Category: art

art, creativity, design, innovation

Why good curation matters

Christa Avampato

Today I was reading Bruce Nussbaum’s blog, http://blogs.businessweek.com/innovate/NussbaumOnDesign/. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him as a journalist, blogger, and innovation guru.

Today he wrote a post that truly impressed me – very simply he opened the post discussing his changing role as a journalist, moving from being a Voice of Authority to a Master Curator.

I know that many times the content of a discussion, presentation, or art exhibit for that matter, overshadows the design and organization of the exhibit itself. Curating is as much an art as being a content creator.

If an event or exhibit is curated well, the content takes center stage, with the curating barely being noticed. If it’s curated badly, the whole things falls into chaos. Good curating is very much like good management – if its competent, the content (the team’s work) shines. So if we aspire to be truly great curators, great managers, then we need to aspire to go unnoticed.

The photo above can be found at http://www.bibi.org/box/2006/03/Jere_Smith.jpg

art, creative process, creativity

Two sides of the management coin

Christa Avampato

 “To know when to be generous and when firm — that is wisdom.” 

~ Elbert Hubbard


Last week was a little tough for me, and for the people around me. I’ve found that in my career I’ve work with two kinds of people – those who are generous or those who are firm. And very often I have come across people masquerading as one kind of person, while truly being another. Occasionally, I have come across people who can straddle line – generous and firm at the right moment. These are the people I have tried to emulate. 


Last week may have been the first time in the past 8 months that I’ve put my stake in the ground and called people to the carpet when something wasn’t done to meet high standards. There was a lot of finger-pointing, a lot of excuses made. At the end of the day, it wasn’t about blame and it wasn’t about having a reason for what happened – it was, and always is, about responsibility. 


This ability to be generous and be firm is critical in the creative process as much as it is in any other setting. If too firm, the end product will have the life beaten out of it. If too generous, the end product won’t be as good as it could have been with constructive criticism. The most beautiful pottery gets its shine from the care of the potter’s hands and the fire of the kiln. The same should be true for the creative work we put out into the word – a little gentleness mixed with a little fire yields a truly extraordinary masterpiece.    

art, career, job, writer, writing

A life in pictures

Christa Avampato

I’ve been impressed with The New Yorker’s Cartoonist of the month blog. February chronicled the journey of Michael Maslin as he made his way as a cartoonist. After pouring through his favorite publications, The New Yorker in particular, he would submit idea after idea and would be rejected continuously. 

Early on he was offered a weekly gig with The Soho Weekly, and when he asked a mentor for advice, he said he’s be crazy not to take it. Mr. Maslin politely turned them down. He was saving himself for the publication he truly coveted, The New Yorker. 
When your career’s success requires someone else to accept your work, it may be tempting to take the first thing that comes along that carries any kind of paycheck. Especially in fields like art that are so competitive, there’s a sense that you should be grateful if anyone takes a second look. Though just as it’s important for consumer products makers to consider what channels they want to sell through, it’s also important for artists to consider the best showcases for their work. There’s something to be said for the old adage “you are whom you associate with.” 
For Michael Maslin’s full journey, visit http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/cartoonists 
art, child, children, illustration, illustrator

Charley Harper: Illustrator

Christa Avampato

This weekend on CBS Sunday Morning, I saw a clip about the illustrator Charley Harper and fell in love with his work. He creates animals and natural settings from a variety of every day geometric shapes. To watch him work was to see a technical artist at play.

Todd Oldham, an LA-based designer, re-doscovered Harper’s work by a sheer act of serendipity, and spent years archiving Harper’s illustrations as well as getting to know him personally. Oldham has compiled his findings in a new book published by AMMO. A quick flip through the pages, and you’re bound to find a picture that takes your imagination to the next level. Even better, Charley Harper’s work will help you see nature with a new found respect for its magnificent sense of design and order.

You can take a peak at the book through AMMO’s site: http://www.ammobooks.com/new/books/9780978607654/

The picture above can be found at http://www.contemporaryartscenter.org/uploaded/downloads/charley_harper_desktop.jpg

art, story, writing

The monsters are coming! The monsters are coming!

Christa Avampato

There are a myriad of things we can point to in the marketplace to illustrate the trend of fascination with fantasy, magic, and fairy tales. One of my favorite examples are the Ugly Dolls and the little monsters that seems to be popping everywhere from coin purses to water bottles to stationery. A face only a mother could love has become a face that everyone loves because of its sense of whimsy and approachability.

Today I read a blog post at http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/next/ about a whole new monster phenomenon. Stefan Bucher an LA designer created a blog with no motivation beyond plopping a small amount of ink onto a piece of paper every day and filming how he made that plop of ink into a monster. He then posted the videos to the blog. Then someone left a comment on the blog with the first of what would be many elaborate stories about the monsters.

Story creators from Marines to kindergartners took pen to paper and in the process of creating their own unique stories about the monsters became very attached to them. Bucher’s characters generated so much chatter, that companies like Starbucks and Target, brought him to have imagination sessions. Creativity spawning more creativity – what could be better?!

