Live art: how to paint the story | Miroslav Lucan | TEDxBournemouthUniversity
## Speaker Context
* Speaker role: Artist/Storyteller.
* Setting/Occasion: Giving a talk/presentation (implied by "coach is about how to paint a story").
* Framing: Establishing a contrast between past technical work (cars, bikes, architecture) and current work focusing on "painting a story."
## People
* Speaker: Self (artist, technical speaker, local poet).
* Third party: Aeneas (mentioned in reference to the coach).
* Third party: Freud (mentioned regarding the "numb forest" parallel).
## Organizations
* Freeway Poets: A poetry group in Bournemouth that asked the speaker to do a "little bit of life art."
## Places
* Bournemouth: Location of the poetry group.
* UK: Mentioned as a place where the speaker lives and where CCTV is prevalent.
* Island: Mentioned in the context of the artwork "Sails on an isolated island."
## Tools, Tech & Products
* Camera: A regular camera, used by the speaker to capture moments because memory is limited.
* CCTV: Overcrowding with CCTV everywhere in the UK (discussed as a subject/concept).
* Life Art: The medium/form of art used to tell stories, painted on walls.
## Concepts & Definitions
* Life Art: A medium/form of art used by the speaker, involving painting on walls.
* Priorities (for an artist): A core theme discussed in the artwork, encompassing making art into a living.
* Information Overload: A societal issue discussed, where too much information passes us, hindering communication.
## Numbers & Data
* Four to five hours: Duration the speaker spent on previous technical work pieces.
* 35 hours: Initial time estimate reduced by the move to life art.
* 53 hours: New estimated maximum time commitment after shifting to life art.
## Claims & Theses
* The speaker used to be mainly a technical speaker.
* Life art is an art statement for the speaker regarding priorities.
* Starting art as a business presents challenges like galleries, clients, commissions, and finances.
* Creating art for oneself is separate from making a living from it.
* Not achieving previous goals "doesn't matter and shouldn't stop you."
* The speaker found a voice through life art; the car before was "just a car."
* The speaker now has a platform to speak and react to issues (political, humorous, environmental).
* The artwork "Sails on an isolated island" is personal due to the UK's CCTV saturation.
* Life art, being on a wall, "doesn't survive or is being repaired by someone else," forcing capture photographically.
* The core message is about communication, specifically lack of communication between people ("when they phones and stuff like that").
* The modern challenge is that although we have access to all information, it goes past us.
## Mechanisms & Processes
* Artwork Creation (General): Involved in dedicating large amounts of time (e.g., 3-5 hours for technical pieces; months for life art pieces).
* Artwork Creation (Life Art): Requires the speaker to paint on a wall, which necessitates photographic capture because the work degrades or is altered.
* Artwork Creation (Thematic/Conceptual): Processes involving playing with a subject or word and "twisting it around a little bit and offer[ing] people something they wouldn't necessarily expect."
* Memory Capture: Using a camera to overcome the limitation of a finite human memory.
## Timeline & Events
* About two and a half years ago: The time frame when the speaker first considered using life art instead of purely technical work.
* Recently: The speaker worked on a piece regarding the "perception of people coming here from abroad."
* Within a group of street artists and illustrators: The large-scale exhibition under a gallery setting.
* Last summer: When the artwork "Boorman square" was done.
## Examples & Cases
* Technical Work Example: Art involving car collectors, companies, bikes, architecture, boats (very detailed).
* Poetry Group Example: Giving life art for the Freeway Poets in Bournemouth.
* Art Statement Example: The very first life art piece, which served as a statement on priorities.
* Artwork Example 1: Discussing priorities, showing initial pieces that were "nice and cheery."
* Artwork Example 2: "Sails on an isolated island" with a truck on a rocket, a sail, etc.
* Artwork Example 3: A piece related to the theme of Christmas, substituting "death" over decorations due to surveillance fears.
* Artwork Example 4: A piece discussing environmental issues, specifically "man killing nature."
* Artwork Example 5: A large wall piece about "man killing nature" but also about "not being able to survive another nature."
* Artwork Example 6: The "CCTV Island" concept, which was also influenced by the recession and immigration/foreign perception issues.
* Artwork Example 7: A piece simplifying complex financial/market data into visuals (e.g., "correcting the market").
* Artwork Example 8: A piece playing with the concept of "highways" to make a boring topic entertaining.
* Artwork Example 9: A large wall piece about "lack of communication" and information overload.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
* Technical Art vs. Storytelling Art: Moving from highly detailed technical work (cars/bikes) to broader storytelling.
* Making Art vs. Living from Art: Balancing the pure passion for art versus the practical necessity of paying rent and bills.
* Christmas Decorations vs. Death Theme: Choosing "death" for the exhibition theme because being watched by cameras was a constant concern.
* Boring Subject Matter vs. Engaging Presentation: Choosing to make boring topics (like highway meetings or financial reports) entertaining.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
* The speaker acknowledges that the early life art pieces were "not as refined" as what they are now.
* The speaker notes that while they were doing life art, they were "actually moving" and initially considered a mundane display of furniture.
* The speaker admits that having a month of thinking about ideas is often difficult, leading to last-minute bursts of inspiration (like in a shower).
* The speaker cautions that the audience viewing the final show might not understand the concept ("I hope you totally story behind it").
## Methodology
* Using life art on walls: The physical method used for the medium.
* Playfulness: Using wordplay, subjects, and art to offer unexpected twists.
* Conceptual Expansion: Taking an initial concept (like CCTV) and pushing it further into a more political dimension.
* Simplification: Simplifying complex subjects (like economic reports or highways) for visual impact.
## References Cited
* Book/Concept: Aeneas (mentioned in the opening anecdote).
* Poet/Group: Freeway Poets (Bournemouth).
* Artwork/Subject: A piece referencing "Lord Shakespeare" or local Dorset language.
* Artwork/Subject: A piece related to "aviation pioneers" and Cohan's plane.
* Concept: The subconscious/dreams, referencing the "numb forest" and teddy bears.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
* The speaker recommends that people "keep on educating yourself constantly."
* The speaker advises watching documentaries and reading books.
* The speaker advises "looking up" and "keeping your eyes open."
* The speaker emphasizes the value of carrying a camera to visually capture the present moment.
## Implications & Consequences
* If the artistic process is ignored, the vision can become "depressing."
* The difficulty of choosing the right information today "shuts us up" and takes away communication skills.
## Open Questions
* What the meaning of the "numb forest" is in relation to the mind/subconscious.
* The overall purpose of the "life art" process that continues to evolve.
## Verbatim Moments
* "my coach is about how to paint a story"
* "it just goes back to well you create art to make so happy"
* "I'll be headed back from the room and I'll hide there and I can see the stage better I can see all the speakers"
* "it's art for myself for this it's part of me"
* "I don't want to be very obvious and in a way I like to do same was poetry now switches take take the word or take a subject and try to play with it and twist it around a little bit"
* "it's a big big thing here" (referring to CCTV)
* "this is what the base is talking about"
* "I'm big on coffee as well"
* "I have a bright moment in a shower"
* "it's actually very inspiring these"
* "My advice to you is to keep on educating yourself constantly reading watching movies but it is watching documents but it's reading books or just walking the street but looking up"