30/8/2013 2 Comments Forum: 'I need a dollar...'We shape our buildings thereafter they shape us. HI AND WELCOME TO THE MOODLAB! I remember a story of a teenager that had to study for an important test that was coming up that week. Her dad said: "Tonight I'll take you to the opera!" To which the daughter objected, because the test was an important test and she still had some serious studying to do. To which her dad replied: "No way! In a month you will have forgotten the results of your test no matter if the result was positive or negative, yet the opera.. That memory will remain with you for the rest of your life!" My point! We need right-brain things because they make life worth living. So why do we come up with all kinds of temporary objections and forget about the vision, the big picture? Why do we let ourselves be ruled by lack and fear? Especially is these times of 'economic disaster' we need imagination and 'Appetite for life' more than ever! In my hometown there's a great example which illustrates. I live in a town called Groningen. We are a the biggest and central town in the ('almost north pole') North of the Netherlands, a historically isolated area with high unemployment rates. We need to be and keep being a great town to attract people to keep things moving. What is the best way to ensure this in the future? Well; exponential growth in technology and world population means "we need more right brain skills." says best selling author Daniel Pink. "We need art, innovation and imagination", says educational expert Sir Ken Robinson. And as more and more evidence out of research is piling up, many more experts start to call out for these right brain skills. So what have we come up with in Groningen? The Forum! As you can tell by the photo I made above, they are building it as we speak. Here is a picture of the end result: This 'Forum' raises a few questions -and eyebrows-... Why do we need a Forum? What will it bring? Goals of this building? "The Forum' is to be a creative nursery, house profoundness and interaction, hand in hand with entertainment and relaxation. A grand international meeting place for stories, debate, art, multimedia." (So you're welcome!) "A sensational building that houses experiment, development and discovery." "A new concept befitting the Groninger status of second cultural hotspot of the Netherlands." Great! A place for imagination, inspiration and creativity! We're getting ready for the future. Yet.. 'New concepts'.. -read- 'unknown' concepts -read- 'fear' concepts... So what say the nay-Forum-sayers... There is a crisis!!!! How can we afford such a building right now? And much to my surprise this is the answer of the all new CEO of the Forum: The new CEO of the 'Forum' stated in a recent article that we need to skip the art (I read skip the imagination) and focus more on shops/commerce/celebrities/ sports...; According to the CEO we need to focus on current events or we shan't be able to pay for it. We need dollars... The newspaper article also stated: "The role of history is no longer leading in our concept." ... Art historian Danielle Oteri: "We need stories that feed the senses. History didn’t die. History is the story of transformation. " Pretty current I'd say.. The Forum CEO: 'People can enjoy the historic view of Groningen when they're at the top of the building" As in 'ByeBye historic department in the Forum' Really?!? History comes alive by telling stories. INSIDE the Forum... That's why we choose to build it in the first place... So I say: this a huge mistake and missed opportunity. *We've already got a sports stadium. And grand scale cinema's. And shops. In other parts of our town. If that's the leading motivation to build this building, we would indeed wasting all that money... * There is also a mental thing going on here. If you think 'This building will be a disaster? Guess what: it will! If you think this building will bring good; guess what; it will! If you don't know what the future will bring, why not think of it as positive? *But most important: this new policy is a sure way to throw imagination, creativity, empathy, communication, innovation down the drain. Thats jobs down the line. Not too smart in our region I'd say. We've got a big reputation as a great university town. Highly educated people like culture. This is how the plan has come up for The Forum! It is a classic example of mismatch between what scientists know about motivation/stress-reduction, well-being and what business does. According to Daniel Pink the world of work is going through a huge paradigm shift due to exponential changes in technology, Asia and the world population. One of the reasons for the high level of disengagement in the workforce is that people don’t know why they’re doing what they’re doing. They’re willing to work hard but they want to make a contribution; they want to know why it matters. We need the zest in life. We need stuff that lifts us out of the grey of the ordinary day and that feeds our soul. We want to feel what matters Anything you do in life that comes in a sense of lack is a mistake and can only reap havoc. Let's have the courage to have a vision. Let's build that Forum Let's go to that opera Let's be humans!
