weekend. If you didn't make it, there are many YouTube videos available to show you the moves.
7. The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
This reading of The Raven is by actor/director John De Lancie, a QMx Masters Series video presentation. It's worth every second.
8. The haunted houses
As we speak, my son is decorating our house with spiders and cobwebs. I'll be tweeting tonight on some of my favorite haunted locations as we trick or treat. Look for my #Halloween posts!
9. The corn mazes
Michigan is famous for many things, including its intricate corn mazes. This corn maze at Rowe's Pumpkin Patch ends today, so it's your last chance to get in - but be sure you can get out.
10. *Drumroll* The candy
I love Halloween food, which is pretty much sweets and more sweets. I honestly don't know why we can't have candy corn year round. And it's safe to say that every year the commercial candy producers get more creative with shapes and packaging. Happy trick or treating!
Let's make this list the scariest one ever...what am I missing to make this holiday the most artistic and creative Halloween ever?
Monday, October 25, 2010
The Art of Art Collecting
A few weeks ago, I attended an event hosted by Henry Brimmer at (scene) metrospace called "i collect." This event was a discussion with art aficionados about how to create a local culture to support and collect art. I work in the MSU College of Communication Arts & Sciences with Henry. Henry is the one who has transformed our building's walls into gallery spaces, and who gets new telecommunication students jazzed about photography. He led a fantastic conversation on art with artistic folks like Karl Gude, Deon Foster, and many others I enjoyed meeting. I was thrilled to be a part of the conversation, and it was a great touch for Henry to host the event at (scene) metrospace and install some of his own collection for the evening.
One of the highlights of the conversation was everyone sharing his or her "turning point" in art appreciation - some in elementary school, others much later in life. (For me, it was undoubtedly my year in Spain and frequent visits to Museo del Prado.) But that's for another blog post.
After the gathering dispersed and Henry began to collect his collection, he shared some of his own turning points in this video.
After the event, Henry shared how he was inspired to collect art and who inspired him. In this video, he compares a highly academic exhibit of Eugene Atget's work at the San Francisco MoMA and a wonderfully eclectic exhibit of a Sam Wagstaff collection at the International Center for Photography (ICP). Sam Wagstaff was a collector of collectors: photography, porcelain, silver forks and knives and was Robert Mapplethorpe's partner.
Do you collect art? What was your art appreciation turning point? I welcome the stories!
One of the highlights of the conversation was everyone sharing his or her "turning point" in art appreciation - some in elementary school, others much later in life. (For me, it was undoubtedly my year in Spain and frequent visits to Museo del Prado.) But that's for another blog post.
After the gathering dispersed and Henry began to collect his collection, he shared some of his own turning points in this video.
After the event, Henry shared how he was inspired to collect art and who inspired him. In this video, he compares a highly academic exhibit of Eugene Atget's work at the San Francisco MoMA and a wonderfully eclectic exhibit of a Sam Wagstaff collection at the International Center for Photography (ICP). Sam Wagstaff was a collector of collectors: photography, porcelain, silver forks and knives and was Robert Mapplethorpe's partner.
Do you collect art? What was your art appreciation turning point? I welcome the stories!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Visiting ArtPrize - no map or camera required
Looking at art is kind of hard to to when your nose is almost touching a map, or when one eye is connected to the viewfinder of your camera. Your senses have to be ready to absorb art. Now, that's not to say I didn't pause and take a photo here and there when I visited ArtPrize yesterday, but for the most part I took time to stop and smell the flowers (or appreciate the artwork). This is one and here are other suggestions for a great ArtPrize visit (if you didn't visit on 10/10/10, you will have to wait until next year to use these tips!)
1. Limit your map reading. Look around, not down.
2. Stop for lunch or a snack at an ArtPrize eatery. Do not rush. We chose San Chez Bistro, and enjoyed viewing up close the half dozen artworks in the restaurant.
3. Talk to the people you are staring at artwork with. A simple "Isn't that amazing?" or "Should we go there?" can open the door for conversation, and I think art is a conversation-starter.
4. If the artist is with his/her art, say hello. You might not like the artwork, but you can at least say hello and chances are you can say more than that.
5. Make an effort to go past downtown to a road less traveled. Last year, my son and I had some great memories visiting ArtPrize neighborhoods and it was a lot less crowded in those spots.
6. If you can, visit in the afternoon. By then, the crowds start to dwindle.
7. Take your children. Even though ArtPrize doesn't allow children to vote, it's a fabulous event to talk about art and kids walk away with memories. In my case, my son is insisting we return immediately to the Grand Rapids Public Museum (this is new behavior!)
8. If you take children, talk about crowds and meeting places in case someone gets lost. I imagine lots of people met under the Steam Pig - something big and distinct is best.
