What you see very frequently in peoples professional lives and perhaps in their emotional life as well is they lose interest in the 3rd act, you sort of get tired, and indifferent and sometimes defensive and you kind of lose your capacity for astonishment and that’s a great loss because the world is a very astonishing place.
Milton Glaser- Art is work
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Brilliant (and not in the sarcastic sense the Brits use that term).
What a great thing to watch to start off the day! He’s a favorite, but some times we forget about them and it’s good to remember.
“Dammit to hell, this guy’s website keeps resizing my browser.” -Ryan McGinnis
Quite simply – he’s a guru. What a great quote and worth taking to heart – especially if you are a guy like me.
Rob, thanks for posting this and simultaneously plugging the vacuous, sucking hole that is Peter Arnell. This is a fine example of what I was talking about in your “Advertising CEO Meltdown” post.
We don’t need to further extoll the virtue of Glaser’s work, we just need to be reminded once in awhile of what impactful, important design (or art, photography, advertising, journalism, etc.) really is and appreciate the world view of the people creating it.
Mr. Glaser’s message is so very important for us in our second acts. His message that we should continue to be astonished with life, that the balance is between art and commerce and that there is joy in what we do.
A few weeks ago there was a post by a young photographer who suggested that people get out of the way and let the younger photographers have their time in the sun. I don’t understand that mindset. When I was a young photographer, I looked up to my hero shooters and followed their work for inspiration and occasionally, guidance. Never in a million years would I consider myself and equal or better than the people I admired. Different generation and expectations, I guess. My concern for the shooter who posted the comments was, would he or she ever realize that the only person who is blocking their career path is themselves.
When you see the current work of David Burnett and Mr. Glaser along with their history, you understand that they are always exploring and young at heart. All of us have to earn our place in this world. I see what Dave Harvey is doing with his teaching, new work and BURN magazine and I see someone who is still very much excited about the world and is creating opportunity for young photographers who challenge themselves.
I hope in my third act, I will continue to be amazed and astonished by what I see.
@Cameron Davidson,
I suppose I’m a young photographer as well, and what I’ve noticed with my generation is a strong sense of entitlement with little accountability – instead of putting our time finding clients, we expect clients running to find us.
On the other hand, I’m still very idealistic and hopeful that my artwork can make a difference in the world, but have a fear that the daily drugery of life will make me complacent and completely discard my beliefs for simple commercial gain.
Great video. Very compelling thoughts on creativity.
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