To see Bucher’s blog, visit http://344design.typepad.com/

art, creativity

The peer pressure to be an expert

Christa Avampato

I’m amazed at the ability of retailers to make us believe we can become experts in any field if we just have the right books, the right tools, and maybe an in-store class or podcast to show us how. A quick search on Amazon.com for the word expert turned up everything from cooking to gardening to work working to how to become an expert at being an expert. Become A Recognized Authority In Your Field – In 60 Days Or Less for $60. How to Position Yourself As the Obvious Expert for $25.

So whatever happened to natural ability or affinity for a certain field? What about creativity? What kind of message are we sending to people if we tell them that they can be experts in anything? And if I try something, and for some reason can’t be an expert, does that mean I’m a complete failure? Retailer and products they sell may have us think so.

I ran across a cartoon today on http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/cartoonists. That made me feel a bit better about this unfortunate message, and it gave me a good laugh too. With some clever drawings and short punch lines, they sided with me. Their very clear message: it’s okay to be an expert, just make sure the field you choose matches up to your abilities and affinities. No software package is going to replace human ingenuity.

http://thenewyorker.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/01/13/im_a_freakin_cartoonist_465.jpg

art, career, retail, work

The Vital Few

Christa Avampato

Today I participated in an off-site for work. There was a lot to focus on – we are facing an uphill battle, as are so many companies, in this tough economy that may soon get a lot tougher. It is easy to be distracted in this kind of environment; it is easy to get off-track, and even easier to let frustration rise to the top.

And as he often does, my boss stood up at the end of the day and asked if we might participate in a bit of an experiment. He wrote three poignant words on the wipe board. “The Vital Few”. Rather than putting together an enormous package of ideas, initiatives, possible developments, etc., could we hone our focus on the very few things that will move the needle, things we can all get behind and drive forward across all of our businesses?

In a sense, we need to remove the noise. We need to take a moment, breathe, hold hands, and promise to support one another on this journey with a common goal: to be great by doing the best we can each day for our guests. While this sounds easy, in our day-to-day tasks it is quite possible to get distracted, to take a Road to Abilene. The crisis du jour can cause us to do things against our better judgement.

So how do we find and focus on the vital few amidst so many other things competing for our attention. It’s about comparison. In a retail box, nothing sells like product. If we are to consider incorporating services, and I mean ANY services, they had better to prove to outperform product in the space they take up. By comparing services to products, we are able to discern what gets the space. The same can be done for new business concepts. If we have a new idea that we think will fly, great! And the next question: so if that new business concept comes in, what goes out?

What saves us are constraints. If as artists we were able to do whatever we wanted, then it’s likely we wouldn’t create our best work. We need to have constraints to think creatively, to have those break-through innovations. By forcing ourselves to find and nurture the vital few, we can be assured of discovering what truly matters and is worthy of our time and energy.

art, career, creativity, dreams, Gordon MacKenzie

Finding your inner dragon

Christa Avampato

One of my dearest friends, Amy, left for Geneva today. She’ll be there for six months interning for the U.N. I am so proud of her and excited to hear about her adventures in a new place. Amy is someone who “paints her own canvas” as Gordon MacKenzie would say.

I have finally finished Orbiting the Giant Hairball. I was enjoying it chapter by chapter, putting it down after each because there were so many thought-provoking ideas embedded in nearly every sentence. Gordon MacKenzie fully understood the idea of making every word count.

Among all of the beautiful doodles and thoughts on how to run a company, invigorate meetings, and inspire creativity in even the dullest environments there is one story that stands out to me. It’s the first time a business management book actually made my eyes well up. At the very end of the book, Gordon MacKenzie writes a letter from God to a new born child. He uses the analogy that each of us is born with a blank canvas and a sense of wonder. Somewhere along the way the canvas is taken from us and hidden away where the adult world can draw boxes on it. The canvas will be returned to us once we are deemed responsible, only after we have been properly trained to color within the boxes.

Gordon wanted us to buck that notion. He wants us to “create the biggest, brightest, funniest, fiercest damn dragon” we can. He wanted us to grab our own paint brush to swoosh “through the sensuous goo of Cadmium Yellow, Alizarin Crimson or Ultramarine Blue.” In a very real sense he is asking us to reject stifling forces of any kind in any area of our lives.

To be sure, Gordon’s challenge to us is terrifying. We have done well in high school, gone to college, maybe even graduate school, and worked hard to move up in our careers, all to be told that by doing so we may have just been coloring boxes rather than creating a work of art that expresses who we are at our core and what we value and love. 

However, there is something even more frightening than this challenge that Gordon asks us to take up. The final line of the book is “If you go to your grave without painting your masterpiece, it will not get painted. No one else can do it, only you.” Very similar to John Lennon’s quote “most people die with the music still in them.” And it’s true. So few people fearlessly and relentlessly live their dreams and truly build their own road to happiness. My New Year’s resolution: to move even a little closer to swirling my paint brush in Cadmium Yellow, to dabble outside the lines, and learn to play my own music. 

The photo above can be found at: http://www.trishamclean.com/chakra/orangedragon.jpg

art, museum, technology, theatre

A meeting of the minds: art and technology

Christa Avampato

I have been out of professional theatre management for quite some time now. I love going to shows, love reading about the industry. Every once in a while I get a twinge to go back to it, and then about 5 seconds later I have a moonstruck “snap out of it” moment. We idealize the past.

