Life Happens

Sometimes in life things happen, that though they interrupt our plans, can not be dismissed as mere distractions. My Grandfather fell ill suddenly and died a few weeks later. That was a couple of weeks ago and though I push on...try to catch up on all the things I let slide - I can't imagine that I will ever recover.

I will just learn to live with what is.

In the last six years I have learned more about loss than I ever wanted to and the biggest lesson has been what a gift it is to love and be loved in return. Its as if part of what held me up is missing...and I have to figure out how to maintain my posture. That it eventually happens is a miracle.

I share this not just to vent my grief, but to let you know why the most recent issue of Context magazine has been delayed. There have been several projects that are being delayed because plans had to change.

Sometimes, life happens and plans just don't seem that important.

Magazine as conceptual vehicle

So much attention has been given to social media - monetizing it to justify the time and attention investment...and meaningfulness of networking.
The sustainability of the work has been an obvious consideration from the start and in that nailing down a simple to understand service serving a market that is growing was not as easy as I initially expected.

On one Side: Helping Luxury Service Providers advance relationships with women who want responsible luxury goods/services. Product - Podcast production with strategy - I produce purposeful conversations and create an engaging context for sharing them.

On the other side: I provide value to my social network by selecting people and their brands to be featured or introduced to a new market.

For obvious reasons I am interested in both all this personally and as sign posts of social evolution. I love exploring these ideas and will continue to do so, but unless I am only interested in conversing with myself I have had to do a better job of connecting with others.

The concept for Context Magazine is an experiment in Magazine as Interactive Art and exploring the potential of social media as part of an inclusive value creation infrastructure. The artworks are Art-i-facts in an Art Based research series about inclusion, social responsibility and women supporting each others highest expression...especially finding mediums work to engage more change agents across typical demographic divides.

For quite some time in the research aspects of Art Based inquiry I struggled to find a media that inspired me, allowed me to bring those ideas together and was accessible to the people I wanted to engage. I think we are making similar use of social media to move ideas forward and so I am curious about what our inquiries have in common.

Big ah-ha was realizing the magazine as a conceptual vehicle facilitates bringing together groups that are sometimes socially conditioned to resist each other.

Plenty of idealism boiled down to a conversation about using flip-page magazine channels as alternative distribution to replace the function and eliminate the barriers of the gallery. Very much the way that other artists are exploring how to use the internet and social media to disseminate public art...I am interested in defining Art Based Solutions as part of a model for community change.

In Context Magazine I want to embrace the opportunity to develop accessible collaborative artworks that help the business agenda and the BIG dreams...allow women to feel inspired and supported by sharing stories of the journey that give our lives Context.

The Free eCourse builds on helping people make better strategy decisions by learning to better understand the context of their problems and Solutions. I am really happy about this progress in being able to show how this Art Based Solution emerged.

Stay tuned....

Social Innovation as Modern Art

I recently started play Empire Avenue and shortly before that I was re-visiting post-it note tabs in Michael Heim's "The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality". I was having a conversation with someone about selecting an Index because my indecisiveness on that had kept me from claiming a profile on Empire for awhile. We had just finished talking about Cultural Fusion Art as Philosophy, when I mentioned the book - that's when the documentary in my next post was shared with me.

Our conversation provided more support for contextualizing the validity of the work (Cultural Fusion Art as Philosophy) but isolating components for specific conversations is another matter.




As art it is inspired by what I have shared previously in this blog and written about in other documents - as an alternative to protest art: development of a socio-technical infrastructure that achieves the public and market objectives described at the commencement of the series. The basis of my work as an art movement based on research, discovery, creation/development uses collaboration to achieve results toward the goals of public and private sector. This is the source of the Community Change Model developed. Before reducing outcomes to practical results like increasing customer retention or creating more economic opportunities for more people, the bigger context for the enterprise is seen as part of the socio-technical infrastructure and its design/refinement.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="720" caption="TimeLine abstract (i)"][/caption]

There are different Art:Work projects associated with various components. Different kinds of art lend themselves to specific types of objectives, but there is also an impressive amount of overlap. The concept map showing that reduces some of the complexity by focusing on organizing for action planning includes some attached sample material - will be shared exclusively with my subscribers (Sign-Up is FREE, see subscription box on the right @webantiphon.com).

This concept map is a vital part of understanding how the this work in Art Based research can benefit your specific goals and objectives. For the right businesses and collaborating partners this can mean simply maximizing marketing investments, to increase visibility, sales and brand value...or this can be the move that helps increase your enterprise's capacity for innovation.

And to help put the value of this kind of endeavor to develop a more evolved concept IT infrastructure into perspective I share with you this excerpt from pages 38-39 in Heim's "The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality":

"...In contrast with literate cultures of the past, we face an enormous volume of stored information. Our ancestors face the task of slowly learning from experience, of gleaning from life whatever they could discover. They then tried to amplify whatever they could confirm. They learned how to pass along an expanding knowledge base. They stored knowledge impersonally in writing and eventually learned to automate knowledge so that it could become information.

Today our task seems to be the reverse of that of our ancestors...Our task is to hold onto the anchor of our own experience to find meaning in the sea of information...

Hypertext helps us navigate the tide of information. In skipping through hypertexts, we undergo a felt acceleration of time..."

Take Heart - Confessions of a Change Agent

Today is a good day so I am not feeling like the woman in the picture above at the moment, but I have been there. Being a change agent is part choice and part obsession. The commitment has been a choice for me, but the drive to part of leading change has been a life long obsession - it is a core part of who I am. I honestly can't say I know how to be anything other than who/what I am and I wouldn't be happy being otherwise.

Now having said that, let me confess something to you - it can be exhausting, not just for me but for people around me. That's because I eat, sleep and breath Art Based research (Cultural Fusion Art as Philosophy) and Community Change Management.
I talk about it, I read about it, I dream about it...

