SuperJanitor

This past Friday, at the Dallas Museum of Art, I attended something called Art Bytes, or to use the DMA’s more official name Late Night Art Bytes. I believe that this was the fourth such meeting under the Art Bytes banner.

Information in regards to Art Bytes seems to be scarce. In other words, you wouldn’t know about it if you didn’t already know about it. Upon searching the web, and the DMA’s website, little more than a blurb is written for it’s existence. I quote:

Late Night Art Bytes
9:30–10:30 p.m., Tech Lab, Center for Creative Connections, Dallas Museum of Art

View digital works that fuse art and technology. Art Bytes is a forum for tech savvy creators to share their work with peers and the community. Finished works, in-progress works, and creators of all ages are welcome!

This description may be adequate to some, mostly for those who have other projects to consume their time with, which probably describes the majority of museum staff and volunteers. There will always be another project to do, another endeavor to take on, especially in a location such as a museum.

But this description, I feel, is rather inadequate. I believe that the creative forces behind this project want something more from the brand Art Bytes. And indeed it has that potential. There are a few things, though, that I think Art Bytes could benefit from before it reaches a new level of success. Here are some of my ideas to help the cause:

A better definition of Art Bytes

We  need a better description of what Art Bytes actually is. Three short sentences is not enough to describe what Art Bytes is or means. This is most likely separate from a mission or vision statement, though it doesn’t necessarily have to be. But I feel it would be advantageous for this to mesh well with a mission statement. This is the description that would be publicly accessible, easily understood, and less generic than the current description.

A mission and vision statement
I’ve never fully understood the importance of having a good vision or mission statement. That is to say, until this past Friday. When things run smoothly, you hardly ever notice the little bits and pieces of everything that goes into running any given institution. When things don’t run so smoothly, you are left with kind of an awkward situation, wishing  things had worked out a little better. What could help that process along? Defining what it is exactly you mean to accomplish.

A mission statement could be useful by defining what it is we mean to accomplish right now, in the present. It is what we intend to bring to the table.  It could also be useful in further refining exactly who we mean to attract with this program. I suppose it is inferred that all ages are welcome to attend, since all ages are welcome to present. But I feel that this isn’t, by nature, intended for all age groups. Art Bytes needs to find out who it is they cater to, in order to do so with a greater degree of poignancy.

A vision statement could be useful by defining what it is we mean to accomplish in the future. What is it we hope to prove by showing and doing these things. Who is it we want to ultimately reach with our efforts? Involving a certain sort of people is very different from reaching a certain sort of people. It is a ‘why’ to explain the things we do, a declaration of a goal. It is what we want to accomplish given the mission statement.

Discretion with time, talent

I am aware, that perhaps this past Art Bytes, wasn’t quite up to par considering previous meetings. According to the official DMA time frame, Art Bytes has one hour. Let’s assume that there are three separate talents that want to present. If we include five minute introductions and conclusions, that leaves each talent with a paltry fifteen minutes to present their work. Obviously real life is much more fluid than this, and there always is slightly more time than allotted. But I think that Art Bytes suffers from lack of any kind of definite structure, both in terms of time and talent.

Time needs to be managed. We have only a very limited time frame in which to talk about what could be very complicated subjects. Speakers need to be aware of this and they, as well as the facilitators, need to prepare accordingly. Time management cannot be understated, and this dovetails in with managing the talent. Seeing as though Art Bytes has only a limited time and a limited space in which to use that time, we can’t afford to give the stage over to any duds. This may sound entirely not in the spirit of an open mic, but with the odds against us, there really is no time to pit the audience with a speaker who cools them down, rather than warms them up.

If there was a space in which the spirit of Art Bytes could live for hours at a time, then less descretion may be warranted. But as things stand, I think that we need to make every effort put our best foward, at least for the time being. If we want the word to get out that we are worth seeing, and that we legitimately have something to offer, I think we have to step up to the challenge, and really give the audience something. The talent is out there, Dallas is not a small place. Art Bytes just needs to find a way to use that talent in a way that would further their cause.

A logo

This baffles me. Why there is this thing called Art Bytes which focuses on the interplay between art and technology, and they don’t have a spectacular logo to go with it. This just seems lazy, and frankly, I think it speaks to the seriousness of the project and the people involved. This may seem like I’m being a little critical of the thing, but without setting goals, then nothing is every going to get done, or change for the better. So I say, set goals, at least this way ideas are put on the table, and the creative jucies get flowing.

Art Bytes has potential, and I mean no disrespect to the people involved in the project, I mean this as constuctive criticism. It will be interesting to see in what direction, if any, this project ends up taking, and ends up looking like. So here’s to many more succesful, Art Byte meetings!