es190604 Noble, notable links: Inspirational phrase from a TED talk  

He lunches in front of his computer with a TED talk on the screen, lunching and listening to a presentation by Beth Mortimer and her co-worker Tarje Nissen-Meyer and a phrase jumps out at him which reminds him of his current work with Mavis Nduchwa. “Nobl… 

 Paraphrasing Beth Mortimer, scientific researcher on TED talk given November, 2018, I want to connect their inspirational talk with my current project with Mavis Nduchwa:

“Advances in science, technology and business require noble links to be made across seemingly disparate topics.”

Did she say noble or notable? Whatever it was she said, I hear her words and I think of the example of disparate topics farming, conservation, wildlife preservation and the disparate topics of art printing, books, and papermaking.

We hope that agriculture, entrepreneurship and printmaking experience will lead to practical economic solutions in education of young people and their families.

How can we do that?

Begin with the economics of it – the economics of agriculture and art.

However, the word art is not what it appears to mean, it’s not what is conjured up in peoples’ minds, such as art galleries, museums, theaters, dance, concerts and movies. If you’re in a field of maize under a hot sun, the word art is out of place. The work of farmers is unlike anything to do with art.

I grew up on a farm and as a kid I worked under the hot sun and I wanted to die it was so hard. I wanted to leave farming and I became what I thought was an artist. However, teaching in the arts is what I did.

Sixty years later I’m writing books about that; but lately I’m giving most of my time to a farmer-turned-entrepreneur[1] and her goal of creating meaningful work in her community and raising money for educating the kids in her schools.

Economics of farming are not so different from the economics of art in that both depend for their meaning on consumers – one on food, the other for experiences. We cannot live without food and clean water – but if our bodies’ needs are met, then we enjoy experiences of art, craft and design.

We may experience these by looking, but scientific research has shown we are better at problem-solving if we have hands-on experience in art, craft and design.

If we have problems, then education – including creative experiences – will help solve them. It’s best to start young, and that’s where artists, crafts people and designers can help in the same way that farmers make their contributions to the world.

The devil is in the details, they say, and in the world today the devil is money. How does my co-worker Mavis bring money to her community? Surely it is through meaningful paid work – the work of farmers rewarded with sales of their products like any other productive farm worker.

How to bring creative experiences to the kids? Any of the tools for this – whether as simple color pens and paper or something more complicated and intriguing – takes money.

In my mind I go to Mavis’ country. I will not go there physically but I will use new technologies, from simple emails, Google Earth, and other Internet tools. I will show there is another kind of art, craft and design never seen in art galleries, museums and concert halls. It is printmaking intended for users, not consumers.

Adam Smith, one of the thinkers responsible for the wealth of some nations like the United States, is said to have written:

“Man is an animal that makes bargains: no other animal does this - no dog exchanges bones with another. It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition.”

I made a bargain with Mavis – we would exchange ideas. My need is to empty our family’s art gallery. Her need is to bring art experiences to her community schools with the profits of meaningful farm work.

It is from my benevolence that she expects money, but from my own interest – the ability to labor on her behalf as well as the meaningful work that her project affords me.

Science, technology, reading, engineering, art and math comprise the magic pill to the poisons of fear and superstition because they provide for communication and the satisfaction of solving problems creatively.

I am solving my family’s problem creatively. I am inventing artistscrip. I began this work years ago with the help of people like Carl Chew – one of the artists who make stamps (artistamps). My problem is 2,350 unsold artworks that will never find art galleries or other venues for distribution – never will they find consumers who buy art in the old-world fashion.

A new reason for offering art for sale has opened, thanks to current crises facing humankind. We artists in the developed nations, with our wealth of time and resources, can come to the aid of other nations’ people by using our artworks as scrip – like stock certificates.

I can sell my art as artistscrip, providing for my family payroll and also for Mavis’ project in Botswana. Thanks to the Internet with all the creative methods it has brought about (crowdfunding, for example), we can share our resources of time and creative problem-solutions.

As Beth Mortimer said in her TED talk, we can find noble (or notable) links across disparate disciplines and at the same time teach others as we learn together.

---

[1] Rewana Ka Nduchwa is an award-winning entrepreneur from Botswana, currently at Fledge, a business accelerator.