What it Means to Be an Artist | David Best | TEDxSonomaCounty

Summary

The 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

00:00

🏛️ 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.

05:03

🔥 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.

10:04

🤝 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.

Keywords

💡Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is a region in the northeast of the island of Ireland. In the context of the video, it is significant as the location where the artist built a temple in Derry, a city that has been central to 'The Troubles,' a period of conflict. The temple's construction in a contested site within a Catholic neighborhood highlights the artist's intention to bring healing and reconciliation to a community deeply affected by historical strife.

💡The Troubles

The Troubles refer to the ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century. The video mentions 'Bloody Sunday,' an event during The Troubles, to underscore the historical tension and violence that the temple project aimed to address. The artist's choice to build in a contested site symbolizes an attempt to create a space for communal healing and forgiveness.

💡Artichoke

Artichoke is an organization mentioned in the script that invited the artist to Northern Ireland. It represents the collaborative spirit and the role of external entities in facilitating creative projects that have social impact. The organization's role is pivotal as it connects the artist with the community and the site for the temple's construction.

💡Temple

In the video, a 'temple' is a structure built by the artist, initially as a response to a friend's death and later as a space for communal grieving and reflection. The temple serves as a metaphor for a sacred space where individuals can come to terms with loss, write the names of those they've lost, and participate in a collective act of remembrance and healing.

💡Burning Man

Burning Man is an annual event in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, known for its radical self-expression and community-building. The artist references Burning Man to explain the origins of building temples, which started as an impromptu act of memorializing a friend and evolved into a tradition. The temple at Burning Man is a central feature where participants write names of the deceased, reflecting the theme of honoring loss and transformation.

💡Grief

Grief is a profound sorrow, especially that caused by death or loss. The video discusses how the temple serves as a space for individuals to express and process their grief. The artist encourages using grief as a catalyst for creation, suggesting that transforming grief into art or community projects can lead to healing and a sense of purpose.

💡Forgiveness

Forgiveness is the act of pardoning or ceasing to hold a grudge for a wrongdoing. The script mentions that the people of Derry came to forgive, indicating the temple's role in facilitating reconciliation. The artist's interaction with the Catholic priest and Protestant minister also touches on the theme of forgiveness as a necessary step towards healing communal wounds.

💡Community

Community in the video represents the collective of individuals who come together for a common purpose. The artist emphasizes the importance of community involvement in the creation of the temple, highlighting the power of collective effort in addressing shared experiences of loss and the potential for communal healing.

💡Art as therapy

Art as therapy is the use of artistic expression for healing and self-discovery. The video describes how the act of creating and participating in the temple project serves as a form of therapy for those who have experienced loss. The artist's own journey and the stories shared within the temple illustrate the transformative power of art in processing emotions and finding meaning.

💡Collaboration

Collaboration is the process of working together to achieve a common goal. The artist speaks about the joy of collaborating with others, emphasizing the importance of teamwork in realizing large-scale projects like the temple. This keyword highlights the collective effort and shared experiences that contribute to the success and impact of the art project.

💡Loss

Loss is the state of losing something or someone. Throughout the video, loss is a central theme, with the temple serving as a space to acknowledge and honor those who have passed away. The artist encourages the audience to transform their experiences of loss into something meaningful, such as art or community projects, as a way to honor the memory of the departed and find healing.

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]