February 2, 2010
“remember who you are”
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[“Small Places”. The cartoon I sent out to the “Hugh’s Daily Cartoon” list a day or two ago…]
The unofficial tag-line for the gaping Gallery is “Remember Who You Are”. We’ve been using it internally for a while now. It goes back to what I said on the Cube Grenade page:
I’m interested in how art affects what some people call “The Real World”- the workplace, the world of work, the world of business. That’s what the Cube Grenade idea is all about.
My advertising buddy, Vinny Warren, grew up in a Roman Catholic household in Ireland. He was telling me that his parents would always have a few religious icons hanging on the wall somewhere. Pictures of Saints, Mary & Baby Jesus, that kind of thing.
Why? Says Vinny, “To remind us who we are.”
Art that reminds you who you are. Exactly. What applies in Catholic households also applies in places of business. Shared Meaning. Exactly. Social Objects. Exactly.
My work has never been about getting the approval of the New York art gallery mafia. My work has always been about “What Really Matters” to people, especially to my peers.
Which is is why I’ve not minded sending out schamaltzy, cutey-pie “Love” themed cartoons on my email list this last week.
Valentine’s Day might be corny, it might be crassly commercial, it might be vastly overdone…
But Romantic Love is important. It matters. And by taking the trouble to send your loved one a Valentine’s card or whatever, you’re reminding both yourself and the other person that yes, you haven’t forgotten that it matters.
Hence why it fits in nicely with “Remember who you are”.
Once Valentine’s Day is over I’ll return to my usual heartless, cynical shtick, of course. Just in case y’all were worried…
[Bonus Link:] “When life gets really tough, just remember the white pebble. Just remember who you really are. Just remember the person that only God can see.”
[P.S. Big Props to Vinny for helping to move my thinking forward. Dinner is on me next time, Buddy!]
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Tags: Cube Grenades, gapingvoid gallery, Love Art, Love Cartoons, Remember Who You Are, social Objects, Vinny Warren
thank you for this. made my day
You’re magic! The schmaltzy softer side is nice, ya know, once in a while!
“My work has never been about getting the approval of the New York gallery art mafia. My work has always been about ‘What really matters’ to people, especially my peers.”
Thank you for this. I would rather my work be seen as valuable by friends and artists (many people are both), than to receive judgment from a system I never fit into in the first place.
[…] February 2, 2010 · Leave a Comment Just yesterday. You can read it here. […]
One letter more. “To remind us who’s we are.” I kept thinking of Hazel today. Artists like you two, surely make our Artist/Creator laugh, cough, scratch His head, do double takes, and blink in astonishment and gasp with pleasure. Best beloveds, using your gifts at full throttle.…..
Just so you know — your underbelly shows through the sharp/cynical. [sshhh]
These days, it takes more courage and imagination to do something that might come off as schmaltzy than something that might come off as cynicism. Cynicism is everywhere. Meaning isn’t.
Art doesn’t just remind you who you are.
Sometimes it forgives you for who you are.
So sweet to see Hugh’s soft side…;) I loved this…
[…] “remember who you are” (gapingvoid.com) […]
[…] Hugh MacLeod of Gaping Void is asking, “How do people Remember Who They Are?” […]
Pretty good but not inspiring. I like to see more…
[…] more a matter of, as Hugh MacLeod likes to say, remembering who you are. And a big part of that is remembering who you are […]