At what time are you planning to scare the hell out of me today?
Do what you love
“In life, you have to stick your head above the parapet and wait for custard pies to be thrown at you. Don’t be frightened. And when you get smacked in the face by a custard pie, lick it, it tastes quite good.” Bono, quoted by Platon.
Last Friday hundreds of creative minds congregated at Melbourne’s Convention Centre hungry for stories from those who have successfully made it. Melbourne has welcomed its 3rd edition of Semi-Permanent with wide-open arms, brimming with enthusiasm, inspiring speakers and paper planes.
An action-packed animation took us to the first speaker Kelly Thompson at the speed of sound. Currently professional photographer and illustrator, Kelly was also an SP audience member a while ago; hers was the first of many reminders that it all starts from the seat of an observer.
Kelly gracefully flicked through the story of her life, which pretty much covers the key ingredients to become a successful artist: introverted child, born and raised in a rather uneventful town with way too much time in her hands, until one day a great book (replace by film/song/teacher – in her case Rembrandt) changed her life.
She also refreshed our keen minds about the importance of making good friends – message that Scott Dadich reinforced subsequently with a story about his own fairy godfather. Platon added to this regard: “Especial relationships are the ones with those people you have a great connection. It’s better if they happen when neither of you are established”.
We were told to be patient and persistent - “best things happen when you don’t plan”, says Kelly – and most speakers couldn’t strengthen enough the importance of collaborative work for any creative endeavour. Droga 5 challenged the message by adding that collaborations should not be between like-minded people, reasoning that it’s diversity what pushes you to think outside the box.
Nearly all twelve speakers gave us the same picture of a creative journey: from the humble start of working on retail to pay the bills, to jumping off the cliff hoping for the best. From here, each professional had their own handful of little tips and tricks adapted to their field of action.
Sam Leach walked us through the process of turning his frustration from working in a corporate environment into his art. Sam has been exploring the craft of bringing dead animals and technology onto one coherent canvas for a number of years. He wasn’t the only one to admit that his work was surprisingly affected by the pregnancy of his wife.
Patrick Clair explained how he learnt the hard way about “no time for perfectionism”; based on his experience, when you don’t have the time to refine your work the outcome is much more intuitive and you learn how to trust your instinct (I should really learn how to stick to that!). Check his video about Stuxnet for hard-core apprehension: http://patrickclair.blogspot.com/2011/06/stuxnet-anatomy-of-computer-virus-from.html
Swedish comic trio Kurppa Hosk opened their presentation with The Art of Digging where You Stand: a) do what you want to do; b) Don’t forget where you come from. And so half of their presentation became a class on how Swedish people see themselves and how the rest of the world sees them. I can hardly remember the other half.
Local illustrator Ken Taylor reflected on the fact that best art comes from a hurting heart, epiphany that he had when working on a poster for Bon Iver. Ken’s presentation was a bit monotone with scattered drops of witty humour; his soulful work on, the other hand, spoke by itself.
The friendly understood Entente came all the way from the UK to talk about typography. They resembled two young boys doing a final presentation at school; I found them sweet.
With paper engineer Benja Harney, the whole auditorium was converted into a craft’s school; a few minutes into his speech he had hundreds of people folding paper. The sound of all those sheets being fold made the most wonderful soundtrack Semi-Permanent could have ever asked for. This funny fellow, at times clumsy but extremely talented, loves his work, and his passion is truly contagious! We ended the session throwing hundreds of colourful paper planes in the air all at once. A whimsical moment not to forget.
From Animal Logic we understood that “if you wonder ‘am I going to be able to pull this off?’ it means you’re doing something cool”, and that F words are hard to render.
Scott Dadich taught us The Wrong Theory: “consider your instincts, then do the opposite.” Scott compares graphic design to music: would you want a catchy song that you throw at the back of your mind after the hundredth time you hear it, or a challenging CD that grows in you? “Design something beautiful, then ruin it”, “Dessert first” and “Plan errors” are some of many useful tips that I will also try to remember.
I’m quite sure most of the audience will agree if I state that the acclaimed photographer Platon put the cherry on the top. What a speaker! This UK presenter resident in the US is not only a vibrant stand-up comedian but also undoubtedly skilful behind the camera. Platon fired an outburst of anecdotes and tips from celebrities and world leaders. When he had us eating from the palm of his hand, he gently closed it and took us into a spiritual journey, showing how a picture can change the world. This energetic man is able to turn a room in stitches into a collective gasp with the flick of his fingers. Platon concluded his master class with “Don’t look up to success or power; we’re all vulnerable, our strength is where we acknowledge our fragility”.
Semi-Permanent took off leaving a wake of faith behind, after another successful round of speakers encouraged a bunch of people to keep doing what they love.