But life work balance is something we all have to pay attention to if we want to avoid burn out. Before I embraced this reality, I experienced burn out when I was working as a community development consultant. The main reason was that my obsession was tainted by persistent frustration. For me the solution was to break free of the community development box, although I am still very much concerned with community development I found that sphere as a sector to be very resistant to change because of its entanglement with politics.

Coming back to my first true love, art was healing for me. Developing Cultural Fusion as an A/r/tographic model for community change answered a call from my soul - it expresses my deepest calling to serve and create. It puts me pack in touch with the way of being that I find is most conducive to supporting those interested in and willing to change.








Re-Thinking the Way We Think About Social Impacts



People who know me are aware that I have been exploring linkages between CRM (customer relationship management) Strategy and CSR (corporate social responsibility) programs for a number of years. Mostly I have met with a good deal of frustration but I’ve come to far to give up now, so when I find enlightening or encouraging news it helps put the wind back in my sails. Lately my attention has been on programs to assist survivors of violence but I also remain engaged in crime prevention and reducing recidivism of ex-offenders.

Recently I was introduced to Social Impact Bonds and it is definitely an encouraging step in the right direction. The paper I am going to link you to shows how the model can be applied to reducing recidivism and government spending. What is inspiring here is the financial investment model – certainly helps address parts of the problem, risk management for socially motivated investments. What they’ve done right….There is no doubt that employment and community support are huge issues in reducing recidivism. In addition to the model discussed in that paper, there is also a need and space for broader understanding based on open research (such as Art Based research) and event sponsorship funding models are worth considering as a less restrictive alternative. Is there an opportunity here for new approaches that tackle multiple dimensions of the problem to be explored and developed? I find that what is missing is support of innovation whereby there is space for discovery and open participation of those impacted.
Read the rest of this post here

Civil War Commemoration and Christmas Contention

This Christmas season has me wondering about the disconnect between expressed ideals and the created reality. Even as I observe this in myself I see how it frames the questions of interest...and the work it inspires in this series.
[converging research interests - Cultural Fusion Art as Philosophy:evolution of oral traditions, art based research: cultural vocabulary, A/r/tographic community change research model, Prallaxic Praxis:Touchstones Learning, Public Art a Public Service in development of open source solutions]

Living History and Pubic Protest Art



My Aunt and Uncle were among those who showed up to protest the gala event attended by director to whom my questions about the Fairfield County Museum were addressed in my comment post at the end of this blog entry. Reports I heard said the protest attendance was a bit higher at around 250 no need to split hairs over that. Protesters using and gala attendees alike were using theatrical cultural references to demonstrate political revelation in public performance.

Picture below includes director of Fairfield County Museum mentioned in conclusion of this post.

For revellers, the Civil War wasn't about slavery

By David Usborne 5:30 AM Friday Dec 24, 2010
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10696285

"Inside the hall, 200-odd guests, all white and some in period costume, gathered on Tuesday to see a re-enactment of the signing of the secession document. When it was over, they instinctively joined the cast in singing the anthem of the South, Dixie, before dinner and dancing.

Outside, a racially mixed crowd of about 100 held electric candles aloft at dusk to begin a protest march through downtown Charleston, singing the songs of Selma and Montgomery, including We Shall Overcome. Each camp thus indulged in their forms of theatre before taking to their beds."

..."The South lost the war but they really won it, because they continue to say the war was not about slavery, which is not true of course," argued Blain Roberts, an assistant professor of history at California State University, who attended the Secession Gala to conduct research for a book. "They won the memory of the war, at least."

But the United States is only at the beginning of a four-year stretch of events to commemorate the Civil War, which will peak with the anniversary in November 2013 of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address."

Identifying sources in Cultural Vocabulary

Of the articles I found about the specific even that provide the emotional energy culmination for this post - It would be this one from a New Zealand news site that seems to best express the heart of the matter while conveying specifics of conflict and finally, why it is relevant today.

For revellers, the Civil War wasn't about slavery goes on to say...

"I am a proud American and I wouldn't want our country to go through that again," Bill Norris, 60, a maker of banking machinery and gala guest, said. Yet, he wonders, what if the Confederacy had won?

"A part of me does regret it didn't happen," he said. "I believe at some point in dividing the country. We would be better able to govern ourselves in smaller groups. Why should New Yorkers be able to influence government in South Carolina?"

Defining Multiple Contexts

While I do not argue the need for the American Civil War to be acknowledged as part of our national history, I do find some predominate interpretations to be problematic. I find it hard to ignore the obvious question when people want to celebrate the confederacy.
What would it mean for the nation today IF the Federal government had not preserved the union? Is it possible to make it a side issue a core principle and reality being denied by the confederacy was the freedom of my ancestors - the right to belong to themselves. As a matter of function of the humanities to serve the public, the history museum as a resource for the commons, must be acknowledged as an institutional authority where programmatic successes are concerned.

Since a predominate intention of this work is to use these ideas and feelings to advance the art work as inquiry and discovery I continue to use this blog to talk to you about its progress.

The piece shown to the left is a mixed media painting "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

"The dancing was interrupted only once when a plastic oak tree draped with fake Spanish moss toppled over after being sideswiped by a damsel who had briefly forgotten how impractical those old-fashioned skirts were.

Givens found all the questions about slavery pesky. "We are not celebrating that and this is not malicious," he said. "It's about honouring our forefathers for their tenacity. It's about the bravery and courage of our ancestors.

"Can you not be selective about what you are nostalgic about?"

On hand to galvanise the protesters was a local clergyman, the Rev Nelson Rivers. "If Japanese Americans chose to celebrate Pearl Harbour this way it would be outrageous and would not be allowed to occur and that is what is happening here tonight," he said into a megaphone.