While I am not sure if I will ever return to the industry, I am passionate about propagating the arts. I read Michael Eisner’s book A Work in Progress about 6 months before I moved to New York City to begin my career in theatre. It is not an exaggeration to say that he very much influenced my decision to give it a shot and see what I could do in the industry. He has a quote in the front cover that to this day is one of my favorites, and it bears repeating. “What hope there is for us lies in our nascent arts, for if we are to be remembered as more than a mass of people who lived and fought wars and died, it is for our arts that we will be remembered. The fortunes wither, the kings depart. What survives are the creations of people who are makers and artificers of the spirit.”

I am now an outsider of the industry with some wonderful friends still very much inside. Over the past few months I have begun to wonder how on Earth the industry expects to survive without embracing technology beyond complicating lighting plots and set designs. With all of the competing interests for time that consumers now face and a shaky economy, the arts cannot expect to rely on local audiences and tourists to make up the whole of their subscriber base. The traditional subscriber model needs to be ripped to shreds and rebuilt. Why should Lincoln Center limit their viewers to only those who can get to NYC? Why not develop a subscriber base that spans the globe?

I’m talking about a technological platform that would film performances and museum exhibits in very high definition to be broadcast via subscription on the web to those who pay per log-in. I am already hearing the naysayers – “theatre is about being there”, “what about the live interaction that the actors need?”, “no technology can replace actually being there in person”. I agree with all of that. And the die-hard subscribers will, too. They will still come to performances and exhibits.

Let’s consider those who can’t get to the theatre or museum: why should art institutions leave that money on the table? Why shouldn’t all people everywhere be able to experience and appreciate art wherever it is? If we don’t do this, can we hope to hang on to young audiences who are so intrinsically linked to technology? And don’t our artists deserve to have the ability to reach audiences far and wide?

The other bonus that this kind of technology would offer is the ability for those who see the performances to interact with one another, to keep the artistic discussion going long after the curtain goes down. Not to mention the diversification of revenue – new subscribers and the increased ad money that could be made available to arts organizations to not only survive but to thrive.

I have a certain disdain for critics – how they kill works of art before the performers even get their arms around a piece. Why should the critics decide what shows stays open on Broadway and what closes? Why does this very select group of people get to determine the art we see and enjoy? Opening up the subscriber base and encouraging the conversation among patrons returns the power to the people it rightfully belongs to – the patrons.

The above images can be found at http://infocusmagazine.org/3.2/images/eng_beyond.gif

art, career, guest blogger, job, Rob Lorey, social work, theatre, work

Career transitioning by guest blogger, Rob Lorey

Christa Avampato

In an effort to expand the depth of the topics I cover and to provide readers with new perspectives, I have decided to ask a few of my most interesting friends who inspire and enlighten me to appear as guest bloggers. The first one is my friend, Rob Lorey. I met Rob while we were on the Beauty and the Beast tour. He is an exceedingly talented performer and generous man who has now turned his talent toward a new career that is taking him in an entirely new direction. My love and thanks to Rob for sharing his story on this blog.

“I have been asked by my friend, Christa, to discuss career transitioning-which is interesting considering her own history. I have looked to her as a model when questioning my motives or planning. She has always seemed to me a person of keen intelligence and interests, who will throw herself into a given course with 110 percent dedication, yet readily change course with complete determination and little concern for popular perception. There. That’s my entry for the Christa Fan Club.

My own journey has been a bit lengthier- but very fruitful. I spent roughly twenty years in the entertainment industry- mostly stage work. This career took me all over. I’ve lived in several great cities, toured throughout the US and Canada, and spent time in Europe and Asia. By all accounts, I’ve been very lucky and reasonably successful.

But I find that a career in the Arts intensifies the perception that one has never quite “arrived”. No matter what successes you attain, you’re always looking to someone who has what you perceive as the better gig. It is very difficult to maintain a realistic sense of progress- and easy to become career obsessed. Add to that the very real dearth of work opportunities and the increasing talent pool you are competing with. It can be a bleak picture!

My own journey has allowed me the luxury of time for reflection. My last big tour gave me the opportunity to take stock and make some decisions about how I might want the rest of this ride to go. I will spare readers the nuts and bolts of this existential journey. Suffice it to say I decided that I needed to expand my capacity for work opportunities and life experiences. That’s what this move feels like- an extension of all that has come before it.

Currently, I’m pursuing a masters in Social Welfare- which is whooping my ass (back to a full time program after 25 years….ouch!) But it is incredibly interesting and engaging. I continue to perform- though not to the extent I was. It’s a necessary sacrifice for the big picture. I am not sure how I will choose to use all this once I have completed my degree. I know that whatever I do, I’ll be utilizing all aspects of myself, and all the work and life experience I have accumulated.

What a gift to be so energized and……expectant at this juncture! Goes to show you: every day is an opportunity to reinvent, to do better, to experience more!”

The above photo can be found at http://www.makinglemonade.com/Career%20Transition.jpg