Evolution Shift - David Houle, Futurist, Disintermediation, Future Trends, Future of Energy » art http://www.evolutionshift.com/blog A Future Look at Today Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:41:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 2007: Looking Back and Looking Forward http://www.evolutionshift.com/blog/2007/09/27/2007-looking-back-and-looking-forward/ http://www.evolutionshift.com/blog/2007/09/27/2007-looking-back-and-looking-forward/#comments Fri, 28 Sep 2007 03:42:56 +0000 david http://www.evolutionshift.com/blog/2007/09/27/2007-looking-back-and-looking-forward/ Recently, I have been struck by the number of anniversaries of significant events that have been acknowledged this year.  This past summer was the 40th anniversary of the “Summer of Love”.  August was the 60th anniversary of the independence of India and Pakistan.  This week marked the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of public schools in Little Rock Arkansas.  This year is also the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, Spain.  Next week is the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik.  All of these events were very significant events.

Why is a column with the tag line “A Future Look at Today” taking a look back on significant events?  The accelerating speed of change is the reason.  It is clear that, in the past 200 years, the speed of change has been accelerating.  During the 1800s, the first full century of the industrial revolution, the rate of change was noticeably faster than the 1700s.  The amount of change that occurred in the 1900s dwarfed that of the prior century.  The speed of change coming into the current century is much faster than it was coming into the last century, perhaps ten times faster.    In the Shift Age we are now in, the speed of change has literally become part of our environment.

What all this means is that the next 10, 40, 50 and 60 years will all encompass more change, more innovation, more acceleration than in the same amounts of time looking back to the ...]]> Recently, I have been struck by the number of anniversaries of significant events that have been acknowledged this year.  This past summer was the 40th anniversary of the “Summer of Love”.  August was the 60th anniversary of the independence of India and Pakistan.  This week marked the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of public schools in Little Rock Arkansas.  This year is also the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, Spain.  Next week is the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik.  All of these events were very significant events.

Why is a column with the tag line “A Future Look at Today” taking a look back on significant events?  The accelerating speed of change is the reason.  It is clear that, in the past 200 years, the speed of change has been accelerating.  During the 1800s, the first full century of the industrial revolution, the rate of change was noticeably faster than the 1700s.  The amount of change that occurred in the 1900s dwarfed that of the prior century.  The speed of change coming into the current century is much faster than it was coming into the last century, perhaps ten times faster.    In the Shift Age we are now in, the speed of change has literally become part of our environment.

What all this means is that the next 10, 40, 50 and 60 years will all encompass more change, more innovation, more acceleration than in the same amounts of time looking back to the last century.

The transformation of India in the last 60 years has been amazing. At independence, India was a poverty stricken agrarian economy with a rigid caste system.  While still suffering great amounts of poverty, India is now the most populous democracy and the twelfth largest economy in the world.  It has leapt into the Information Age in such a way that it is the back office and customer service center of the world.  What will it look like in 2067?  It is almost impossible to imagine.

Triggered by the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling, the forced integration of Little Rock schools 50 years ago truly ushered in the era of the federal government supported civil rights movement.  The emergence of Dr. King as a great moral leader, the march on Washington D.C., and the Civil Rights act of 1964 all quickly followed.  There is no question that racial issues are still on the front pages today.  We have come an incredibly long way, but we clearly have a way to go.  What will equality and race relations look like in 2057?  I can’t help but think that it will quite different that it is today.

Think about the cultural revolution that began during the “Summer of Love” in 1967. American culture and European culture was transformed.  Music, art, fashion, sexual mores and hair styles all changed dramatically.  Drug use, political protests and cause related demonstrations, meditation, and a changing concept of one’s place in the world and role in life all brought about cultural and political changes that reverberate still.  There has been more cultural change in America in the last 40 years than in any similar period of time in our country’s history.  However, given the accelerating speed of change, the cultural changes that will occur between now and 2047 will be even more transformative.  Hold on to your hats!

In 1997 when the Frank Gehry designed Guggenheim museum opened in rusty old Bilbao, Spain, it transformed the way that cities could reinvent themselves during the transition from one age to another.  There has been an explosion in the building of either new art museums or major additions to existing ones.  It seems like every major city in the world has decided to make some sort of image enhancing investment in a new museum or cultural edifice.  In addition the elevation of architecture and the star architect can be seen all over the world.  Just look at the skyline of Shanghai or Dubai.  It is probable that the changes around the world in this area for the next ten years will match and exceed the last ten.

Please stop and reflect on all the changes and the rapidity of change that we have all experienced in the past decades.  Then look ahead and embrace the concept that this recent past is only a comparatively slow prologue to the decades ahead.  Fasten your seat belts.

