AIGA SF headed to Minnesota St. Project last night for an evening with the Adobe design team. The team recently dedicated research time to exploring the differences between a digital-creative who works with the Adobe suite regularly and a non-professional creative— someone who gains no monetary value from their creativity, but does it anyways.
Their research led them to Up Here Kids, a film about Tennessee's graffiti culture. For the most part, graffiti is a form of creativity that requires anonymity—although there are definitely some famous graffiti artists out there. Those who turn to it don't do so with the intention of making a career out of it given that "don't get caught" is rule #1.
The film followed various members of the community and questioned the need for what is was that pushed these artists to create. Filmmaker Erik Doty, someone embedded in the niche graffiti scene in Tennessee, wanted to explore why someone would continue to make art without a financial gain and what compelled people to do it despite the potential risks. Below are three takeaways from the evening.
1. The best work comes when you you're trying to impress yourself and no one else.
2. Do it for the story, above anything else.
3. Less work, more quality.
A big thanks to our friends at Adobe for coordinating this screening and talk! View all the photos here!