Tangee Rice, 57, an African American woman, drove 190km to the march and was wearing the same hat her grandfather had worn marching with Martin Luther King. "The Confederacy is not something to celebrate," she said. "It's just not right." About those re-enacting the start of the Civil War, she said: "They still haven't grown out of it, and it's really sad."

Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10696285

Understanding Contexts

Understanding the contexts of questions and conclusions has pushed me to hold ProjectForgive.org in view. I want to side step the issue of blame without giving up the opportunity to present questions about how what is relates to what has been.

I was not happy when Webb Introduced Bill to Establish Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission but at the same time that I contemplate the political revelations, I ponder the apple as a persistent image with cultural significance. This piece marks precisely, an element in the cultural vocabulary that my work has been exploring with inclusion of feminist art inquiry.

Most who attended the recent ball as part of these "festivities" reenacting the state's secession ball in Charleston, S.C. are clearly marking a different set of touchstones in association with the Civil War and its southern legacy from those conjured by "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree".

Feminist art undertones

Issues of race and gender have commanded attention as part of articulating identity and deciphering national identity in a global tribe. Images that came to me when working on Surviving the South piece are reemerging in another work in process. I am preparing to cut or rip this one, still untitled, into pieces that will be applied to a found object with a sense of history - looking back, but redefined in this new context.

In response to an editorial piece by the director of the Fairfield County Museum, who has inspired other works in this series going back to "what is peace?" genesis of ProjecForgive.org , that was published in The State newspaper website I posted the following comment:

Can we agree that a terrorist is a radical who employs terror as a political weapon; usually organizes with other terrorists in small cells? In the context of the civil war - that seems to fit the confederates.

The bottom line is that many are calling for us to celebrate Domestic Terrorism. Was Lincoln's response that different from Bush's response to contemporary terrorism? It seems that the national policy has been pretty consistent in dealing with that kind of activity, so I repeat the question being asked by many who have not posted here - "what is there to celebrate?"
A terrorist is a terrorist. Whether born here or elsewhere, actions define a life and that is the legacy they leave for their descendants...as well as, in many cases, wealth built on the backs of slaves.

I also know Pelham and wonder how as a fellow student of history the obvious can be so grievously overlooked? But that also helps to explain a great deal about why things are as they are - and would ask you to consider the role of the history museum in being a place to continue dialogues about histories lessons versus enshrining the south's past with its corresponding prevalent mindsets. For example, The Oral History Project and similar exhibitions at the museum in Fairfield was an encouraging step in the right direction of increasing inclusion and the diversity of perspectives on history - very good for opening dialogues that could move the community forward. Instead, such projects have been shut down and gotten menial support at best - while fund-raising to preserve more destructive elements of our historical past have gotten full attention and considerably more funding support.

The rationale for what the confederates did - and those who think it is something worthy of celebration is every bit as logical as our modern day terrorist and their supporters.

I wonder if there will be a call for non-accusatory remembrances of September 11th in a couple hundred years? Will there be a call for the descents of those victims to be understanding of the rationalization for the terrorists crimes? How does that attack that lasted a single day compare with this one that lasted four years?

Perhaps a more constructive way of acknowledging this part of history would be to focus on Forgiveness - where to forgive is to give up hope of a better past.
If anyone is interested in continuing THIS dialogue I invite you to contact me and join me in ProjectForgive.org I am in the process of developing art and events focused on bringing people together to explore the reality and context of Forgiveness - it is the healing salve we need to strengthen our communities and families. Perhaps this time of recognition for the civil war could be a chance to explore its legacy and maybe - just maybe we can increase the peace.

Someone else mentioned a candle light vigil, which is a good place to start because each person can remember who they choose and honor lives lost - I'd be up for that...

Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2010/12/19/1611832/commemorative-events-can-benefit.html?story_link=email_msg#comment-115171745#ixzz194LjeYNb

Making Connections: The Tower is Haunted

Painting above is another from the most recent series. The poem below is one I wrote as part of an art based research dialogue on educational reform. The painting came first but is about the broader scope of interest to me as it has been expressed in cfAaP House of Cards diagram and installation concept..but as the thread connecting the frames shows some systemic elements link all the others. One of the major challenges is that most people are overwhelmed by the big picture but "solutions" made without this level of understanding often do more harm than good...and by the time that is obvious the damage is done. What is the alternative?

Warning: The Tower is Haunted

Ghosts of the plantations and overseers

loom and creak until

replaced

by Research Studios and the vision of Source Artists

Life

no longer outsourced

Birthed above shark infested waters

Tamed by the slyness of Red Riding Hood's Wolf

gnashing teeth

swallowing greed

devours

deny

redemption

reform

in transformation

within the alone-ness

growth

Institutional

healing

internal

Rotten to the core

ingesting proves fatal

exposure a hazard deterring

revelation

shared

once burned, twice shy

One love, One world

blooming ideals in a flower garden

should =

no fear of poisoned decoys

skull f***k

waiting to render pregnant winged ones flightless

Warning: Keep away from gardens in alabaster towers

Their basement bellies

in screaming silence

conceal bloody pulps

would be-s

ripped from the womb

time after time

blood trails and smudged prints

are not definitive evidence of robbery

our abortions are rebranded

Selective Birthing (TM)

sanctioned by Alabaster Towers Inc.

Clipped crimson buds

poorly cloned

and implanted into suitably branded uteruses

birthed by less suspecting

blind

ethereal extremities

who regurgitate

life sustaining after birth

into shark infested waters

Moving Forward with Determination

Over the weekend I watched "Rocky Balboa" again because my husband had not yet seen it. It was my recollection of two scenes, that made look forward to seeing it again. Like many of the books I read - after I see a movie I often forget much of it. However, this speech from the movie sticks with me - especially on those days or at those moments when I get discouraged.

