Whenever a new idea tends to surface, I’m eager to sit down, find new (and old) ways of expressing it visually and hopefully make money of it.
But when the ideas won’t show up, when my ideas are still on holiday and I’m sitting, expected to produce some level of workflow and by that satisfy some people, my design of course suffers.
When an artist has very little inspiration, the artist’s credibility suffers and the audience can sense it quickly. Of course, having said that, I’m adding more importance into my work than already necessary.
But I’m under the conviction that web-design and design for print is a product of modern art. It’s art simply surfacing through new channels, and it’s art that can easily be integrated into the lifestyle of our modern day society.
The graphic designer works tediously, and get very little recognition for his/her work. They are the ones making the small differences. People pay generally little attention to the amount of work vested in designing a lay-out for a magazine. But still we’re willing to work effortlessly into producing something that looks beautiful even though we know that the recognition is very limited. So where’s the pay-off?
I guess, it’s when you witness something you produced, placed on the counter somewhere in a household, an institution, where ever - and somebody has taken the time to integrate a piece of your work into their lives, even if that is for a very limited amount of time. And THAT feeling of recognition, although how little it may be, can boost you into producing more work.
Finishing off with a small note. Next time you pick up your favorite magazine (lifestyle, fashion, art, XXX, whatever!) take time to think of the effort someone has put into presenting things nice and neat for you to look at. And if you feel like it, send them a note, or just a thought. It’ll make a world of difference…
I held a torch throughout my life in the constant pursuit of tolerance. Although the torch had many enemies, all created by the enemies’ own inherited enemies, the flame was in danger of slowly dying. The dark months after Sep. 11 all reminded us that the enemies of tolerance wish to kill the torch—and that they are enchanted by the darkness of hate that the torch is killing on its path. The light cast by the torch inevitably causes us to be reminded of the naked fact that we are merely human.
When I came to Israel, the ancestral enemy that my Arabic peers has constantly attempted to pass onto me, was brought to shame by the beauty of the land. In this modest land I’ve grown adhere to, I was reminded once again the importance of keeping the torch lit—that we all share a common responsibility to keep our children away from the darkness of hatred, to stop pass old enemies onto our children, and to start raise independent children rather then dogmatic sheep.
Tel Aviv is a living sentiment of how life should be lived, and I witnessed a life naked of hatred but beautiful as the sun that set on the horizon. I passed a memorial in honour of the passengers killed in a suicide-bomb attack. It acted as a constant reminder of the enemy outside—and even perhaps the enemy within.
In the old city of Jerusalem, the faith of all three religions, and their diverse and sometime contradictory message, share a common home in this city. The echoes of their biblical stories can be hear whispered by the ancient walls surrounding this beacon of ancient dogma.
In Haifa, on top of mount Carmel lives the woman of my dreams. She will return to me shaped by the lessons she’s learned, and the memories she’s gained—more beautiful than ever. Until then I will remember her with the same fondness, love and warmth as I remember our time in Israel.
For many in this world, the State of Israel has no legitimacy but to me all free countries and all free societies should be respected; and when we face them and their people with an open mind, the enemies of tolerance will witness the futility of their own existence—and the torch will be given a second chance to shed its naked shivering light on humanity.
Lechaim!