Who Was Vivian Maier?

What if you were invisible? With a curious mind... 

and a restless eye... fixing upon the snippets of daily life that play all around you? 

Would you stop and notice?  Would you see yourself there... 

captured within those fleeting moments?  

Would you hope to leave some kind of record?  To insist that you were part of it, too...

Would you see opportunities as they beckon... and give voice to your sense of whimsy...

And when you pause to reflect, would it be reassuring...

Or would you prefer to remain invisible... 

lost within the mystery of who, what, and where?

Street photography is a passion. Or perhaps an obsession. There's the thrill of the hunt. You never know what you'll find. And once you commit yourself, not just to look but to really see, it's as if you are rediscovering life itself. Everything speaks to you, awaiting your glance. I'm sure that's how it was for Vivian Maier. 

If you haven't met, I'd like to introduce you. A former nanny, she passed away in obscurity. On her days off she haunted the streets of New York and Chicago, leaving over 100,000 photos, many still undeveloped. Much of her work was rescued by John Maloof and these images came from his website. There's also a new book of her photographs, which has received excellent reviews, available here. And her work is currently on exhibit at the Chicago History Museum and reviewed here. I'd like to thank my colleague Bob Burnett for recommending her to me. Vivian Maier had an wonderful eye for the telling moment and was fearless about capturing it.  

Jean Seberg and Alicia Keys, Girls on Fire

From Goddard's Movie "Breathless"

When I saw the NYT headline for a slide show of images from "125 Years of the International Herald Tribune" I immediately thought of Actress Jean Seberg and Goddard's movie "Breathless." That frenetic film helped launch a new kind of cinema, the French New Wave, and I loved it. Here's a little flavor:

If the trailer doesn't play, click here

In the movie, Jean Seberg's character was mesmerizing: at turns funny, fanciful, quixotic and deadly. Her gig? Hawking the  Herald Tribune. And she was there in the Herald Tribune slide show too, along with Mata Hari, Marie Curie, Leon Trotsky, and "people who shook the world in an era of mass movements, mass violence and the creation of ideas that changed the way we live." 

Jean Seberg had a tortured life, but she filled that film with light. Much of the work was improvised and it had a freshness and almost documentary feel that seemed to herald a new way of telling a story.

Singer Alicia Keys was recently featured in a NYT Magazine piece talking about her creative process as she worked on the song "Girl on Fire." And while she seems self-conscious for the first part of the video, if you can get past that, it provides an interesting insight into the creative process.

If the movie doesn't play, click here

One key element of the creative process is timing. For Jean Seberg, that brief luminous moment that was the film "Breathless" captured a girl on fire. And for Alicia Keys, who knows?  Her work has sold over 30 million CDs. Even so, the next time she sits down to compose a song, she'll have to hope that the fires of inspiration that fuel her work will continue to generate light and heat.

Making a Difference

From the Creative Mornings archive

"One person can make a difference." We hear that a lot. Well, I'd like to introduce you to designer and innovator Tina Roth Eisenberg, aka SwissMiss. 

Tina's philosophy: "Don't complain, make it better." So, being put out by expensive and unwieldy design conferences, she re-imagined the whole experience as Creative Mornings: a free breakfast lecture series run by volunteers. Launched in NY, so far it's spread to 34 cities around the world. Everything happens for free: producing the event, the space, the speaker, the breakfast, the videotape archive. All volunteer driven. And because each session is videotaped, she wanted to create an evolving archive for all that creative energy.  So she went to Kickstarter, hoping to raise $35,000. Here's her campaign video:

If the video doesn't play, click here

Her goal was reached on the first day of the campaign. And Creative Mornings is thriving, with interest in expanding it to new cities. 

So how did Tina evolve from designer-for-hire to innovator and entrepreneur?  Here's an in-depth interview from a blog profiling creatives: The Great Discontent. And you can see what else she's up to on her website. So, I'd say yes, the efforts of one person can make a difference.

And what kind of difference can two people make?  If the two people are Eli Pariser, former exec. director of MoveOn and Peter Koechley, former managing director of The Onion, more than you might think. Tired of how the news has been homogenized and trivialized they longed for something else. Their solution: a mashup of Eli's political passion and Peter's sense of humor. They've dubbed it Upworthy and it flings the news they choose throughout the social network, using headlines and visuals to pique your curiosity.

 Their mission: "to make important stuff as viral as a video of some idiot surfing off his roof." The NYT calls Upworthy "serious news built for a spreadable age, with super clicky headlines and a visually oriented user interface." Here's an example of what you might find in their daily flow:

And video grabs, like this one of Bertrand Russell's message to the future:
                   

If the video doesn't play, click here

Upworthy launched in March and seems to have the right formula. According to the NYT, it's off to a faster start than the Huffington Post with 2.5 million unique visitors in just its third month. 