While I feel ego has been put to rest in my quest - I also feel we are the vessels of the dreams that seek expression through us. That is what my journey as an artist has been about - and although it would be easier to just paint or do something that was easier for most people to comprehend, I realize that is the challenge of doing something new.

"When you have a dream - you have to protect it. People can't do something themselves they want to tell you, you can't do it." (from the movie Pursuit of Happiness)

Yes, I have had those moments where I wondered why I didn't have an easier dream, something easier - simpler.... like "normal people". For whatever reason(s) that is not what calls me - that is not who I am. I suspect like many of you, I seek to live a life that is authentic and true to who I know myself to be....and sometimes that isn't as easy as we would hope.

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." Chinese Proverb

No one else can walk your journey for you - even if others are with you, your experience feels like a solitary one. Because there will come a time, maybe more than once, that you will have to reach inside yourself and find out what you and your dream are really made of.

So what keeps you going?
What helps give one the persistence and tenacity to keep moving forward?
That is also part of who we are.

I share this clip because when you feel you have hit the wall....that life has knocked you to your knees and you are doubting that you can get back up and keep going. Please remember that it is in you to do it.

Stuck with new piece, working on others

The cf House of Cards has continued to evolve. I finally got the sketch of the installation modified and put online as a conceptual drawing. At first I was fussing over details before remembering the concept would be modified for the space it is install in.....as part of the virtual counterpart I am working on a digital piece - my reason for finally learning Flash.

Unfortunately, it is not going quite as I intended. The image above is the overlay layer, the original diagram is being modified to go underneath with the top layer parting, so to speak, to see the diagram text associated with the original cf House of Cards. One of the problems is the rippling water effect I was doing for half of the top layer seems to conflict with the script being used to provide the interactive component for the viewer. Since trying to fix it has finally given me a headache I have taken a break from it.

The on site installation requires a few things I still haven't completely ironed out so I am considering possible collaborations to help address that...namely the augmented reality, software art and 3D VR integration.

One of the things I am really excited about is that the piece integrates information that has value/merit in practical terms but it is transformed by its inclusion in the piece. I am hoping the discussions with potential tech partners will deliver the tools to make the information and content being included usable for the audience.

The installation needs a home so I have wondered about what the smallest size space could be....still not quite sure about that.

Reaching Out for OutReach

Vote No on Prop 8: Yes vs. No - watch more funny videos

Since finishing the first play and starting the next couple - one of which could be Act 2 for the first one....I have been pondering positioning the piece when it is performed.

Since Proposition 8 took the scene I have thought about how my play goes beyond the standard excuse given for supporting a policy of discrimination. That excuse is usually religious in nature (See Proposition 8:The Musical)but what has gotten far less attention is what is really driving church fueled homophobia - I suggest it is rooted in denial, self hatred, and self rejection. I guess that would be a key theme in the play.

I was struck by reports about support for the ban which indicated that:

Proposition 8 draws its heaviest support in Republican strongholds such as the Central Valley and Inland Empire of Southern California, according to recent polls. Its biggest opposition is coming from Democratic bastions such as San Francisco and Los Angeles along the coast.

But two Democratic constituencies -- African-Americans and Latinos -- are leaning toward the ban. Among likely black voters, 58% supported Proposition 8 compared with 38% who opposed it in the most recent Survey USA poll. Among Latinos, 47% supported the proposition while 41% opposed it; white voters were nearly evenly split. The reason, "Yes" officials say, is that church attendance is strong in many minority communities. WSJ.com

In the Huffington Post I found a piece on Rev. Al Sharpton's response that resonated with my own views.

"There is something immoral and sick about using all of that power to not end brutality and poverty, but to break into people's bedrooms and claim that God sent you," Sharpton said bluntly. He made the remarks as the keynote speaker of the Human Rights Ecumenical Service

"It amazes me," he said, "when I looked at California and saw churches that had nothing to say about police brutality, nothing to say when a young black boy was shot while he was wearing police handcuffs, nothing to say when they overturned affirmative action, nothing to say when people were being [relegated] into poverty, yet they were organizing and mobilizing to stop consenting adults from choosing their life partners."

This has all inspired me to look at partnering the Human Rights Campaign or a similar organization to make the play part of an educational outreach that moves beyond PR.

If anyone reading this is interested please contact me to discuss further.

In the same time it takes to be bored you could....

I don't understand people who complain of boredom. I can't recall the last time I was bored but I can tell you it was before I discovered I was an artist. That means prior to 1987 which was around the time I did my first painting "Portrait of a Soul".

I have always believed that only boring people get bored. There is so much to do and so little time that I just don't understand the tendency. If you are sitting doing nothing, then enjoy doing that. There is so much to be inspired by, so much to create that I don't know where there is a place for boredom. With the stuff in life that we "have to do" that the time to do what we want is precious beyond measure. Create more of that and enjoy it more.

The main reason I have several projects in the pipeline at any time is that I try to find a balance between projects that need to get done, and the ones I want to do. Also, if there is a delay with one it's not a problem because I have others to pay attention to until the first situation is sorted. Each at different phases rather than push through them, I move between them as I consider the next step. Because I do keep working on them they do come to completion and I get to check them off the list of works in progress.

At last after three years in the making I have finished writing my first play. I have shared it with a few friends for feedback and will continue to tighten up the dialog. And having completed it I feel that at some point I will write more of them.

I have the start of what will be Act Two of the first play or perhaps a related One Act play on its own. In fact, I have another manuscript from a short story developed for another project that I think would work well adapted into a stage play...there were several angles I was interested in exploring in that piece so this could be one path to do that.

One thing with the first play is that I wish I had found more humor in it so that is something I am looking for on the next read through. It was a piece conceived with malice and birthed through acceptance, rather than forgiveness. After all was said in done what was there to forgive really? Who was I to ask someone to apologize for being who they are or assume I need to forgive them for the same? It wasn't going to change anything and what transpired had provided the inspiration, as well as the initial anger that fueled my start writing the play.

