I attended this weekend the Semi-Permanent05 conference at New York’s Lincoln Center. The event was a fantastic gathering of some of the most talented and diverse creative minds - artists who flourish in many different mediums with knowledge and abilities far beyond their specific disciplines. Their versatility and ingenuity makes them stronger designers, and it definitely broadened my horizons and appreciation for their work as illustrators, painters and grafitti artists.

Chicago-based Chuck Anderson appeared as one of the speakers in the Saturday session, giving a pep-talk on how to approach your career. In itself, this probably wouldn’t strike you as an unusual topic at a conference for creative professionals. However, Anderson, at just 20-years old and without a college degree, has landed major gigs with corporate clients such as Absolute and McDonalds.

You gotta give this guy some credit and acknowledge his unique perspective - untarnished by the academic teachings of college. Here’s some of his views, and how I would put it into context:

• “… move forward, take (artistic) risks, it’s sink or swim…” Anderson must have been thinking about competition, or evolution. In today’s world, there are so many mediums to work with, coupled with widely available, inexpensive distribution channels - you really have to make it a point to deliver something new, something unique, to stand out from the masses. His call to “move forward” obviously acknowledges past influences, yet demands unyielding novelty.
• “…work hard, sweat, show some determination…” Ah, how true, for every entrepreneurial opportunity. Another artist, James Jean, commented in an interview for The Royal that “even with the best teachers, improvement and learning has to come from self-study and personal initiative.”
• “…what goes around, comes around. Help people…” Without an artist sacrificing his/her livelihood, Chuck pointed out that it’s always a good idea to collaborate and interact with new people, people that you can learn from, people that open unexpected doors for you. “In business and in life, it’s all about service… Give good service and assist others and you will be rewarded with a healthy business.” (Rev Run)
• “…put yourself out there…” A question on many people’s mind: How do you put yourself out there, and how much publicity is too much publicity? Anderson related how he used to go to book stores and browse through stacks of design, photography and music magazines - in an effort to identify unusual art campaigns and the art directors behind them. His advice was to assemble a continuously updated web-based portfolio, and contact key decision makers.
• “…be patient, cool things will happen…” Another very valid point - Chuck was referring to the need to be prepared, and to set up one’s artistic ventures on a sustainable basis. Things like invoicing, bookkeeping, the legal basis of your company - everything needs to be in place so that once opportunity strikes, you are ready to execute without distractions.
• “…be proud of your work…” Chuck’s last and maybe most important point of the talk dealt with attitude. Unless you stand 100% behind your work, you won’t be taken seriously and you probably won’t invest all the resources necessary to make your artistic career work (see point #2, work hard, sweat)

Read more

• Chuck Anderson’s website (www.nopattern.com)
• Cool Hunting Interview with Chuck