Finally, one other little tidbit I found that shows that the life of the mind still burns brightly. At least in Brooklyn. Check out this video from the NYT.

If the video doesn't play, click here

So here are people who'd rather light candles than curse the darkness. And I hope their efforts will inspire us, too. Because, if you just think about one thing you can do to satisfy that urge to create, innovate or show a little vision and just do it, we will all be the better for it.

Bunny Biz

Politicians talk about jobs of the future all the time.  I wonder.  Especially after reading Brad Stone's report in Bloomberg Businessweek, "My Life as a Task Rabbit." And what might that be? It's all about what their CEO calls "service networking." Their video explains: 

If the video doesn't play, you can click here. 

Leah Busque, Task Rabbit  Founder

Meet Leah Busque, Task Rabbit's founder and CEO. Yes, she quit her day job with IBM to follow her dream. Yes, her idea is really cool for time-stretched achievers like herself. And her help-needed solution is very innovative, using the web and smart phones to manage all the transactions, thereby updating the biz of "temp work."  Businessweek's Brad Stone summed it up as "a uniquely American safety net for the unemployed or underemployed, who will now have somewhere to turn when they need to make money." True. But I wonder if this approach is also an example of where a lot of our jobs are headed?  

Here's what I mean: the new bunny taskers are all independent contractors who compete with each other as they bid on jobs with the lowest bidder getting the work. So labor becomes a commodity for sale at the lowest cost. And the workers have no security, no health care and often no way to shine based on ability. They are labor, pure and simple. And to get the task they have to bid low, work hard and fast, and take as many jobs as they can. Does any of this sound familiar? 

So what should we glean from all this? First of all, innovation doesn't always make things better. Second, there is at least a generation or two of us in these distressed times that are trying to deal with this issue right now.  

Which brings us to a successful Kickstarter campaign by Aaron Cassara to make a film called Barista. The movie's plucky heroine wants to quit her job at Starbucks and reinvent her life - until she's diagnosed with MS and has to stay there for the health care coverage. As Aaron describes it, "Barista is ... a generational narrative about the precarious service worker. It's about the crippling costs of health care and education, about paying the bills in a lagging economy while still trying to move forward." Here's the trailer:

If the video doesn't play, you can click here.

Well, we must be on to something here, because the plight of these folks is quickly becoming a brand. Or let's just say, a brand marketing snatch of issue. As you'll see in Benetton's new campaign for Unemployee of the Year. Below is the video version.

If the video doesn't play, click here.

So what's the takeaway? Well, there are many truths, often contradictory, that exist at the same time. Clearly the web, via Kickstarter, has opened the door wide to young filmmakers like Aaron Cassara. And yes, some people will benefit from operations like Task Rabbit. But as we've seen in the local video community here in Washington, DC, as older companies go out of business, more nimble ones spring up. Lower standards and cheaper gear also reduce the barriers to entry. And day rates for production people are about the same or lower than they were 10 years ago.  So the bunny biz has spilled over to the freelancers who populate the video production industry too. 

And at the same time as all this is happening, there is a real blossoming of creative energy and enterprise.  As we'll see in my next post. 

Ken Burns on Story

Sarah Klein 

Tom Mason

Okay, you're a filmmaking team and you have this really cool idea. Do a passion project and make a video about a subject you really care about. Story-telling. It's a lot harder than it looks - we're talking non-fiction here - and something you and a lot of other creatives struggle with all the time.  So who do you know who's a good storyteller? How about Ken Burns?  Okay, you do an interview and ask him to tell you all about it.  

So you get it done. Then back home and look at what you have. It's 90 minutes of Ken Burns talking. Well, he may be a documentary superstar, but it's not a film and it's certainly not a story. So now what? Make it happen in post. And you do. Here's the very effective result:

If the video doesn't play, click here.  

The production is the work of cameraman/editor Tom Mason and producer Sarah Klein, aka Redglass Pictures. Their piece is graceful, spare and intimate. I like how the music draws you in and creates flow. And the pacing - the pauses help you connect with what's being said and also build a quiet tension. The Tom and Sarah introduce a film projector metaphor to help bridge the ideas and treat the stills to give them more depth literally and figuratively.    

The length feels right - long enough to explore a few ideas, delve into the personal side, leave an impact and be done.  It helps you see the creative challenges we all face as we bring shape and meaning to our work. And a little insight into what motivates Ken Burns, too.

Atlantic Magazine has a short interview with the filmmakers here.  If you want to know more about them you can visit their website. If you do, check out their video "Miracle on 22nd Street." And if you want to learn how this project came to be, there's a podcast interview that's very informative here.

Tom Mason described their creative process as "stumbling in the dark."  Perhaps.  But as their work reveals, with enough care and time you'll find a way to let your light shine.

