Strands of Genius: Steve Chapman + What to Watch in Web3
featuring: an interview with our guest editor and a research report
Welcome to the Bonus edition of Strands of Genius! On Fridays, we’ll be publishing interviews from our guest editors, and sharing a research report. Thanks for being along for the ride. Oh and by the way, you look great today :)
:: STEAL THIS THINKING | RESEARCH REPORT ::
Web3 is the next evolution of the internet, consumer behavior, and culture powered by blockchain technology. Vayner3's definition of Web3 includes new technologies - cryptocurrencies, NFTs, DeFi, and the “metaverse” - but it also includes an important cultural and behavioral layer. Here are Vayner3’s thoughts about what you should be paying attention to in this area.
:: DIVE IN | THE INTERVIEW ::
STEVE CHAPMAN, ARTIST, WRITER AND SPEAKER
>> Steve Chapman guest curated Strands on July 20th, 2023. Read it here.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what keeps you busy. How did you end up doing what you’re doing today?
Hello, I'm Steve (also known as @stevexoh).
I'm an artist, writer and speaker. I run creative workshops (both open and for companies), consult on creativity and culture change, am visiting faculty on a number of MSc degree programmes and play various open mics where I perform very low-grade songs I have written on battered guitar and Casiotone MT-46.
The main things that keep me busy are projects that I never intended to be projects, but take on a life of their own. These include hosting Sound of Silence: the worlds first silent podcast featuring special guests (www.soundofsilence.org.uk), the globally viral (Not a) Lost Cat poster (www.notalostcat.com) and most recently publishing my latest book "What the February?! 108 weird creative challenges for human beings" that I never intended to be a book (www.wtfeb.com).
I'm not entirely sure how I ended up doing all of this but I guess I have just learnt to trust my gut instinct more and follow my fascination. As a neuro-diverse person (who is also quite shy and introverted) I spent much of my life thinking that the way I naturally saw the world was flawed and I had to make more of an effort to fit in and do "well". But the older I've got I've learnt to love and trust my wonky wiring and, whilst it has lead to various challenges in my life, it has lead to lots of adventures. (This year I ended up living on the remote island of Ocracoke for all of January making art on the beach out of driftwood - a project that only came about through saying "yes" to a number of things over the last 10 years. www.ocracokeair.com)
What excites you most about what you do?
I'm not sure if anything really excites me. But things do fascinate me. I think when things suddenly connect that I hadn't seen connected before. Or things I thought were true/real suddenly unravel and become mysterious again. They're the types of things that utterly fascinate me and I can't help but want to move towards them, to explore, to experiment.
What beliefs define your approach to work? How would you define your leadership style?
I think the most important practice an artist (or any human) can undertake is the practice of not knowing. To this end I have learnt to treat anything (a concept, theory, philosophy) that seems to concrete as suspicious and try to find ways to re-mystify it.
My favourite quote, and one that sort of underpins all I do is from Neitzche: "Learning to see the world as strange makes us unhome in the everyday and thereby restores it as a potential place of wonder."
So my approach to work is simply to allow myself to be fascinated by something, then do stuff to explore it without any attachment to outcome or output.
I teach on a number of leadership/culture MSc programmes and try to invite the students to explore a counterpoint to the dominant thinking/philosophies about leadership. What if the leader's job is to create space for people to wonder more deeply? What if it the role of the leader is to provoke and prod, in a compassionate way, to encourage people to let go of what they think is real and true and move towards not knowing in a less fearful and more curious way.
What has been the most rewarding project you’ve worked on and why?
I think What the February?! has been the most rewarding. And if you'd asked that question even 6 months ago I wouldn't have said that.
WTFEB started in 2020 when I wondered what would happen if I dared my Instagram followers to do weird challenges for the month of February and it became so popular that I did it for the next four years. Hundreds of people around the world took part. It was great seeing people amaze themselves by doing stuff that had no real point to it.
But after a couple of years I started to find it hard work and, as it is important for me to end projects intentionally, well and at a peak, I decided that WTFEB 2023 would be the last ever one.
