What it Means to Be an Artist | David Best | TEDxSonomaCounty
Summary
TLDRThe speaker recounts his transformative experience building a temple in Northern Ireland amidst the 'troubles', emphasizing the power of art to heal and unite communities. He shares the story of creating a sacred space for mourning and forgiveness, attracting 68,000 visitors, and reflects on the importance of turning grief into creation. The narrative also touches on the speaker's journey as an artist, his philosophy on the value of work, and the significance of collaboration in art.
Takeaways
- 🏰 The speaker's significant project involved building a temple in Northern Ireland amidst a historically conflicted area, signifying a commitment to art in challenging environments.
- 🤝 The project was initiated by an organization named 'Artichoke' and was later funded by Helen Marriage, highlighting the importance of community support in realizing artistic visions.
- 🛠️ The construction team was carefully selected, including local unemployed Irish carpenters, to ensure the project was inclusive and sensitive to the local community's needs.
- ⛪ The temple's location was contentious, yet the speaker chose it deliberately to bring art to a place of need, demonstrating a belief in art's power to heal and unite.
- 🗣️ The speaker faced opposition from religious leaders, yet stood firm in the decision to build in a neighborhood that needed help, reflecting a commitment to social impact over approval.
- 🎭 The temple became a place where over 68,000 people came to grieve, forgive, and address their losses, underscoring the profound emotional connection people have with art.
- 🎨 The speaker's artistic journey began at a young age, influenced by a stepfather who was an artist, showing the lasting impact of early exposure to creativity.
- 🔥 The temple-building tradition started accidentally after a friend's death, evolving into a meaningful ritual for commemorating and honoring the deceased.
- 😅 Humor was incorporated into the temple experience one year, showing the speaker's ability to adapt and acknowledge different ways people cope with grief.
- 🎁 The speaker encourages turning grief into creation, suggesting that making something beautiful from loss can be a form of healing and a tribute to the departed.
- 🤝 Collaboration is a central theme in the speaker's work, emphasizing the joy and fulfillment that comes from working with others to create something meaningful.
Q & A
What was the speaker's most important project in Northern Ireland?
-The speaker's most important project in Northern Ireland was building a temple in Dairy Dairies, a location where many troubles had occurred, including Bloody Sunday.
Who invited the speaker to Northern Ireland and why did they want a temple built?
-The speaker was invited by an organization called Artichoke. Helen Marriage, who was part of the organization, wanted the temple to be built because she believed in the project and was moved to tears when discussing it.
What was the requirement for the Irish carpenters hired for the temple project?
-The Irish carpenters hired for the temple project had to have been unemployed for at least six months.
Why was the chosen site for the temple considered contested?
-The chosen site for the temple was considered contested because both Protestants and Catholics wanted it, and there was potential for conflict over it.
What was the reaction of the Catholic priest and the Protestant minister to the temple's location?
-The Catholic priest and the Protestant minister advised against building the temple in that location, suggesting it was a bad neighborhood and that it would cause trouble. They recommended a beautiful park instead.
How did the speaker respond to the priest's suggestion to build the temple in a park?
-The speaker rejected the suggestion, stating that one doesn't send a temple to a park but rather goes where the people need help.
How many people visited the temple in Northern Ireland, and why was it significant?
-Around 68,000 people visited the temple in Northern Ireland. It was significant because it was a place for the Irish people to come together to forgive and address their losses.
What was the speaker's childhood experience that led them to become an artist?
-The speaker's stepfather, who was an artist, took them to the Art Institute when they were six years old, which inspired them to become an artist.
How did the speaker begin building temples?
-The speaker began building temples by accident after a young man they were working with was killed in a motorcycle accident. They used scrap wood to build a structure in the desert as a memorial.
What was the speaker's intention for the center of the temple they built?
-The speaker dedicated the center of the temple to those who had taken their own lives and were not allowed to be buried in traditional cemeteries due to religious beliefs.
What is the speaker's view on using loss to create something meaningful?
-The speaker believes that it's important not to waste loss but to use it to create something beautiful, like art or community projects, as a way to heal and honor the memory of those who have passed.
Outlines
🏛️ Building a Temple in Northern Ireland
The speaker recounts their significant project of constructing a temple in Dairy Dairies, Northern Ireland, amidst a historically troubled area. Initially, the project was canceled due to lack of funding, but later, with the support of Helen Marriage, it was realized. The speaker assembled a team from America and hired local unemployed Irish carpenters to work on a contested site, which was desired by both Protestants and Catholics. Despite opposition from religious leaders, the speaker chose to build the temple there to support the community. The temple was a success, with 68,000 visitors, and it served as a place for forgiveness and addressing losses. The speaker emphasizes the importance of enjoying one's work and the transformative power of art, sharing their personal journey of becoming an artist.
