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friday i went to see stefan sagmeister and hillman curtis speak. i had never seen either one, but am fairly familiar with their work.
i am not a great fan of sagmeister's work but can see the importance it has in both commercial design and fine art. sagmeister's work almost always challenges the viewer to look beyond the visual. much of his work is in your face. his text treatments go against everything you were ever taught in typography class (if you graduated before 1990). much of his work looks both organic and un-natural at the same time. probably his most well known work is the disturbing poster (above) done in 1999 for a speaking engagement.
so, with those opinions in mind, i expected his personality to be harsh, arrogant, and annoyingly opinionated. i was completely wrong.
sagmeister discussed work done after a one year break from commercial work. he was very humble, soft spoken and very likable. further confusing the presupposed persona i had manufactured in my head, was his austrian accent that sounded like a kinder and gentler treminator. sagmeister is one of those people that is not just smart, but frighteningly intelligent. one of those freaks connecting dots that i can't even see.
curtis spoke about the creative process and success factors of the process. one factor, is to erase cynicism. yep, erase cynicism. something i am unable to do in the current economic/political environment. a world without cynicism is a world without griff. i can not exist. i might argue cynicism can fuel creativity, but i can see that it might be cheap fast burning fuel. anyway, he is a better man than i if he can erase cynicism in todays world, and i know he is probably right.
curtis showed some interesting work. one piece that directly reflected a video piece done by another designer. he admitted that it influenced him. it was kind of odd to see such a well respected designer mimicking elements of another's work. it exemplified the rip, remix and burn culture we live in. regardless, his presentation was on target. curtis also frightened me with his intelligence (even though he was hopped up on cold medication and had to bail out of the q and a session).
every time i attend something like this (or thumb through print magazines design annual) i go through the same predictable emotions. first is am in awe. awe changes to a feeling of being inspired and a desire to build some cool shit. finally an overwhelming feeling of hopeless bleak despair. realization that i am not worthy and that i am a pathetic insult to the design profession. i could never design something at that level. it's a good thing i don't have a handgun at those moments or they would be my last moments.
truly disappointing was the fact that not a single one of my design students showed up for the event. where is the love? kids today.