A Little Sumptin Sumptin'

"An intellectual is someone who says a simple thing in a difficult way;

An artist is someone who says a difficult thing in a simple way."

-Charles Bukowski

"Language and magic. Where is the connection?  Think about it this way: 

When we form letters to write words, we create something out of nothing,

so that the still air or the empty space on a page fills with meaning,

as if a wizard created a blizzard out of a clear blue sky.

-Roy Peter Clark, The Glamour af Grammar

Vibrations and Communication

I recently heard that only 7% of communication is actually what you say.

The other 93% is how you say it, your body language, and the interpretation of the receiver...but we already knew that.

However, I did some investigating into his "7% Verbal + 38% Vocal + 55% Facial" rule anyway.  You can do it too, here.  

The guy who came up with the rule is Albert Mehrabian, a professor at UCLA.  It's pretty interesting to read his theory, because we all know that a person can say something, but their body says something else.  Non-verbal communication is JUST AS IMPORTANT as verbal.  Take for example if someone is avoiding eye contact, turning their body away from you, etc and you ask, "Is something wrong?" and get a "Nothing!" answer...you know it's BS.

Or, on the other hand, we can talk til we are blue in the face, but it won't matter unless we have a captive audience - and with all the distractions in today's world - that is very challenging!  It's so important to be engaging and creative these days, or our communication doesn't stand a chance!

When you communicate think of all of this.  Not just what you say - but how you say it - and who you are saying it to.


Here's a commentary from my friend who shared this theory with me:

"Conclusion is the non-verbal vibrational language of the body and character of the sound account for over 5 times the communication than the actual words - no matter who you talk to it is the notions and the 'brations baby.

Think of your communication with your babies (dogs) how they seem to understand you.  Well they do.  They interprete your emotions because you are human and wear your feelings all over your body.  The "heart on your sleeve" is the subconscious vibration of your emotions and your projection of thoughts and feelings characterized by your actions and demeanor whether you are aware of it or not.  


The best liars either don’t have this inherent posture or are in tune with it so they assess and construe it – me….I blink like hell when I lie!  Some you hear in it their tone, some shake etc."


What do you do when you lie?
How do you keep the attention of your audience?


Thanks for being here :)
Panda

The Language of the Streets

"Since the 1960s, the appeal of street art and graffiti has been the way it’s wrenched creativity away from academia and carved out a place for itself and its audience. A visual phenomenon that made its way from the subway cars of New York City to the freight yards of south Texas, this crafted conversation wasn’t judged by any existing criteria, and it appeared whether or not anyone else cared for the subject matter.

Many times, like their audience, these artists weren’t schooled in proper protocol. The work had a language of its own. It was appropriate to hang a painting over the freeway just because someone could get it there."

Appearing in an LA Weekly article, these words encompass the feel of a show I recently visited at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (LAMOCA) titled, "Art In The Streets."


It turned out to be the biggest show in the museum's history.  According to LA Weekly, "a  significant contribution to that number came from the Free Mondays program sponsored by Banksy, UK street artist extraordinaire," who is the mystery character in the widely acclaimed film, "Exit Through The Gift Shop." (see video)








And ALL of the art has a message.  A deep, political one.  Whether its a word, or phrase, spray painted so quickly and dripping, or an image that provokes meaningful thoughts, graffiti definitely has it's own distinct language.

It's the language of the streets.  The language of the self-taught, the street scholars.

It's the language of the senses.  The sounds of the night, the passing sirens, the silent moon watching from above. The smell of the fresh paint.  The beating in the artists' hearts.  The taste of sweat.  The touch of thought.  ALL on that rigid natural surface, wherever it shows its face. 
Graffiti is the story of a generation wiser than it appears.  Visually infiltrating our minds, planting words and images, similar to hieroglyphs stamped solidly somewhere in the back of our consciouses.

Aware. 

Every piece of art you encounter will spark up a conversation with you.  For me, I prefer a intelligence with an edge, an that's graffiti all the way. 

See what you dialogue you can pull from the images I posted below.  All are pieces on display during, "Art In The Streets."

When I came face-to-face with these pieces, I felt strangely and wildly moved.  Yet, had I encountered them all separately in their natural places, like huge city walls, on doors of tenements, in quiet nooks and sneaky crannies, on the sides of train cars, and a river's barrier walls...

If they appeared to me in those places, then I am certain, their messages would change.

That is the beauty of graffiti.  It's constantly changing and so are we. So before painting over it, give yourself a good, long moment to try and understand it.  It's definitely saying something.

Don't forget it.