I guess the time is drawing near when I need to be able to tell people what the play is about. Not as easy as it would seem since there is what the play is about (the action carried out by the characters) and what the play is REALLY about (what the characters do, why and what it represents). Those are the kind of details probably only of interest to me :-)

Dream, Vision, Advocacy - reaching the right people

Just prior to the New Year Ron Wopereis asked me if I could fall in love with 2009;Dawn and Desmond Green invited me to celebrate my experience of life as an amazing creation-life as art. Delighting in the exploration of essential components of conceptual process art related ideas.

If you followed this link because you wanted what you consider "straight forward marketing advice" or resources skip down to the end of this post. 35-50% of sale proceeds go to charitable causes In addition to the early adapters, I have been working with Ron Modro to partner with transitional homeless programs in the States.

I could and will go on about Cultural Fusion as an art based solution to meet the Millennium Development Goals. The purpose of this blog is group content and ideas for pieces I am working on... I plan to use the process to discuss this as an art based solution and touch on some socially significant ideas for further inquiry...pointing to the economic connections. The financial costs of ignoring these social issues is difficult to measure because numbers don't give complete stories. Likewise an emphasis on what has not worked and expecting better results has its own outcome. I invite those that are interested to join us in exploring/developing this one as part of advancing your work.

What kind of year do you want to create?

Increasing the peace, means increasing experiences of abundance.

It begins with each of us as individuals committing to peace within to address the systemic issues that can not be resolved through government legislation or corporate policy alone. Nor is assisted by devotion to woundology

Instead of playing out the victim in distress, how about we become our own heroines and heroes in our story?

If you were your own hero what would you deliver to yourself this year?

My dream for 2009 is to accept a fellowship to develop a plan to spend the next three to five years focusing on research in art based solutions - specifically there application to regional economic development and technology innovation.

That is what I love to pay attention to. All the work I am doing now advances that work but a fellowship would shift the energy in a direction that supports the artistic inquiry.

If anyone knows of an organization that is interested in supporting this kind of work by all means make an introduction.



Installation #1 - inspired by the idea of a source download


Many people study NLP to develop the skills to see the signs anticipating response, but i found much of that could also be experienced through paying attention to attention. One of the great things about the internet is that it is much more conducive to finding people with whom you want to share attention.

This points to a new set of skills required for the new context presented by cyberspace where social networking is expected to grow.

According to the report by Jupiter Research, the total number of people online will climb to 1.8 billion by 2012, encompassing roughly 25 percent of the planet...Overall, the number of users online is predicted to grow by 44 percent in the time period between 2007 and 2012.

This means increase in number of people creating cyberspace, so clearly we need to explore this process from different perspectives. Certainly our historical perspectives are proving inadequate, so the pay off beyond the creative experience is off the charts in terms of satisfaction or rewards.

What needs are being feed in this new environment?
One - it provides the space we need to express and find inspiration. While also creating a place to document the discovery of attention based perspectives. The result is that we have a context that supports developing social capital driven authenticity, collaborative ways of thinking and approaching situations.

In this context you succeed by paying attention to your own attention. Learning to distinguish quality attention is vital to understanding the right investment of intangible and physical resources. One result is that we create our own worlds.

What defines a planet, universe, or town in cyberspace?

Blogs then become a place where people interested in your ideas can learn more about them. I see that as a key part of understanding your SoulFood:Ingredient.
note to self: use this for space as metaphor for process story

As we move towards open systems one has the choice of resisting by creating laws to criminalize the unwanted behavior to protect closed systems OR developing new systems to address current and emerging challenges capitalizing on open systems.

An open system is a state of a system, in which a system continuously interacts with its environment. Open systems are those that maintain their state and exhibit the characteristics of openness previously mentioned.

Open systems contrast with closed systems. Systems are rarely ever either open or closed but open to some and closed to other influences. [1].

Developing systems to support open systems as expressed through Radical Inclusion and social capital can quite logically be used to create new economic opportunities/activities based on wholly different frameworks.

i find it easier to conceptualize this as art because the pieces that are related, their relationships are clearest to me from that perspective. Then it takes on the ease of mixing scraps metal with fabric made from recycled plastics, clay, paint, a flower from the garden with five leaves from the ground and polymer gel medium

My new motto is
You don’t need to reach every person; you need to reach the RIGHT People.

Rather than assume who the right people are, I shall endeavor to find out.


I know many of you reading this will not care less about my artistic inclinations and introspective musings on my art - whether installation, digital works, play, painting, or mixed media experimentation. But I would guess those people would not have read this far.

And if you are reading this because you stumbled upon it looking for marketing resources or edutainment that is not too complicated.
Perhaps one of these resources will assist those of you who are new to doing business online and are looking for internet marketing information of the more mainstream variety - see
Do you suck at marketing?
Free Internet Marketing DVD
Website Marketing Strategy

When I first entered the world of knowledge products/services, and internet marketing software I was part of the beta testing for some of Russell Brunson's products which I went on to promote for the social sector looking at how to use the web to generate larger income streams than they were getting from donations and traditional fundraisers.

In studying the needs to develop the support systems and trainings to meet the needs people bring, I realize this information has a great deal of value for people new to this online world or struggling to make sense of it. For example, there are lots of people who don't know what there passion is but they want to start an online business.


Dream Manifesto with free ebook offer
Simpelology blog with free course offer
12 Month Word of Mouth Transformation Program


People in many sectors are going to have to re-invent themselves and develop new business models to thrive. Combining techniques and resources is a good start. If you are looking at strategies for monetizing your web properties you may find value in these resources.