🔥 The Evolution of Burning Man Temples
The speaker discusses the evolution of building temples at Burning Man, starting with an accidental creation after a friend's death. The temples became a place for people to memorialize loved ones, regardless of their religious beliefs. The speaker highlights the importance of embracing and understanding aspects of life that are often overlooked by mainstream cultures. They share anecdotes from the temples, such as incorporating humor and personal stories into the grieving process. The speaker also emphasizes the value of turning grief into something beautiful, like art or community projects, as a form of healing. They reflect on the joy of working with large teams and the satisfaction derived from hard work and creation.
🤝 The Power of Collaboration and Community
In the final paragraph, the speaker focuses on the joy of collaborating with others and the significance of creating art that is priceless and not for sale. They express a desire to work with a thousand people to create something significant, reflecting on the surplus of people in society who are in need of purpose and work. The speaker calls for the utilization of these individuals to create meaningful projects, such as community centers or parks, as a way to give back and celebrate life. They conclude with a message to not waste loss but to celebrate life and the people we've lost, challenging societal stigmas around suicide and advocating for a more forgiving and understanding approach.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Northern Ireland
💡The Troubles
💡Artichoke
💡Temple
💡Burning Man
💡Grief
💡Forgiveness
💡Community
💡Art as therapy
💡Collaboration
💡Loss
Highlights
The speaker built a temple in Northern Ireland during a period of conflict known as 'the troubles'.
The temple was constructed in a contested site, sparking debate between Protestants and Catholics.
The speaker faced opposition from religious leaders who deemed the project inappropriate for the location.
Despite criticism, the temple was visited by 68,000 people, a significant portion of Derry's population.
The temple served as a place for forgiveness and addressing personal losses, reducing the town's suicide rate.
The speaker's artistic journey began at a young age, influenced by a stepfather who was an artist.
The speaker's first temple was built as a spontaneous memorial for a friend who died in a motorcycle accident.
The temple became a sacred space where people could write the names of those they had lost.
The speaker emphasizes the importance of enjoying one's work and finding personal satisfaction in it.
The speaker's work is not for sale, considering it 'priceless' and focused on collaboration and community.
The speaker discusses the transformative power of turning grief into creative expression.
The speaker encourages the audience to celebrate life and not be ashamed of loss or suicide.
The speaker shares a story of a woman who lost both her sons to suicide and the importance of making something beautiful from such a loss.
The speaker highlights the value of hard work and the pride that comes from accomplishment.
The speaker envisions a future project involving a thousand people, emphasizing the potential of collective creation.
The speaker concludes with a call to action to not waste one's loss but to use it to create something of value.
Transcripts
[Music]
[Applause]
so one of my most important projects for
me was I went to Northern Ireland and
built the temple in dairy dairies in the
north and it's where most of the
troubles occurred Bloody Sunday happened
in in Northern Ireland in dairy I was
invited by an organization called
artichoke and the first time they
invited me over
we searched out a couple locations and
then they cancelled the project because
they didn't have any funding and Hellen
marriage called me over in London and
said I really wanted it to happen and
she started crying and I thought that
was one of my techniques you know a year
later she called me and said we have the
money I want you to come to Derry and
build a temple we developed a team in
America I had 20 people 25 people I had
interviewed 60 people in Derry and
selected a crew of 20 I hired for Irish
carpenters who had to have been
unemployed for six months to work with
us that was kind of to keep it a little
bit politically correct we rented a
warehouse I found a site that I liked it
was a contested site which means that
the Protestants wanted it
the Catholics wanted it and they were
going to fight over it so it was in a
Catholic neighborhood and that was where
I wanted to build the project so this
sounds like a joke a Catholic priest and
a Protestant minister came up to me
and they said this is the wrong place to
build it this is a bad neighborhood
you'll have troubles and no one wants to
go there why don't you build it down at
this beautiful park and I said to the
Catholic priest you don't send a blank
to a park you go where the people need
help well that was the end of the
conversation with him I adduce several
words that I shouldn't have used um so
he went on to put in the paper that I
was uh it was a satanic project and that
I was a pagan well I didn't personally
want to be a satanic person but I didn't
mind the pagan thing I thought that's
not a bad label I mean I've had bad
reviews and that was a good one you know
the population of Derry is somewhere
around 80 something thousand 68 thousand
people came to the temple in Northern
Ireland the reason it was an important
project is no one knew who I was no one
had any idea what Burning Man was or
what glow sticks were it was the Irish
people coming to forgive and to address
some of their losses and the town of
