Just Culture #13: Art is how we decorate space
Music is how we decorate time
Just Culture brings you reviews and thoughts from all spectrums of culture in a timely and untimely fashion.
I came across this quote from Jean-Michel Basquiat, an Afro-American Artist who rose to success in the 1980s as part of the Neo-Expressionist movement.
Art is how we decorate space. Music is how we decorate time.
- J-M Basquiat
Basquiat’s work seems to be at the heart of the origins of graffiti and hip-hop. He was known first for writing epigrams (memorable, engaging, sometimes satiric one-liners), and looking into his work feels inspiring—somewhat inspiring, as I can draw parallels to the origins of the style of Slush.
In my little bubble, many rage about “it’s Slush time of the year,” Europe's most founder-focused event. Back in the day, when I was active in the organization, we self-titled ourselves to be “The world’s leading startup event,” looking back, we might’ve lived up to that title.
More than anything, we did have a stellar marketing team, now the founding team at bou.co, that kept delivering golden campaigns and copies, one line at a time. These copies decorated "Pasila,” the grey concrete jungle in which the venue Slush is hosted resides.
When I reflect on J-M’s work, I can't help but think of the different banners over the years as epigrams. Further still, the Pasila area hosts some of Helsinki's most engaging street art. I only realized something after living there for a couple of years, after my time being active at Slush. Appreciating the fact graffiti can be a way to decorate urban areas.
Graffiti is a way to decorate urban areas.
Hence, if you have the time while visiting Helsinki and see something different, something only a true Helsinki and Pasila native can tell you, and someone who’s always aimed to make the event as inclusive as possible back in the day, regardless if you had a ticket, or not. Take some time to stroll up and down ratamestarinkatu; you’ll be amazed. Here’s a taste;
With J-M’s work as inspiration and a heart full of hope, during this time of the year, a young team of builders, doers, creators, dreamers, and thinkers ripped a hole in the spacetime continuum of the startup world while the next generation is yet again leaving their mark across space and time. I’ll leave you with this poem;
To Decorate
Art is how we decorate spaces. Music is how we decorate time.
Tattoos are how we decorate our skin, and clothes are how we decorate our bodies.
Love is how we decorate our lives, and sex is how we decorate our senses.
Memories are how we decorate our minds, and actions are how we decorate our character.
We are all artists. It’s just a question of method. Be the lighting before the thunder.
To all my people. I miss you.
To all fathers, Happy Father’s Day! Here’s a link to a previous post on parenting: Just About Life #1, which references the day I became a father during Slush 2016.
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