Capturing the Creative Spirit: Michael Graves

Michael Graves

How best to capture the creative spirit? In this case, how to understand the work of architect and designer Michael Graves, via two very different approaches on video?

Let me offer a little background to what I'm talking about.  Early on, as a film and video editor and later as a writer, I learned to "show it," not "tell it."  That means to do your best work, you have to put aside the explaining part of your brain and work with the feeling side to create moments with images and sound that really communicate.  You let the pictures and events tell the story.
Once you've given the video a visual style and structure, then you can add that other layer of meaning (the narration or voice over) to amplify the message. Or not, depending on what you're going for. In essence, this is the original approach to documentary and also the basis for cinema verite. And even with today's more content driven approach, the tension in the creative process is still about what drives the story: words or images. Telling or showing.

The Humana Building by Michael Graves 

So, back to the challenge of capturing the creative spirit: how to describe an innovator like Michael Graves?  As an architect, his buildings give shape to city skylines around the world. He designs tea kettles and other products found in many of our homes.  And now that he navigates with the help of a wheel chair, he's working to improve the quality-of-life for others facing similar challenges.

This image and most others from the Michael Graves and Associates Website

You could describe him as a man of genius, a visionary and innovator. Some call him the father of post-modernism, as you can see in this Portland, Oregon building that helped launch that phase of his career.  

from the Wikipedia site

Today, his body of architectural work is broad, deep and visually arresting. Just peruse his page on Wikipedia and scroll down the list of the important buildings he created.  Or check out his website to see what his firm has  been doing recently.  

But all of this is by way of giving you a little context for the challenge facing the two videos. Each explores the man, his importance and creative drive, but with two very different approaches. 

First up is a video I found on the site of Dwell Magazine.  If it doesn't play in this post you can also find it here.  


I like how this video is more impressionistic than informational. It explores the quiet beauty of his home and furnishings as a metaphor for Graves' artistic and creative impulse. You can feel the influence of Italy and Europe as the camera meanders through its rooms and garden. The video is like a visual poem, enveloping you in an almost meditative quality. While his comments suggest his thoughts and themes, the overall effect is more of a moment shared, an ambience savored. Everywhere you feel Graves' touch and sensibility and the images are visually engaging. 

Time Magazine called the Humana Building one of the 10 best buildings of the decade

From the PBS documentary

The second video is Architect Michael Graves: A Grand Tour and the link will take you to an excellent site devoted to the man and his work. The half hour video was produced by PBS station WTTW and embraces a typical present-day documentary approach. I should mention it takes a little while for the piece to focus on Graves, but when it does I found it very informative. It also tells you how his work developed over time and the influences on his approach to design. 

St. Coletta School for children with cognitive and physical disabilities

But, overall, I found it more like a video history lesson with the visuals playing a secondary role. The content delivered via the narration and interviews drove the piece, and it was much less poetic. So you feel more detached from the person and what he was about.  Perhaps more intellectually satisfying, but much less emotionally involving.  And therein lies the key difference between the two approaches.  

And while I personally prefer the more poetic, visual approach, what I did put together from watching the two programs is that, along with huge talent and skill, Michael Graves also has a healthy dose of grit and determination.  His strength of character and ability to refocus his creative energy inspires me. And his story reminds me once again of what you can accomplish, once you put your mind to it.

A Book By Its Cover

Chip Kidd with some of his book jackets

My mother told me not to judge a book by its cover, but Chip Kidd would say otherwise.  He's been designing dust jackets since 1986 and, just looking at the some of the examples below, you can see a great sensitivity to the power of words, text and images.

When you think about it, a successful cover has to work on different levels. It should entice you to pick up the book in the first place and also convey a sense of what you'll encounter as you make your way through the pages.  It's the only visual representation of all those words on the page.  And it has to help sell the book.  So there's a lot more thought and creative effort required than just the aesthetics of good graphic design.    

Chip has been lauded for the visual punch he puts into his work.  A few years ago some of his designs and the thoughts that created them were discussed in Time Magazine. Below is an example of his approach to an eight-book series on the life of Buddha.





















And I was fascinated by one of his more recent efforts for the book, IQ84 by Haruki Murakami.  In Murakami's book, a woman seems to enter a parallel reality and as Chip wrote for the publisher, he wanted to reflect that by "an interaction of the book's jacket with the binding/cover underneath." 

So here is the book binding

Here is the translucent book jacket

And here is the final effect

If you want to spend a few more minutes on this, Chip explains his thoughts about design, books and their covers at a Ted talk.  And while you may find his style a little too NYH (New York Hipster), what he has to say is funny and certainly makes you think about creating those first impressions.  If the Ted video doesn't play, click here.

Here's a link to his website which also has some random observations I liked.  And if you still want more, here he is with his band ARTBREAK and "Asymmetrical Girl." Check out the visual treatment for this semi-satirical visual mashup.  If the ARTBREAK video doesn't play, click here.