Lessons Learned from a VAST Pop-Up Art Event
We went to a great VAST pop-up art event last night at a warehouse in Henderson. If you don’t know anything VAST space projects, you’ve seriously been missing out!! They started their pop-up project as a way to facilitate art during the recent economic collapse, but have since flourished into an incredible organization for place-based, site-specific works.
Last night there were about 50 artists from here and Las Vegas all showing their pieces, and there were quite a few performances, but unfortunately we left too early to see those (much to Marc’s dismay…). While we were still there, though, one of the artists was recreating her art piece with real people.
First, they were painted and then literally “frosted” to resemble the heavy paint that she prefers to use! My daughters were thrilled because their ex-art teacher Toshi McSwain was one of the models for the life-come-to-art…
Unfortunately (again, more misfortune!!!) the artists didn’t all have their names posted, so I can’t give them credit for you to check out more of their work (or for me to, for that matter)… It was put together very-last minute, but the turnout was great!
Art events like this are a culmination of many people pushing the boundaries of concept.
I met one of the artists – she was from Santa Barbara – and she had pieced up four other artists from Santa Barbara/LA area, and they carpooled to the exhibit the same day… now that’s dedication to your art. She said she just had to “let go” when every passenger was an hour late. Lesson being, sometimes you have to just let art happen, and she was used to it! I think we could all take a page out of that book!!
While I watched and looked, I couldn’t help but think about the importance of us as a design firm to constantly view things in a different way, as artists have to. To be a leader is to understand the relevance of art. (And that’s not just MY industry… there is a need for artistic approaches in just about any!)