"How A Wrestler Accidentally Stumbled Upon One DARN BIG SECRET To Launching A Seven-Figure Online Business With NO Money and NO Time..
…And How You Can Learn His “Insider” Secrets To Living A Life Of Abundance…Even If You’ve Never Heard Of A Squeeze Page Or Autoresponder!

Here's your chance to finally jump off the ebook merry-go-round and create your OWN online empire selling your OWN information products!”

Blue Print for a Revolution
Although I this promotion focuses on musicians, there is much value for all seeking to provide creative services.

Simpleology Great Teachers Series: Jacque Fresco Teaches Drawing

Rise of the Author

Look at how you can find new opportunities to meet your needs in ways that also support the best in others.

Perhaps turn your knowledge base and passion into a product or service or find new markets for existing ones. Cultivate a mindset of abundance by paying attention to the value of what you have and how it can be leveraged or harnessed.

In addressing some of the more persistent and costly (financially and socially) challenges I find it is worth looking at how existing resources - professional and personal development - can be made available to those who can most benefit from them. That is a core part of inspiration to commit to Cultural Fusion Art as Philosophy to create art with purpose.

Lovely dream, but what does it take to see it happen?

Bernard Lietaer talks about the relationship between the money system and sustainability

While there are those within institutions that see the problem, I find there are far less who understand the fundamental issues that are being ignored that will have a dramatic impact on the outcomes expected from current investments of majority of attention and resources.

In Cultural Fusion I find an opportunity to explore a radically different conceptual basis for open system organizations or frameworks. Art based solutions allow a depth and breadth of perspective that does not seem possible (or natural)within knowledge silos or through the lens of judgment.

After I get this sorted out I will move most of it to the comfusion an new Oci Novosti websites.

Instead of telling someone else what they should not do, what would happen if I paid attention to what I was doing? Then it is more natural to be inspired - paying attention without negative emotional charge. And that's an important part of flexibility of perspective.




Had a chance to work on revisions to my play, tentatively called "In Your Own Backyard". One of the big issues now resolved was framing a tawdry drama inspired by my early observations and frustrations developing multifaceted programs to address homelessness/poverty/domestic violence/HIV/AID prevention and interventions within a specific community.

The play explores first the region as community. It is a hot spot for STDs including HIV/AIDS, political corruption, intangible deficits of all kinds and how they translate into a series of events that will redefine community and define a region for decades.

It was inspired by three southern communities ranking first, second and third in the nation for chlamydia and syphilis. After noticing discrepancies in the local numbers for the counties and CDC (center for disease control). Closer attention to what was driving these stats and how a drama

I learned what "community revitalization" really means. It is part of that Orwellian inspired industry of Spin Doctoring, which one refers to the people who manage dialgues. This seems intended to suggest a distance between the the carrying out of a misdeed and spinning of it.



Based on my observations I developed this idea to engage more people in the BIG ISSUES by breaking them down to a scale of impact that people can conceptualize. The time for this to happen is sooner rather than later.

In times of distress - domestic abuses increases. This has never been a good situation but in light of mandatory furloughs for state social intervention agencies and insufficient funding of community based programs - without attention could have increasingly tragic results.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008 :As families confront the impact of the current economic crisis, social service agencies across the US are seeing growing numbers of cases of domestic violence and child abuse. The correlation between financial stress and the growing incidence of such cases is shown in increased calls to hotlines, visits to emergency rooms and the utilization of social services and shelters.

My informal survey from contacts I have in grassroots advocacy report a similar story...shelters are seeing almost daily increases. Considering the numbers falling through the cracks before all this the prospects are troublesome of more being doomed to be cast in invisible shadows. Although no one will say the words, actions and priorities speak quite clearly about what (who) is valued and who is not.
For example, what is the message when billions are committed to financial sector bail out due to circumstance they created, and cut backs for those that serve the people impacted? These messages are internalized and to play out to have political, social and economic impact on larger scales.

Looking at my own little sphere of "what can i do?" I am allowing expressions of solutions in the context of seeing what is being dealt with and transformed.

I could write more white papers, articles, research papers but fewer people would digest the information. Therefore the impact would be limited because it would perpetuate an underlying belief about value or rather values.


Tiger Woods A Game

Today Jeremy reminded me of what it takes for Tiger Woods to maintain his A Game. Listen to the show to see what he said about that.



Of course most of us know this intellectually - many of us want it for ourselves. But how many people think of this for people who are considered poor, who have survived being abused, or witnessing abuse overcoming serious odds to break cycles of violence?

It is no secret that these questions are connected to issues of incarceration because a significant number of people in prison could have been diverted with successful intervention providing them with personal development tools alongside opportunities to realize their potential professionally, and express themselves creatively.

I am writing my play as a series of connected stories because I want to explore the complexity of this tangled set of "facts" and observations for example - Consider that at least sometimes privatization of prisons has been used as a perverted kind of economic stimulus and redistricting tool. If we want to reduce crime - increase the peace - -then it is important that we begin to see where the underlying attributes are institutionalized?

Who is considering the long term impact of this kind of thinking?
And regardless of what your ideas are about the situation, the reality is that are more people are released from prison we must find way to
1.minimize the damage to children left behind
2. successfully re-integrate them into society if we want to reduce crime and the costs of managing the crisis caused.

There have been numerous academic studies and policy reports and journalistic accounts analyzing our prison boom, but this phenomenon cannot be fully measured in numbers.....America is expert at turning citizens into convicts, but we've forgotten how to transform convicts back into citizens...And so the legacy of our prison boom continues—and we continue to be defined by our desire for punishment and revenge, rather than by our belief in the power of redemption.

Now to be honest as I write this I know it is not an easy thing to learn forgiveness but having dealt with these issues personally I believe the rewards are worth the effort.

