'Art and Evangelism' was sent as a part of 📝The Journey To One Newsletter on January 17, 2019. It was the first.
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Hey 📝Legend,
Last week, 📝Ali Spagnola dropped into my newly minted 📝Conversation Studio for a dialogue without a destination. Ali is a 📝Contemporary Artist, musician, and comedian. She uses the web and social media as mediums for her self-assigned role as 'Outrageous Existence Life Coach'.
"When you start being 📝bold to be fun, you end up being bold to improve your life." ~ Ali Spagnola
Organizations typically label Ali an "influencer" but it seems more accurate to describe her as an 'Engineer of Enlightenment'. While she and I both create 📝Meticulously Ridiculous things with similar, purpose-driven intentions, she describes herself as an 'artist' and I, a 'marketer'. So, where's the difference?
As Ali bluntly stated, "Art is art if the creator calls it art." Her prompt led to a philosophical discussion about calling a commercial enterprise a "work of art." She considers her art to be a sales pitch for itself and, as such, regularly breaks the 📝Fourth Wall. For example, her 📝Outrageous Infomercial.
I had recently discovered, and quickly shared with Ali, that this type of engagement can be described as 📝Metamodernism; a kind of sincerity that is communicated through an insincere distancing.
Recently, I've been experimenting with metamodernist advertising on Reddit; placing the ads as myself—/u/brianswichkow the marketer—rather than as a client's brand. I wanted to see if it was possible—on a platform that is known for its hate of marketing—to become a known (dare I say "trusted") advertiser. To my surprise, my transparent candor (and snarky responses) have resonated.
Ali reframed this for me. It's not marketing, it's art. 📝Evangelism as an Art. So, I'm still doing all of the same things with all of the same intentions and will accomplish all of the same objectives, but... now it's art. What's meaningful—to me—in this transition is simple, I'm 📝giving myself permission.
Whether or not you have 'artist' on your business card (or have a business card at all), when was the last time you gave yourself permission?
📝Build cool shit and change the world.
Sent with 📝Contextual Augmentation