VCUarts was honored to have John Paolini (M.F.A. ’92), of Sullivan, as its 2015 December Commencement keynote speaker. Below is a full transcript of his remarks.
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Thank you graduates and faculty for the honor of being here today.
Being home recently for Thanksgiving was another reminder of how much the world has changed for artists, designers and anyone who was born with the good fortune to be called “creative.” When I graduated from VCUarts, the world had a very different understanding of who we are and what we do.
Thanksgiving past, A conversation between my mother and her sister…it would go like this….we are so proud of John, he just finished his Master’s in communications arts and design…my aunt Josie would suddenly look both concerned and confused. My mom would jump in…hun, he is a designer. Oh fashion, how chic…no hun, more like advertising…like Darren Stevens on Bewitched. Current day vernacular, Don Draper on mad men. OHHH? Still a bit of question mark, but all could move forward …
Despite my family’s confusion and concern for my livelihood and questionable life choices…in many ways, being a designer then was easier. Clients were more willing to accept what they didn’t know. I think part of it was the fact that it took longer, and your hand and craft were more evident. The people making the decision who wanted to understand the process were willing to go down the rabbit whole with you, or at least feel like they had. And for others who were not, it was accepted as some kind of magic. Either way, there was a belief in the work. A willingness to suspend reality.
I don’t want to paint it as glory days gone by….not at all, amazing things await all of you. Opportunities that have no name or definition today.
As designers, artists, performers and scholars who have come through VCUarts, you know that we gain our conviction, that sense of belief, from the all-consuming experience that is the work. We push our theory as far as it can go—then we go to the studio and start making and making until we believe in our work.
Building belief for others outside that experience has become more difficult. We live in a technologically accelerated and digitally noisy world where more people than ever before can publicly express their doubt, resistance, and disdain. Opinions spread quickly and anonymously; everyone feels inspired to share his or her point of view, and, for better or worse, this can lead to change at an alarming rate. It creates a climate of operating in fear, which can cloud your focus and pressure you to conform. This is just noise. Be aware of it, but be brave enough to stay the course.
Three years ago, the University of California launched a new logo and identity system. A few months later, on December 7, 2012, a biomedical engineering student at UC Irvine launched his “Stop the new UC logo” petition on Change.org. A week later, following national media scrutiny, 54,000-plus signatories to the petition, and some rather entertaining threads on every manner of design blog, it was decided: the logo would be eliminated from the identity system. Indeed, the system itself has now been tabled.
In the spirit of research I will share a few of the comments….
I hate being swayed by a logo’s ‘origin story’ when my initial reaction to the logo is less than positive. But dammit, I’m swayed.
I didn’t know that University of California was a children’s television network.
My god that is horrible.
The good news: 54,000 people weighed in. Design and art are a part of the larger conversation.
The more the world participates, the more they want to drive the conversation, making things everyone can agree on, putting ideas and visions at risk.
Because it’s the first tangible expression of a vision or new direction, creative expression will always bear the opening wave of criticism.
Yet its success hinges on your ability to build belief for your work. As Dean Seipel once reminded me, ART never goes in a straight line. So whether you graduated in 1992 or 2015, you are uniquely prepared to go out, build belief, and drive the future of art and design…whichever direction it goes.
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