OUGD402: Austin Kleon Talk - Vampires & Human Spam SXSW

Relevant to PPP

The Vampire Test

During his talk he gave an analogy of The Vampire Test which said that if you come back from talking to someone feeling positive and energised than that person is not a vampire. Whereas if you remove yourself from them feeling drained and demotivated then that person is a vampire.

He does not like the idea that artists see every other artist as their competitors. He believes that you should network by making friends with likeminded people, not force your works upon them and promote yourself. It should be more of a community so that you can learn from others and teach each other. You will learn more from each other, as students than you will from a teacher because you are at the same level.

Human Spam

He also brings up a point of "not being human spam." Human spam are the type of people that ask you to follow them back. These are the types of people that promote themselves and force their work upon you.

"Sharing is an act of generosity. You're putting something out there because you think it might be helpful or useful to other people," says Kleon. "You're not just sharing it because it furthers your own agenda or it self promotes."

An extract from Steal Like An Artist

Show Your Work 

http://austinkleon.com/2014/02/19/10-ways-to-share-your-creativity/

OUGD402: Alt-J Gig

In a previous blog post I mentioned that the gig I was most looking forward to this year was Alt-J. They are one of my favourite bands and on the 6th of December me and Polly were finally able to see them. It was a nice experience because this is what I would describe as my music taste (indie/alternative) which I think will help with the self branding brief because I like the art work behind band posters and a lot of merchandise now features artistic graphic design instead of an image of the band. It is also incredibly calming and good background music; stuff to listen to whilst you're doing work and it was amazing experiencing it standing in the Leeds First Direct Arena. I feel like there is a way to combine art and music but it will be something I need to develop further. 

In reference to the self branding brief I think that music and ticket designs could be a massive influence on my outcome for this project. 

OUGD402: Etsy Made Local

On Sunday the 6th of December the Etsy Made Local craft fair was in Leeds so we decided to go have a look at the little independent shops. It was nice to see people that had online stores in person. It is quite a contrast from a digital shop display and how it was set up in person; it was really interesting to speak to people about their work.