As for the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik next week, well that deserves a column unto itself, next week.

 

]]> http://www.evolutionshift.com/blog/2007/09/27/2007-looking-back-and-looking-forward/feed/ 2 Art Changes Consciousness http://www.evolutionshift.com/blog/2007/06/21/art-changes-consciousness/ http://www.evolutionshift.com/blog/2007/06/21/art-changes-consciousness/#comments Thu, 21 Jun 2007 16:52:33 +0000 david http://www.evolutionshift.com/blog/2007/06/21/art-changes-consciousness/ We have all heard the phrase “Life Imitates Art”. It points to the fact that artists are often in that space between imagination and the current society in which they live.  While most members of society are busy doing, working, acquiring and toeing the line of social norms, artists are often detached from such behavior. In this space of detachment they take a look around and ahead and, through their creative process, come up with art works that challenge society to look at things differently.

This challenge often provokes a negative response, as society often does not want to face itself, particularly if the image is less than flattering.  At other times, the artist’s vision is embraced because it is a thematic call to action that resonates with a leading part of society.  When this occurs, the artist is providing a valuable gift, as it can both show us a view of the future and deliver a powerful emotional message that shifts the consciousness of the person experiencing the art.  This thinking was prompted by two separate experiences this past week.

There is a new, massive public art exhibit currently on display along Chicago’s lake front.  The name of the exhibit is “Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet”.  It is comprised of 124 globes, all five feet in diameter, that each present a way to fight global warming.  In addition to these globes, there will be 200 mini-globes placed around the city during the summer, all with this same theme ...]]> We have all heard the phrase “Life Imitates Art”. It points to the fact that artists are often in that space between imagination and the current society in which they live.  While most members of society are busy doing, working, acquiring and toeing the line of social norms, artists are often detached from such behavior. In this space of detachment they take a look around and ahead and, through their creative process, come up with art works that challenge society to look at things differently.

This challenge often provokes a negative response, as society often does not want to face itself, particularly if the image is less than flattering.  At other times, the artist’s vision is embraced because it is a thematic call to action that resonates with a leading part of society.  When this occurs, the artist is providing a valuable gift, as it can both show us a view of the future and deliver a powerful emotional message that shifts the consciousness of the person experiencing the art.  This thinking was prompted by two separate experiences this past week.

There is a new, massive public art exhibit currently on display along Chicago’s lake front.  The name of the exhibit is “Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet”.  It is comprised of 124 globes, all five feet in diameter, that each present a way to fight global warming.  In addition to these globes, there will be 200 mini-globes placed around the city during the summer, all with this same theme of fighting global warming by changing our behavior.  Each of the globes has a plaque with a specific message, usually using statistics to suggest ways that the viewer can change her behavior to lower energy use, cut down on consumption and support initiatives world wide. 

Some of these globes stick in my mind days later, as they were extremely creative and innovative in the ways they conveyed a message.  Other globes of course were mundane and clichéd, which can happen when that great a number of pieces of publicly commissioned art are assembled.  Nevertheless, there were hundreds of people walking around all these globes during the two hours I was there; talking, pointing and clearly taking away information, impressions, and hopefully some renewed commitment to take action to slow global warming.  There is no doubt that consciousness will be altered for a good number of the tens of thousands of people that will view this installation during the summer.

The other experience concerning art was an article in the New York Times about an artist named Eve S. Mosher.  Ms. Mosher is a New York artist who is methodically drawing a line through Brooklyn and Manhattan that represents a point 10 feet above sea level.  This represents where governmental agencies and insurance companies believe water could rise after a major storm.  It also represents where the shore line might be as a result of global warming by the year 2050.  Every day, Ms. Mosher pushes a cart filled with blue chalk along this line, walking on sidewalks, down streets and across parking lots, generally causing a lot of comments and curiosity along the way.

Ms. Mosher is supported by an environmental organization called the Canary Project [canary in the mine shaft] to help raise awareness to the potentially real consequences of global warming.  The purpose is to use art to create a conversation, rather than just demonstrating or passing out flyers.  The result is that many of the communities are reacting to and interacting with a public work of art for the first time.  Imagine what the people who live seaside to this line might now be thinking?  I am sure that some of them have had their consciousness altered and are now thinking of global warming a bit more personally.  The action of one artist making a personal statement about her world, supported by a committed group of people is shifting consciousness.  How wonderful!

These two situations represent the power of art to transform the way people look at the world.  As someone who holds a degree in art history, I have long seen art as one of the most powerful forces of human society.  It documents our cultures and civilizations.  It moves us emotionally and psychologically, provoking euphoria or deep thought.  As discussed here, it can actually change consciousness and open minds.  As a futurist I also like art as it can show us where we might be going, whether we like it or not.

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