Artist Date

One of our requirements for creative thinking and problem solving is an artist's date. Last week I went for a long walk and, due to the beautiful weather, it refreshed my soul. I really enjoy my artist dates because it allows me to get lost in whatever I do. I get to experience something new and different and that is empowering. The artist dates have also given me a chance to reflect on what I have done in the past. What artist dates could I have ventured on without even knowing it?

I thought for a while and then realized that I am a very lucky person because my life is filled with artist dates. I go to movies and Broadway shows. I read books that allow my mind to wander free and I sit outside for hours staring at the trees. Even some of my past assignments have allowed me to culture myself.

In case you were wondering, that last part is what this blog is about. Technically, it is about Louis Comfort Tiffany (not to confused with his father - the jeweler). Louis Comfort was a brilliant artist and most of his work was in stained glass.

He made a variety of pieces, from bowls to church windows. His life was incredible, but I won't get into that here since I covered it in my thesis in high school. My thesis allowed me to explore the life of a brilliant, and misunderstood, artist. His creativity was astounding and I wonder how people can have such creativity. Today, his stained glass can sell for easily over 20,000 dollars - and that is for a lamp. This assignment cultured me and made me think differently about true creativity.

Louis Comfort Tiffany's story ended in tragedy because the warehouse that stored most of his art was destroyed. Luckily some pieces were salvaged and his creativity lives on in those alone. I often think about what would have happened if everything had been destroyed. Perhaps creativity would have been discovered through other means. Perhaps creative people are not defined by what they create, but by how they use their gift to influence a person. Louis Comfort Tiffany's artwork influenced me and I use it as a guide to live my life more creatively and as a lesson to never give up, even when every thing seems to be against you.

The following video demonstrates some of Tiffany's work. It shows the whole range of his creative genius.

What's in your 'Soul'?

This blog post will probably be shorter than my previous posts because I have decided to focus on one advertisement that makes no sense to me at all.
Most people will recognize the Kia 'Soul' commercials with the dancing hamsters dressed in hip clothing.



My biggest problem with this ad is that I don't know anything about the car. Actually, when I first saw the ad I thought that it was for a video game until I actually saw the hamsters. I don't know how safe the 'Soul' is, what the storage capacity is like and how many miles to the gallon I get (all things I want to know when buying a car). I will say that it is an interesting ad because it employs creative measures in ways that other companies have not, but that does not change the fact that the advertisement conveys a certain message to me. In truth, the ad tells me the following:
1) The car is really small because the ad displays hamsters driving it
2) The car is youthful and a device for fun so it is probably not practical
3) The car is a Kia
4) The car is clearly liked by robots and frighteningly large hamsters (how does this help humans?)

Since I don't have any real information about the car, watching the ad is the closest I will ever get to a 'Soul.' The company's campaign for the 'Soul' is "A new way to roll," meaning it is a car that is new, fun, and different than anything else on the road.  The problem that remains, however, is that I don't know why the car is different. I think the advertisements could have kept the fun nature, but they should have done more to really emphasize what this car is doing for me.

So for now, I will keep my Scion.

Remember Who You Are

If there are any other Disney fanatics out there you will instantly understand where this saying comes from. For those of you who never spent your day daydreaming about what Disney character you would be when you finally got your fantasy dream job, it is from the Lion King. I often find that a lot of the ideas that I hold true come from Disney movies. I feel that the films carry a sense of truth and provide real solutions to problems (as naive as that may be). For instance, 'remember who you are rings true to every thing I do in life:' working on papers, traveling, and even future job applications: I will remember, and never sacrifice my true self. I try to hold on to my past so that I never forget where I came from as I tread on into the future.




Along with this idea, I saw graffiti today that really made me think about remembering who we are as people.

This graffiti seemed interesting to me because it is true, most people don't know anything about other people. Take advertising companies for example. A lot of times they try to reach out to an audience and completely miss because they misunderstand who we are. If they remember that, then there would be a lot less friction. Some ads that stick out in my mind are the Geico caveman commercials. When I see them I couldn't care less about Geico. The company fails to address the issues that some people may face as consumers, such as what benefits can I really get by switching to Geico (other than saving 15%). Sure, the ad is funny and I could easily recall that caveman = Geico, but that is not an association that I personally want to make. I think companies need to focus more on remembering who they are and what they do so that consumers can do the same in return. 