It is no small thing to have ones self survive and thrive despite such harsh conditions. When people have been encouraged by something i shared, i feel that i have been given a gift. To avert the worse case scenarios we have to set about the business of creating alternative structures and programs that can support regional collaborations. However, I believe that what a region is will come to be redefined with the evolution of cyberinfrastructure.

BUT what can we learn from people that make it? What is making it?

I am learning to be curious about what others believe before jumping to judgment. Does the need for resistance decrease and does less resistance translate into more efficiency over the longer term. By that i mean might it be worth looking at how personal intervention - focused on those that are already committed and motivated but just need access to resources pay off many times over.

What changes if we make that adjustment in our attitude?

"FREE Video Reveals The Amazing Money-Making Secrets Of A 28-Year Old Convicted Felon Who Earned $100 Million Dollars in Online Advertising!"


Because much of what has been done will not work in this emerging context- it is important to identify what information to build upon- that which can shift much faster than our organizational dinosaurs, individuals creating the trends in P2P, open source, social enterprise development, employment & social media will command the expected attention.

Invitation to Collaborate, Contribute and Promote your Project

I wanted to share this with you as it is a way to participate in the Cultural Fusion Experience and help promote your project, organization, etc. Also because I am using this as a way to scout for collaborators for the Cultural Fusion Tour....we can discuss that later if that is of interest to you. Of course, anyone else that is interested is also welcomed to contact me.

See my latest blog post or post to the forum about inviting people to contribute for the next video.

After much discussion about the branding of Cultural Fusion, Cherrie of Global Gia Marketing had a brainstorm session this past weekend and she came up with the concept.

I point this out because it could be a great way to start promoting various artists, events, and communities/organizations that are or will be participating.

Could you help introduce this opportunity to the artist community where you are?
My thinking is you could have a few or several artist shoot their clips in your national art museum or similar with their work in the background (2D work, performances, etc) or as part of the reading itself.

What do you think?

If you are interested, or know anyone who is please join me at the Cultural Fusion Group Network because I will be using the group to coordinate this endeavor to make things easier (manageable).

All the best,
Yvette

Process as Art, More Insights from Source Artist Process

There are those conversations that for some mysterious reason come at the just the right time to help crystallize an idea or lesson.

Imagine, a 20 year desire takes center stage and I felt compelled to make my mark as an installation artist, rather than confining myself to my previous explorations that rarely ventured beyond the land of canvas or paper. I felt drawn to software and digital art although I knew virtually nothing about the tools of the trade.

Gradually it started to dawn on me that if I announced this intention that I was opening the door to let whoever wanted to pay attention witness my growth process as an artist. When I realized and accepted what I was setting out to do, I had not even learned to use Photoshop. Since then I have made playing with various tools to work out ideas part of the process art concept.....

Recently I had a conversation that helped me understand you don't let what you don't have stop you from doing what you need to do. If I waited for someone else to see the value in what I have been working on then there would be nothing to communicate it now. I had to start in order to increase the potential for the goal to be realized.

Last week Dawn was discussing fear in her blog. Later as an aside she explained the reason for shining the light to clear them out.

Today I had one of those conversations that allowed me to see more fully the fears I had overcome to pursue Cultural Fusion…and what the phrases, "art as philosophy" and "art with purpose" mean for me.

Tonight I have had a deepening of my experience and understanding of why process art as a core component of the installations I have been developing.

Process artists were involved in issues attendant to the body, random occurrences, improvisation, and the liberating qualities of nontraditional materials such as wax, felt, and latex. Using these, they created eccentric forms in erratic or irregular arrangements produced by actions such as cutting, hanging, and dropping, or organic processes such as growth, condensation, freezing, or decomposition.

Source: http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/glossary_Process_art.html

What they refer to as random occurrences I see as synchronicity when they advance the work to become part of the process. In this multilateral framework these are points of Source:Convergence.
Where most work has been concerned with growth in context of plants or base perspectives, this one is concerned with growth in consciousness, self awareness and personal fulfillment on the individuals and collective/community levels.

Process art

U.S. and Europe, mid-1960s
Process art emphasizes the “process” of making art (rather than any predetermined composition or plan) and the concepts of change and transience….

Their interest in process and the properties of materials as determining factors has precedents in the Abstract Expressionists’ use of unconventional methods such as dripping and staining. In a ground-breaking essay and exhibition in 1968, Morris posited the notion of “anti-form” as a basis for making art works in terms of process and time rather than as static and enduring icons, which he associated with “object-type” art. Morris stressed this new art’s de-emphasis of order through nonrigid materials, pioneered by Claes Oldenburg, and the manipulation of those materials through the processes of gravity, stacking, piling, and hanging.

Source: http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/glossary_Process_art.html


Where formal discussions of process art is concerned with "properties of materials" and expanding the understanding of "unconventional methods".

The adaption of Process Art to a context that is possible of engaging larger communities rather than ascribed as a luxury of the few.

Taken several steps further SoulFood as framework for the Source Artist Process-internal. Attention has been paid to the survey of the ingredients .

This is most definitely research into the metaphysics of art applied to real life challenges.

1. Personal growth through art as process
2. Transparent model for the above as part of sustainability and community renewal
3. Research and Development into implementations of open economies as part of the above
4. Helps define intangible assets and economies that can leverage opportunities previously mentioned
5. Concept for works of art that are interconnected expressions of the above

Accepting the Process and Lessons in Peace

There are not many places that support large files, so I have really come to appreciate what makes Youtube the top video sharing site.

Originally, I had planned to only share these videos internally with the core team I have been working with, but I changed my mind. One of the reasons I decided to share them although it doesn't perfectly reflect my vision is that this series is largely inspired by my own issues with perfectionism....breaking an old pattern to learn about self-acceptance. This is major issue in creating peace, as the lack of it in the world is a reflection of the same lack in each of us as individuals.

If we can not accept ourselves then we can accept someone else and this leads to the need to be judgmental, blame, and even punish others.