Derry has one suicide today so it was a
remarkable experience for me and my crew
and Irish people when I was six years
old my mother remarried my father and he
was an artist and he took me to the Art
Institute that was when I decided to
become an artist so I've never wanted to
do anything else but make art I'm an
artist
I make art my wife told me to stand here
and say you're an artist
and you make art
so that's the truth that's what I do um
I love my work I take it in the bathtub
with me
no not everything I do is good but I
always thought it was good I think it's
really important to enjoy your work and
love it I do I started building temples
by accident a young man I was working
with was killed on a motorcycle and I
had been going into the garbage cans of
a toy factory and I found this scrap
wood and I thought well I'd make
something in the desert
well when Michael Heflin was killed on a
motorcycle at the cemetery at the grave
his friends who had never had death said
well Michael would have wanted us to go
to the desert and build something so
when we went there we built something I
had no intention of making a temple or a
sacred space it was just some plywood
scrapped
well maybe 50 people came and put names
of people that they had lost in it and
we very unceremoniously lit it because
Burning Man was about fire and it was it
I was asked to build the temple again
and I thought what would I dedicate a
temple to I'm not a Catholic or a Jew or
a Buddhist and I thought well if you're
a Jew and you've taken your life you
can't be buried in the cemetery if
you're a Catholic you can't be buried in
a cemetery and I thought Burning Man
embraces and understands things that
most cultures don't and I thought all
right the center of the temple will be
dedicated to that well that year 500
people put names in the center and
10,000 people put names on the outside
the next year I was going to do a comedy
club so when I change the name of the
temple people still came and grieved and
mourned and reflective reflected on
their losses but they told jokes so
somebody in this room was just finished
with somebody that's been in hospital
with cancer and you know that they put
up a poster in the hospital room you
know
with everybody writing dear grandpa I
hope you're okay or cartoon here was a
cartoon of a man laying in his bed
saying this food tastes like cat Blanc
it brought their favorite jokes as well
as their grief with this what we're
going to in our county
you know I've recently talked to a woman
who's I'm talking with a woman who's
lost both her sons to suicide and it's
an incredible gift that she's been given
if you can imagine getting that as a
gift and if she takes that loss and
makes something beautiful out of it like
a painting or a piece of sculpture or a
park or music then it's really using
that awful gift that she's been given
and not everything that we were given is
good but it's all a gift if we make
something out of it if we waste it if we
waste that person's life god if we waste
your loss homes don't make something out
of that loss make a park now make make a
community center or make your grandson a
toy or make sculpture or painting but
don't let anything that you're given go
to waste no use everything use the loss
it's easy for me to say but I know that
it works I know that if you make
something out of your grief you'll get
healed it's just a fact I've seen it
[Applause]
and they this this is a man I'm probably
not gonna say it this is one of the
builders in Ireland were lost David no
David I'm not gonna work with you so you
can imagine what he said to me he would
yell at me and he's thick as a brick
foot the most wonderful builder and
lovely man we had when I worked with a
team I worked with I started my first
temple with 20 people
the last project I worked with something
like a hundred and twenty people I
worked with the project in Detroit with
a young kid and he had been working with
me for a week and I make people work I
work and anybody that's with me works
and after that week he said this is the
most wonderful week of my life now I've
had so many wonderful weeks so many
wonderful weeks and what people need and
want is to work they want to create they
want to have some satisfaction there's
enough food in our society what they
don't have what people don't have is
that pride in that accomplishment that
comes from hard work and I come from a
working background and I love working I
want a thousand people I want to build
something with a thousand people that's
what we have is we have a surplus of
people in our society right now there's
people on the street there's homeless
people you know if people walking around
who are displaced because they're 50
years old and the computers have wiped
out their job those people are the
material that we can make something out
of I've made a lot of art but I think
the most exciting thing is collaborating
with people I've done it's it's what I
do best
I stopped making commercial art eighteen
years ago I only make priceless work now
you can't buy my work it's not for sale
it's priceless
and it's I think in a society that's
going so crazy with money you would have
to get backwards we have to stop it
this was dairy like I said they didn't
know anything about anything except to
forgive that's what I'd like it's the
most thing I'd like to say is don't
waste your loss please celebrate your
life celebrate that son that's gone that
mother or your brother or your best
friend you know there's no shame in it
there's no shame in someone taking their
life there's no shame and a lot of the
things that our society has put on us
give them hell thank you very much
[Applause]
[Applause]
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