Art After Dark – NYC

Art can be a bit like wine. You know what you like – but some of the subtext can be lost on the uninitiated. Both require a considerable level of commitment to get to grips with. Sometimes, the hardest thing is getting started as once you have a base knowledge – then you have something to build on. Without solid foundations, the sheer depth of subject matter can be daunting. I’ve found from personal experience that art galleries can be quite exclusive rather than inclusive. Descriptors of pieces of art can over-intellectualise what you are viewing – rather than simply allowing you to enjoy your own take on the experience – and there is something unnerving about people staring at a piece for hours, seeking out a message, when your own mind starts wandering in about 15 seconds…

That’s why I loved an initiative from the Guggenheim in NYC that uses contemporary DJ acts and a skinful of alcohol (in my case) to introduce awesome art masters to the masses. I attended ‘Art after Dark’ last Friday (it takes place on the first Friday of the month) and saw the Kandinsky exhibition set to the soundtrack of Brooklyn Dance duo Nick Millhiser and Alex Frankel, aka Holy Ghost. The Guggenheim itself is an amazing venue and this exhibition is set on a spiralling ramp. You literally meander your way up to the top with a glass of wine in hand with an amazing soundtrack that is apparently to show how Kandinsky took inspiration from music in his pioneering efforts toward abstraction, but is more likely a post rationalisation of an attempt to ensnare a younger audience through a common love of music and boozing…

It’s a great concept because it makes art cool and accessible. The exhibition was clearly signposted and as you totter/stumble back down the ramp – you’ve really grasped an understanding of the artist in an inclusive friendly environment. Learning and finding out new stuff is fun, and it’s important for cultural organisations in this country to develop new way of talking to younger audiences. Alcohol and music normally provide a relevant and engaging reason to enjoy most activities. Some cultural hubs get it – The Tate do late, and the ICA have long known the key to the hearts of minds of younger audiences. It would however be nice to see more traditional establishments engaging in such activities. Modern art shouldn’t simply be a gateway to more traditional art forms – and aforementioned traditional establishments should recognise that steps need to be taken to ensure that tomorrows audiences are engaged today.

‘The Spirit of Highbury’

Great time lapse video of the new Arsenal fixed structure featuring every Arsenal player to ever grace Highbury. This was created by W&K…

Capitalism and the future

I landed in New York City on Tuesday morning, and a friend of mine had sorted out tickets to a debate at New York City Public Library. The subject of debate was ‘Capitalism and the Future’. The panel included some heavy hitters like Eric Schmidt – CEO of Google, Indra Nooyi – CEO of PepsiCo, Niall Ferguson – the respected historian and Harvard Professor and finally…Nassim Taleb – author of ‘The Black Swan’

So what do they think the future holds in summary? What will the economic system look like in the weeks ahead, what are the innovations  shaping the future and what will the role of business be in the future?

Capitalism, in the current climate, can be seen as a bit of a dirty word. One of the key outputs from this debate was that this shouldn’t be the case and capitalism ultimately creates innovation, jobs and opportunities… There was however a slightly uneasy moment when Indra Nooyi, paraphrasing Gordon Gecko in ‘Wall Street’ perhaps went one step too far by suggesting that ‘greed is good’ (to be fair – she did say that necessary precautions need to be taken), but it didn’t sit that well with me in a period of time when greed has led to taxpayers picking up the tab for excessive risk in the pursuit of financial gain…

Niall Ferguson who was very impressive throughout raised his fears about the danger of state monopolies. he argued (brilliantly) that politics should be kept away from business, that the business world should be about survival of the fittest, not the fattest and that we need to move away from state monopolisation. He made a great point that I loved that said that we live in capitalist times when things are good and there are profits…but we want to revert to socialism when we face losses… RBS being a particularly relevant example of this…

Eric Schmidt was very optimistic and argued that the economic structures put in place since the financial crisis began are working. He suggested that the future was bright and summarised the future rather nicely here…

“Technological innovation and entrepreneurial activation will be the only way to develop mass growth in the future”

It seemed a very succinct way to sum up all the arguments…

 

 

YouTube Greatest Hits

I’d forgotten  some of these – legendary…

Editors hijack Google Maps

Constant Partial Attention

How many tabs do you have open in your browser at any one time? It’s quite scary but by the end of the day with my computer processing slower than the bumper to bumper traffic outside on Oxford street, I could potentially have 20 or more tabs open. Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia entries, numerous blogs, Google mail, Google reader… the list is endless…

The way we interact with our computer has changed. Real time interaction has become more important than ever. Things can’t wait – you’re input into dialogue is required NOW. All of this is because information is updated at such speed now. I’ve always been a proponent of this seismic shift in the way that we disseminate and interrogate information. The more the better. Greed is good – as long as it is for information;  and knowledge is a currency that we trade in that makes us feel good about ourselves.

