Stop the Top Ten Lists
A Truly Happy New Year
Tell me something I don’t know. The worst part of late December is all the advice we seem to be offered—-explicitly and implicitly. The ‘Best of ‘ lists are really a ploy to show you how much you have missed in pursuits that are external to us, but supposedly urgent for us to engage with. There are great films, exhibitions, concerts, and myriads of other experiences we can scale on a list, but for whose benefit. Whose opinion isn’t bought or paid for, or captured by their audience? I can see engagement analytics for these posts, does this skew the pooch? Maybe the worst examples are the individuals and organizations that become so enraptured by their own ‘voice’ and countering ‘accepted’ narratives that they see poison in any story that connects us.
What was actually meaningful to you outside of the glare of our over sharing world? I understand why we choose the panopticon instead of the mirror ; we all need to connect to something more than ourselves. We are fed by belonging and community, but we need our own fuel to bring to the party. I know that my once a week posting and quick one lap around the pool of social media has helped me to reclaim some of my own time. Spending that time well is the next trick.
Years ago, a good friend of mine worked on worldwide Diesel campaigns. Diesel is an Italian clothing brand that at the time was known for their controversial advertising. The ads were oblique to the companies products—-they weren’t selling the products through cool people in cool places wearing cool clothes, but the ads are not my interest here. It’s how Diesel seeded their design thinking. The company developed a brand theme each year that drove their product design, it was never an explicit tag line or brand statement, but a theme that inspired the style and approach to their products. It’s how they developed this theme that was unique.
Diesel funded multiple people to spend months travelling and living in different places. Each person was charged with bringing back something tangible that expressed what they had experienced. The only explicit direction was not to bring back apparel/fashion, it was not the point of their search. When they all returned to Italy they shared what they had seen, and gathered. The yearly theme was built from this collective sharing.
I think of this story of Diesel as I reflect on my own work and creative approach. The eclectic and necessary act of gathering disparate experiences and influences and looking for a thread that somehow links them, makes sense. I strongly believe in reflection and having a process for supporting looking back, and most importantly to not be a passenger in the vehicle of my life.
Last year at this time I had my first bout with COVID and as I recovered I worked on a text and image sketchbook. I created spreads throughout 2024 that really helped to situate and in some ways expiate events both personal and public. I felt less passive in the face of personal experiences, news, and events.
One of the aspects that I love about teaching is the rhythm of scheduling. I know nothing about farming, but I can guess that the planting, tending, and harvesting routine is similar to teaching in the way time and the seasons flow. I have molded my creative life to follow a similar trajectory. So, the harvest is in and I can look back over the year and plan for the next year. No Top Ten for me, just a sum of many things, a collection that I will find the seed within to plant for 2025.
I wish everyone a most excellent and productive 2025. I suspect we will need a community that connects us to meaning even more in the coming year.
A most excellent and productive 2025 to you as well! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and glimpses into your sketchbook with those of us not lucky enough to be your students.