Amen! Niene.nu You may absolutely share this article with people you think may enjoy it. When doing so, please forward it in its entirety, including our contact and copyright information. Thanks and enjoy! The Appetite for light article is written by Niene.nu andwww.nienesmoodlab.nu If you have any questions or comments, please send them to: mail[@]niene.nu If you'd like to see more moods: feel free to take a look around in the MoodLab while you're here and see if Niene.nu can help you raise your 'Appetite for life"! Buy the song in the iTunes store
2 Comments
24/8/2013 3 Comments You wanna be like you-hoo-hooHI AND WELCOME TO THE MOODLAB! Last post we took a look at 'coming home'? Remember the Jungle Book? Well, I listened to my favorite song from Jungle Book the other day and it made me wonder... Hmm... "Whoo-hoo-hoo, I wanna be like You-hoo-hoo..."? Once you get 'home', 'who' is there? Who ARE you, really? And who do you wanna be? Just like all the other men? How much are we 'ME'; our own unique selves? Last year I was at TImes Square in New York. -That's where I took the picture above; if you'd like the rest of the series called 'Time Squared', please click HERE- Times Square visualises so well how the media deludes us with their message: "You-hoo-hoo! You wanna be like me"? And, without thinking twice, we gladly sing along "Oobidoo, I wanna be like you-hoo-hoo" Well, what's left of You? Hoohoo? I think there is a problem hidden in this message... On a subconcious level the media message your brain gets is: 'You are not good enough.' 'You should be better' 'You can be happier' Leaving 'You' restless, striving for more, more, more and something you're not. Needing external stuff to acknowledge ourselves? To try and create a new... what? What I desire is man's red fire To make my dream come true Give me the power of man's red flower So I can be like you In other words: If only I have (...) than I will be (...) If only I do (....) than I will be (...) Just think about it; we're looking for external stuff, creating an image of something we're not. Like rabbits chasing a carrot on a stick. What environment do we create for ourselves if it is one in which we can't be ourselves? Living on the whims of 'what is supposed to be...' Living like the Joneses... Can we please just be who we are as is? Can we please be encouraged to find our uniqueness? Especially in the rapidly changing global economy this is extra important. According to best selling author Daniel Pink that's the way to keep a future job. We need the unique you, the person only you are. What makes you unique? Left brain stuff are useful, yet can be automated or off-shored, yet right brain skills -that make you unique- cannot. Skills like: creativity, music, art, empathy, intuition, thinking randomly and free, imagination, innovation. The way you see the whole picture, connect the dots. Those are the skills you 'must master in an outsourced, automated age.' That's where art steps in: So visit that museum, enrol for a Moodwalk, play a game of Pictionary, write that short story or envision that plan. Unique; that's who you are and who we need you to be So please let go of the 'shoulds' & 'if only's' and.. WHOOHOOHOO! YOU BE LIKE YOU-HOO-HOO!!! Next time: the Forum See you then! ~Niene.nu Oh and PS: Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” ~ Oscar Wilde You may absolutely share this article with people you think may enjoy it. When doing so, please forward it in its entirety, including our contact and copyright information. Thanks and enjoy! The Appetite for light article is written by Niene.nu and www.nienesmoodlab.nu If you have any questions or comments, please send them to: mail[@]niene.nu If you'd like to see more moods: feel free to take a look around in the MoodLab while you're here and see if Niene.nu can help you raise your 'Appetite for life"! Buy the song in the iTunes store And yes, the photo at the top is available as a print here or as a gift card here. |
ABOUT NIENE.NUAs an artist, ARCHIVES
January 2014
CATEGORIESAll Aloe Blacc Amanda Gore 'Appetite For Life'! Aretha Franklin Art Being Present In The Now Building Change Coal Mine Creativity Dr. Feelgood Evidence Based Art Feeling Good Forum Groningen Grounding Healing Healing Environments I Need A Dollar Irreplaceable I Wanna Be Like You Jungle Book Lady Soul Laugh Lee Dorsey Left Brain Lynn Marino Maya Angelou Mel Torme Mnahmnah Moodlab Moodwalk Out Of The Picture Perspective Phantom Questions Reframe Right Brain Terminal Seriousness The Frank Cunimondo Trio The Robbins Unique Working In The Coal Mine |
ABOUT THE MOODLAB:The MoodLab is a photo mood creating lab by Niene.nu,
a Fine Art Photographer from Groningen the Netherlands. Read more about her here The Moodlab is her space to experiment with beauty / creativity / art / inspiration / projects / concepts & moods through photography so you can thrive. Visit the lab here |
SERVICES:
|
CONTACT: +31 6 186 823 95
mail [@] niene.nu Niene's MoodLab Rijskampenstraat 16 9717LN Groningen The Netherlands KvK 01150360 BTW NL138987932B01 Bank NL 23 KNAB 0725 7200 26 |
Copyright © 2022
All rights reserved to Niene's Moodlab This liscence goes for all the photo's and other contents of this website. Copyright © 2014 All rights reserved to Niene's Moodlab For more information, please contact: mail [@] niene.nu |
|
|
Work of Niene's MoodLab is in licence according to Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatves 3.0 Unported licence.