And it was only during the last week of the last WTFEB that I thought.....actually, these challenges would make a nice little book. So I tested it out by putting some pre-orders on sale and they all sold out within 48 hours. I put more on sale and they sold out. And eventually the book launched (and sold out again) on the 25th May 2023. (More are now available).
What I found most rewarding about this project wasn't the fact that the books is selling but the fact that I never really intended it to be a book. I realised that the last four years of the Instagram thing were actually research for a book that I didn't know I was going to write. I love the very back to front process that occurred and I love making meaning from projects whilst doing them rather than setting out with a set outcome. (You can find out more and buy a copy of the book at www.wtfeb.com)
We are big believers in diversity -- Not only because we believe in equality, but because we also think it’s better for business. The Black Lives Matter movement has shaped industry conversations around both global injustice, and also lack of representation in our industry. How do you frame these kinds of conversations, both internally and with clients? Is there an emphasis on action, or are the conversations really more about communication?
The art world feels to me, overall, as elitist and unrepresentative as every other part of society. I feel embarrassed to admit I was surprised by this as, in hindsight, why would it be any different? That is why I am a big fan of outsider art (music, art, poetry) - art made by those who don't have a voice/platform or aren't trained or hold a fancy degree or have been sidelined/silenced because of who they are or what they represent.
It feels too easy to say "yeah, diversity is really important to creativity, change and innovation." Of course that is true, but it feels like a bit of a lazy soundbite. Really, the thing that is going on here is that by bringing together diverse human beings, we are allowing ourselves to be influenced, changed and shaped and maybe have our beliefs strongly challenged by people who are different to us. I've been working with my good friend Ola Lagunju in this area and she has a wonderful way of thinking about diversity as the practice of seeing and being seen. Fully seeing somebody and allowing ourselves to be fully seen and bringing a curious and compassionate attention to what arises. Daniel Barrenboim once said, in reference to his work with young orchestras in Israel and Palestine "progressive dialogue requires both careful talking and often painful listening." That has always stuck with me - the idea that it is often the painful listening that is the thing we find most difficult when it comes to change.
I don't work with lots of clients nowadays so this is mainly something that I try to stay awake to in my own work, like curating the Spongleheim gallery or finding guests to work with me on projects such as Sound of Silence. And I will miss stuff and get it wrong as well as get it right. But for me, that's part of the practice - to not hold back or avoid potentially tricky conversations/situation through fear of getting it wrong. I still find it difficult, but I think I'm getting better at it.
Switching gears a bit, how do you find time to balance personal interests with your career? Do you believe work/life balance is possible? Anything you’ve implemented that you recommend that others try?
I honestly have no differentiation between work/life any more. Of course, there is a differentiation between stuff that I get paid for and stuff I don't get paid for. But that to me is a different question.
Writing this little interview feels as much of work/life as doing a drawing does, or living on Ocracoke for a month making art out of driftwood, or doing a talk, or running a workshop. And things like days of the week, weekends, bank holidays have all sort of blurred into one.
I overall like this but it requires me to pay attention to my own resilience in a subtly different way - so rather than try to strike a balance of work/life I try to stay close to noticing my energy and what my body is telling me to do.
What’s your media diet? Where do you find inspiration?
I really don't consume much media nowadays. I tend to find inspiration in the mundane, the everyday (like I might see two crows and wonder what their relationship is or what they are saying to eachother and then that turns into a drawing).
I try to practice Arnie Mindell's concept of Quantum Flirting which is, rather than going to search for ideas/inspiration, my job is to not try, be still and be open to hearing the quiet whisper of ideas that perpetually surrounds me.
What’s the best piece of advice/knowledge you’ve stolen, and who/where’d you steal it from?
The late Keith Johnston (who died this year) once said to us in an improvisation class "Interested people are interesting. Most people go around trying to appear interesting. Your job is not to try to appear interesting but to be interested. Then other people will be fascinated by you."
You can keep in touch with Steve on Instagram and Twitter.
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
rockON,
faris & rosie & ashley | your friends over at geniussteals.co
@faris is always tweeting
@rosieyakob hangs out on instagram
@ashley also writes for deaf, tattooed & employed