A friend of mine though recently bought the subject of ‘constant partial attention’ into conversation. It is a relatively new concept that I hadn’t really given much thought too before he explained it – I was probably too busy clicking and skimming . In short, the idea surrounds our situation whereby we are overwhelmed with data and cognitively suffering from multitasking. Constant partial attention looks at the information surplus that we now have and suggests that too much digital information use is in danger of dumbing us down.

As human beings, we have limited information processors and the problem with obtaining all our information online is the constant temptation— it is now incredibly easy to be led off down tangents whether it be from a word that has to be looked up or an inviting looking link. In short, our attention span is becoming ever smaller.

Constant partial attention

 

I recently started an after work course that is 3 hours after work twice a week. Now, these three hours are split in half with a five minute break. For the first few sessions, it was incredibly difficult to concentrate fully for the entire period of time…and this was only an hour and a half. It demonstrated that the way we interact with information has changed significantly as the internet has developed. Our attention spans are reducing as our exposure to information increases.

So what does this shift mean for marketers? Well, to remain relevant today brands need to realize they increasingly have to create valuable utilities that consumers ‘pull’. These need to seamlessly integrate into the hubs where consumers are investing their shrinking attention. Useability is set to become the new ‘awareness’…

And what does it mean for consumers? Start allocating some time firmly away from your browser and revel in the opportunity to work things out for yourselves…

Having the final word

Here is my article on Arsene Wenger that featured in the matchday programme last week to celebrate his 13 years as ‘Le Boss’

Final Word - Arsenal Programme - Matt Kandela

Arsene Wenger

Today marks 13 years of Arsene Wenger being at the helm of Arsenal Football Club. What he has done for the club is immeasurable. In a world where we constantly look for short term quick fixes, here is a man with the strength of character to always look at the bigger picture and the longer term view.

He isn’t always right…but he always does what he thinks is right, not for himself…but for the club.

Thanks for everything…

Arsene knows.

Arsenalisation of ‘The Emirates Stadium’

Over the last few weeks, there has been much talk of the ‘Arsenalisation’ of ‘The Emirates Stadium’ – home of my beloved Arsenal FC. I didn’t expect much to be honest. I thought this would mean a few large prints inside the stadium and a lot of talk. After all, making the stadium look great doesn’t make money for the club and Arsenal as a business are notoriously frugal - just look at the net transfer spend over the last 10 years.

So, imagine my suprise when I attended the game against Wigan last week and saw what had been done. It is absolutely fantastic and makes me even more proud to be a fan. Arsenal are a club with a rich history, and this work demonstrates that nicely. 

Arsenalisation of the Emirates

 

Arsenalisation of The Emirates

Arsene Wenger - Invincible quote

Arsenalisation of the Emirates

I attended my first game at Highbury in 1992 as a twelve year old and have barely missed a match since then. I loved Highbury so much and thought that ‘The Emirates’ would never feel like home. When I walked into Highbury, you could feel the history. The Emirates on the other hand felt like a great big soul-less bowl. It’s taken time but finally it is beginning to feel more like a proper home and this work adds to the attachment that we supporters feel for the club.

On the last day at Highbury, there were a series of speeches. One of them was particularly poignant by Tom Watt. He said that of course the football memories were important, but what is more important is the sharing of moments. The highs and the lows shared with the people closest to you. The dad who takes his son…who takes his son in turn… ‘

The Emirates’ feels more and more feels like home and I can’t wait for the memories that haven’t even happened yet…

Hierarchy of Success

I’m thinking of doing an executive MBA. It means I can still carry on working but would work every other weekend to gain what increasingly appears to be an important qualification in the world of business. The communications industry is after all the fusion of commerciality and creativity – and anything that can help that seems worthwhile.

 Part of the application process to all the leading business schools is a course called the GMAT. It’s a test of logic – split into verbal and quantative sections. Put simply, to get into the best schools – you need to be in the top 5-10% of all the people taking it. It’s a real challenge – and really separates the men from the boys. Now, the most intelligent people get the best scores it would seem. People who have high flying careers and have always achieved scholastic excellence get the best scores. That would make sense after all.

 The fact is though, this test is not a test of intelligence – it’s a test of dedication. It’s this point that neatly ties into a recent blog post by Seth Godin. In it, he outlines what he perceives to be the hierarchy of success:

1. Attitude
2. Approach
3. Goals
4. Strategy
5. Tactics
6. Execution

Attitude and approach are what leads to the greatest levels of success. Attitude relates to why we lead our lives and approach looks at the things that we do to make our reasons for living happening. Neither of these are easy to master – if they were then everyone would do them! It’s this reason why the GMAT is such a good test for business schools as it focuses specifically on these areas rather than pure intelligence, which is worthless unless applied practically.

Some more questions that Godin then mentions are:

• How do you deal with failure?
• When will you quit?
• How do you treat competitors?
• What personality are you looking for in the people you hire?
• What’s it like to work for you? Why? Is that a deliberate choice?
• What sort of decisions do you make when no one is looking?

It’s really interesting stuff, and I have found recently that sometimes you don’t know what you want until you take some time to evaluate. In the hecticness of modern life – you presume you are what you are. In reality, you are who you want to be…