Bluetrain 55/85 and the “Use” of Art
Bluetrain 55/85
I’m very excited - this week I received my Bluetrain print from Hugh MacLeod of gapingvoid.com fame. Here is close up of the work from Hugh’s gallery site, gapingvoidgallery.com:
If you don’t know Hugh, I suggest that you take a few minutes and peruse his blog - paying particular attention to his original How to be Creative post that is coming out soon as a book titled Ignore Everybody, The Global Microbrand, and the Hughtrain. [Warning: The language in the accompanying cartoons may be offensive to some.]
The Hughtrain, is of course, the inspiration behind Bluetrain and itself was inspired by the Cluetrain Manifesto.
Here’s Hugh’s description of it:
In 2004, I wrote a manifesto, which was derivative of the Cluetrain. I called it the Hughtrain. Around that time, the idea that products were not just functional things to be mass produced and foisted upon consumers, really began to take on meaning for me. We human beings are here to find meaning, not just to consume stuff. and that has informed my philosophy ever since.
This “bluetrain” is a reworking of the cover of that manifesto, and an ideal that anyone who gets up in the morning, with fire in their belly will understand.
I first heard about the Hughtrain from Mark Silva, one of the co-founders of Real Branding, through a Twitter post around the fall of 07 and it immediately struck a cord. I’ve followed Hugh’s blog ever sense and was delighted to see that he was taking his idea of the Global Microbrand to the next step by making prints available. (And lucky me, I got in on some of his early pricing!)
The “Use” of Art
All that background to get to the real reason for this post: the Use of Art. Or rather, my use of this particular art. Why buy a print of something that Hugh offers freely on his website?
Here is why I did it: I needed it.
I needed a touchstone that I could look at and be reminded that human beings don’t scale. That in this economy when clients, colleagues, and vendors are stressed out and upset all around me, that I can’t afford to get caught up in the chaos again – and I know what it’s like to be caught up in the chaos. That the end game isn’t about how much money I make or ‘success” I achieve, but that is about how much of a difference I make in the lives of others.
I bought Bluetrain to remind me that despite how good or poor a job I am doing of it at any particular time, that it is my privilege and responsibility to become a better leader; to point the way and demonstrate the higher values of trust, responsibility, risk, hard work, and commitment. It’s not enough for me to just “get the job done” and meet the revenue goals.
Life requires more.
It requires that I honor others by investing in the people around me, that I call them up to a higher standard so they can both see and develop the confidence to reach for their higher potential. And it requires that I honor myself by taking care of me physically, mentally, and spiritually. It requires that I be willing to accept feedback and criticism and that I embrace the fact that while I can’t control the circumstances that I am still responsible for my experience. Or, in Hugh’s words:
The soul cannot be outsourced. Either get with the program or hire a consultant in Extinction Management. No vision, no business. Your life from now on pivots squarely on your vision of human potential.
That’s why I bought Bluetrain – and I know of no higher “use” for art.
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