Miriello Grafico

Love this TED talk by Tim Brown. It’s not the artifacts as it is the thinking! Tim gets it.

Tim Brown says the design profession is preoccupied with creating nifty, fashionable objects — even as pressing questions like clean water access show it has a bigger role to play. He calls for a shift to local, collaborative, participatory “design thinking.”

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning. A man with a violin plays six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time over 2 thousand people passed through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After 3 minutes a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and continued to walk.

6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes: The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded.  No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin valued at $3.5 million dollars.

Two days before:  Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the price of seats averaged $100.?  Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities. The questions raised: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?  Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context? One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made, what else are we missing? (Click the photo for a YouTube video of the maestro playing in his baseball cap.)

Muralists Crol and Werc finish up their latest commission in Barrio Logan.

Take a look at the making and the results at . . . http://www.laentradaproject.com/videos/pared1web.mov

Also check out the La Entrada Project  community arts website to see how the mural tradition is being kept alive and directed to positive outcomes.

Scheduling a major party on the first day of the stock market’s downturn and the Vice Presidential debates might seem like its own form of social-suicide. Instead, the opening party of The Logan building was exactly what the masses needed. A place to meet, share, commune and understand that we are all in this together. And quite possibly, the innovation and problem-solving skills of the creative community may be more essential to the national dialogue than ever.

Ron Miriello toasted the crowd, “Our shared abilities of creativity and collaboration are fast becoming a new and important currency-type. As the financial markets waver and the myopic drive for individual wealth is paused, there’s an opportunity for the creative mindset and their unique abilities of invention, collaboration and informed risk-taking. The unique abilities of the people in this room are needed at a time like this.”

The celebration brought over 300 designers, architects, politicos, writers, artists and business people together to enjoy an evening in the creative beachhead neighborhood of Barrio Logan. The hosts – Miriello Grafico and LJG Partners – invited friends, clients and community members to a celebration – and celebrate they did. The Barrio restaurant, The Guild, managed the food and Temecula Valley ConVis organized the wines, all offerings from Temecula Valley. The Barrio Logan spokesperson Rachael Ortiz, arts tagger Crol, and the Mariachi Juvenil helped first-time visitors better understand the rich culture and history of the neighborhood. San Diego architects were plentiful, including the designer of The Logan, Jonathan Segal, who created a space where people obviously love to linger, share and invent.

Watch the party video on YouTube created by Jeff Durkin.                                                                        Find incriminating party pictures on Flickr.