The opportunity to be loss makes it worth the risk for my ego to share this imperfect video and I see that if I didn't I would miss the chance to be the first or one of the first to chart this new territory.

In addition, this is how space is made for other people to join in. This There has to be room for others to join and express the best of themselves and that means they need to see the change their contribution makes in really clear ways. If I waited until I covered all the pieces myself or just hired professional firms then the chance to engage people at the grassroots level in the most meaningful ways would be loss.

That is fundamental to the concept, expressed ideally in "stone soup" story.

In this case, I show up with an idea and a pot--- Ron was the first to pay attention, which led to everyone else that followed having something to pay attention or contribute to - intangible assets (knowledge, talent, etc.) or physical resources (money, technology, etc.) expressed in the SoulFood model as the vegetables, meat, spices and that is how the meals (aka projects) come to be....we then can document with these videos and artworks that Cultural Fusion process and see how it take shape in a way that to me seems more honest than if it was just written as an article, paper, etc in retrospect.

So that is what I have learned and has led to this little series I am playing with now. For paid client projects I would hire a team but at the moment this serves it purpose and is not intended to represent a finished product.

Enjoy!

Art and Politics- An Alternative to Protest Art

I have long been an advocate for end user led innovation, especially in IT. Recently I have been pondering connections between our failed check and balances in U.S. political arena. I generally don't get into politics here but because we have only traveled further down this road I feel I have an obligation to at least put some questions and information forward. It is hard for me to believe that Americans don't care, and it seems that those outside the States may be completely unaware of what is happening.

Also, with my interest in social capital this has been a primary instance that I have been paying attention to for a number of years. For several years, I have asserted that this decline in social capital would have economic consequences and I feel the market crash is an indicator of this.

Cultural Fusion has emerged from my interest in finding an alternative to Protest Art because as an artist we have an responsibility/choice to comment on the times we live in as we see/experience them.....and even better, Cultural Fusion intends to be part of solutions. Obviously, I like to keep things as positive and proactive as possible and this is no exception.

Key questions I have are:

Did the Gonzales firings in the Dept. of Justice thwart investigations into voter fraud or irregularities?

Why did Kerry concede the election when he knew that not doing so would have supported checks and balances working to investigate questionable results?

Why are the people shut out of the process of selecting voting machines and operating software?

Given that these issues have gone largely unaddressed what is the point of the Presidential campaign where no one pays attention to such a fundamental usurping of political credibility?

Will ignoring this problem yield results similar to what we have seen on Wall Street?

AND what does that mean for you?

The series of video projects I am working on now are not blatantly political but the ideas I am exploring them have evolved in this context (at least in part). However, the video art projects are less concerned with rehashing the problem(s) as much as it is presenting a context for solutions....not by focusing on the symptoms but going to the heart of the matter which really isn't so much about politics as it is the status quo in general. In that paradigm the underlying deficit in social capital - and the personal expression of that reality in the lives of millions of individuals merit attention that can perceive the broader context.

For up to the minute info on this issue see Black Box Voting
If you have not seen it already, please watch and share this video

the beginning:Home vs Place of Origin

This is an Art:Work under construction. I decided to do it three or four segments that will be brought together in the space. Each segment will be a central part of creating spaces, framing them if you will, inside that larger venue space.

So here is the beginning minus most of the music/sound. If you have suggestions, feel free to post links to audio in the comments.

In addition to the issues of place and affection that sparked this piece for me, it is being shaped by my work in Art as Interface.

One of the striking findings I have had during this development process is the issue of Radical Inclusion in relation to technology. And perhaps the most surprising thing has been the connection this has to my work in the area of Relationships and Connection.

Clarity 2.2 to be released

Sitting outside enjoying the morning with my animal companions including a few visiting birds, my attention was fixed on my decision to re-visit a software I had actually forgotten about until I stumbled upon in a folder. The funny thing was this captured my attention when I was actually pondering something I thought was completely unrelated....the recent death of my father.

You see, I am in process of updating my Clarity: Relationship Valuation Analysis software. Originally, it sold for around $50 but version 2.2 is going to be distributed for free! I am approaching this as my official move into the realm of software art as I do have other plans for it that include making it available to as many people as possible who can benefit AND using it in an art installation and performance pieces I have been developing with Desmond and Ron.

Yes, I am going to be giving it away. Why? Well that I will share with you in my Source Artist blog shortly. I was working on the revision until around 2am this morning because it is clear to me the program, and its supporting services can be a great service to others. What are the supportive services? The personal coaching via podcasts, teleconferences, and hotline services (phone and online) AND some special retreats we're developing for Jamaica. We will work out a way for anyone who need these services to access them, so stay tuned. I will not post the access numbers in public, so those who are interested will need to contact us to get subscription info which includes those access numbers.

You can contact me through this site or any of my others if you do not have my personal email address and I will reply ASAP. For now, however, we have provided these services to only a personal network of friends but now it is being offered to you.

Visit this Cultural Fusion community for more info

Source Arts Outreach

What is going to be the focus of this blog?

Why am I starting yet another one?

These are a few of the questions I thought I should have answered BEFORE I did this, but somewhere along the way I just decided I would discover those answers along with you.

I have been working on a collaborative art series called "Cultural Fusion Art as Philosophy"
and although that is still in development I am not sure how this will connect to that, other than both having a connection to me. Both flow from my quest to express this connection between personal intention, clarity of consciousness, system solutions and art/creative expression.

My first line of thinking with regard to this blog is that I will explore using it to share podcast with subscribers and develop the "outreach hot line".

I have been exploring how this works to support someone as an intervention when their mood starts to shift, before they find themselves knee deep in it.....you can call the hot line to be connected with a frame of reference that supports you in dealing with the reality facing you AND your power to create the reality you choose.