9. See more than the top 10. ArtPrize is a popularity contest, but it's so much more.
10. Finally, enjoy and appreciate. Last year, I visited on a day that felt like winter (rainy and miserable but no crowds), and this year it was like summer (crowded and warm enough for sunburns). Both years were great.
Next post: This week, I will be visiting Scene Metrospace, for an event featuring the art collection of an MSU faculty member.
Coming up: The East Lansing Film Festival starts in 10 days! Find out about some of the MSU student work that will be screened in my upcoming post.
 |
| Peace in Grand Rapids on a beautiful ArtPrize day |
1. Limit your map reading. Look around, not down.
2. Stop for lunch or a snack at an ArtPrize eatery. Do not rush. We chose San Chez Bistro, and enjoyed viewing up close the half dozen artworks in the restaurant.
3. Talk to the people you are staring at artwork with. A simple "Isn't that amazing?" or "Should we go there?" can open the door for conversation, and I think art is a conversation-starter.
4. If the artist is with his/her art, say hello. You might not like the artwork, but you can at least say hello and chances are you can say more than that.
5. Make an effort to go past downtown to a road less traveled. Last year, my son and I had some great memories visiting ArtPrize neighborhoods and it was a lot less crowded in those spots.
6. If you can, visit in the afternoon. By then, the crowds start to dwindle.
7. Take your children. Even though ArtPrize doesn't allow children to vote, it's a fabulous event to talk about art and kids walk away with memories. In my case, my son is insisting we return immediately to the Grand Rapids Public Museum (this is new behavior!)
8. If you take children, talk about crowds and meeting places in case someone gets lost. I imagine lots of people met under the Steam Pig - something big and distinct is best.
9. See more than the top 10. ArtPrize is a popularity contest, but it's so much more.
10. Finally, enjoy and appreciate. Last year, I visited on a day that felt like winter (rainy and miserable but no crowds), and this year it was like summer (crowded and warm enough for sunburns). Both years were great.
Next post: This week, I will be visiting Scene Metrospace, for an event featuring the art collection of an MSU faculty member.
Coming up: The East Lansing Film Festival starts in 10 days! Find out about some of the MSU student work that will be screened in my upcoming post.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
What to expect from this blog
Welcome to Arts and Culture For the Win! This blog is one part arts, one part culture, and extra parts to get our creative juices going. I work in East Lansing, Michigan, on the Michigan State University campus, and many of my posts will be within driving distance of campus. There is an amazing array of MSU arts and culture, from dance to visual arts and everything in between.
My goal is simple. I want to emphasize that there is so much arts and culture around us every day; and we have to stop and appreciate it. In this blog I will share the people, projects and places that make my life a little more rewarding, and that hopefully inspire your life. Use these posts as inspirational jaunts for a lunch break, a date or a weekend getaway. Whether you are a student, faculty member, staff member, alum, or a relative of any of the above, I'll give you some ideas to explore right here, right now. If you are thinking of visiting MSU, hopefully this blog will give you a few more reasons. And if you stop by, I hope you say hello - on the blog or in person.
Arts and culture fix for the week: This weekend I will be checking out ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, only about an hour away from East Lansing. This international competition engages the public and awards almost $500,000 to winning artists. It's also a grand example of harnessing the power of social media for a community event. I went to ArtPrize last year, the first year of this event. This time, I'm allowing more time so that I can see exhibits like the Blue Bridge by MSU alum Ben Clore.
My son would love to meet artist/recycling pro Justin LaDoux and see his art, featured in this YouTube video by UThinkMedia:
What are your favorite arts and culture hotspots in the MSU area? What are your favorite arts and cultural gems on social media? Who do you think represents art and culture at MSU? I need the best ideas from the best minds...Go!
My goal is simple. I want to emphasize that there is so much arts and culture around us every day; and we have to stop and appreciate it. In this blog I will share the people, projects and places that make my life a little more rewarding, and that hopefully inspire your life. Use these posts as inspirational jaunts for a lunch break, a date or a weekend getaway. Whether you are a student, faculty member, staff member, alum, or a relative of any of the above, I'll give you some ideas to explore right here, right now. If you are thinking of visiting MSU, hopefully this blog will give you a few more reasons. And if you stop by, I hope you say hello - on the blog or in person.
 |
| Photo by Rich Evenhouse |
My son would love to meet artist/recycling pro Justin LaDoux and see his art, featured in this YouTube video by UThinkMedia:
What are your favorite arts and culture hotspots in the MSU area? What are your favorite arts and cultural gems on social media? Who do you think represents art and culture at MSU? I need the best ideas from the best minds...Go!
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