A few hours after posting this blog I saw a commercial that compelled me to add to the blog. It really hit on the whole idea of remember who you are. It is so powerful because it is human. Ads should strive to be more 'human' and really reflect the most important parts of life.



If we all remember our place in "the great circle of life" I think that we would all be better off.

Pilot

I will admit right from the start that this is my first 'true' blogging experience. I have written for blogs before, but I have never had one that I could call my own.

From the start, readers may be wondering why the blog is called the biggest fish and the truth is that I cannot give a direct answer. Realistically speaking, I am a creative person and I love to write and express myself through words. I write a lot of poetry, and though I am not world famous I think that the act of writing tells a lot about a person. With this in mind, I can say now that I wrote a poem that was titled "the biggest fish" and I have to say that it is probably my favorite piece. A lot of other people may not agree, but I am entitled to my own opinions, as subjective as they may be. I have a few reasons as to why that poem was my favorite. First, it was a turning point in my life and it reflects elements of who I am that I cannot necessarily verbalize. Second, the poem pertains to mystery and acceptance and I hope to embrace those two ideas in life. Third, I just think it sounds pretty good.

So you, if you are still with me, are probably asking, "what could this blog possibly be about?" I have an answer for that question, I do not really know. This blog will start out as an assignment for my creative thinking and problem solving class, but I think as I learn more and embrace that mystery it will turn into much more. I hope to explore creativity through different means: writing, advertisements, slogans, and much more in order to determine why people come up with the ideas they do and how that may benefit the greater population. I am using this as a vessel to learn more and not limit that learning to one section of marketing or one series of problems that are present in today's society.

I will begin with something I saw while waiting for the train today. As I was looking out onto the tracks waiting for my train I noticed a series of advertisements along the wall separating inbound trains from outbound trains. As I stood there I thought about information overload and the attempt to push a lot of information into a person's brain in a small amount of time. I realized that, as a consumer, I did not like being bombarded by seven advertisements at once (only three of which I could recognize). That realization made me think what I would do as a marketer or advertiser. Would it really be effective to put ads in train stations because other methods of advertising are being crushed by modern technology. The television used to be sufficient, but now that we can fast-forward through commercials, T.V. ads are difficult. I thought, what would be the creative solution? How could we change this? At first I came up with nothing. However, as I thought more I remembered some of the ads that stuck best in my mind. Ones on the radio where I could visualize the person speaking and ones in magazines where the story was told for me. The ads in the train were just super-sized posters and did not mean anything to me as a person or as a consumer. I know now that the best advertisement may be one that reflects simplicity and reaches out to consumers on a personal basis. The 'Coca Cola' commercial with the polar bears, the 'Domino's' commercials that unveil their problems, and the 'Disney' commericals that make you wish you were going.  The Disney ads actually bring tears to my eyes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql-iGGxyGuo (Polar Bears)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5Q2Y2ZQ-4Y (Domino's)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMU1OKFluQQ&feature=related (Disney)

These are some of the advertisements that I am recalling without any information in front of me because they spoke to me as a consumer. The best campaigns, global or domestic, need to address consumers. These are the issues I hope to address in this blog and so much more.


So that you know more about me my poem is listed below.

"The Biggest Fish *"

"I went fishing once
Long ago before fish knew
About the hooks and buoys and people

Casting irons thrust into smooth waters
Making them choppy and ill
Dangling worms freely throughout the kind ripples

Telling old stories of singing nightingales and bare kings
Laughing hysterically and forgetting whatever troubles we created
That same nightingale dancing for me

Singing songs and chanting séances to secure our superstitions
Of the biggest fish
Swimming in the pacific sea

Fake lines stretching to nowhere to catch a myth
Nibbles by passing Lilly pads who hunger to be loved
Screaming silently I’m crazy for you fisherman

Bottles of tap and fresh peaches flooding the boat
Our own mouths are our lifesavers
Dusting away on the open sea

And here it was at the end
Sleepless in the night when the witching hour was cast
Like our rods

He appeared amid the darkness
The biggest fish I ever saw
Dancing for me while the others were enchanted into sleep

Un-catchable and free singing sweetly
Tide pools of scales and fins
Drowning the sea with salty delight

He enchanted my childhood my stories
And when the hour passed so did the fish
Away into darkness again until another lone fisherman called for his blessing as I had

Gone as a ghost, never real they said
A dream, a figment they said
But I knew he was the biggest fish because I was the smallest and I never went fishing again"

*Entire poem property of Alyse Dunn

So go ahead and find your own biggest fish