Staying Aheadof theLame Likeanyotherthingintheworld, too much of it will ultimately lead to banality. Most ideas and concepts are fresh, popular, and trendy momentarily, but in a world that is dominated by a consistent demand for updates, upgrades, improvements, and changes, one must continuously find ways to set themselves apart from their competitors. Look how much social media itself has evolved over the past decade or so. For those of us older than let’s say thirty… please take a moment to reflect back on the tech savvy days of things like Yahoo mail and AOL Chat. Or how about that website we once considered the wave of the future…also known as MySpace. Just a few short years ago those things were so incredibly popular that we couldn’t possible fathom the thought of existing in the world without them. Furthermore, how would we ever survive without our flip phones, laptops, and two way pagers? Sounds archaic now right? But as you can see the continuous insatiable desire for a sense of newness and refreshing innovativeness, has established a society that quickly abandoned those concepts of the past, and has replaced them with iPads, E-Readers, Beats headphones, and of course the ever popular, “what would I ever do without my Facebook?” app (Yeah we went there). As the saying goes, out with the old and in with the new, and that is why even artists, painters, designers and other eccentric-minded people must continuously strive to stay ahead of the curve. Yes, even they must always be in search of “The Next Big Thing,” and that fresh new idea that can elicit the “IT” factor. Sadly, the days of Michelangelo’s David, and Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” have gone. So long for impressionist era paintings and Romanesque styled sculptures. Nowadays, aspiring artist must think up original ideas, and create a new era in artistry that aims to combat, and soothe the ravage appetite of the beast that I have nicknamed the “fad monster!” Unfortunately, I can’t offer the million dollar idea that will dominate the art scene for the next few years to come. If I could, believe me I’d already be trying to pitch it to the folks at ABC’S Shark Tank. However, luckily for you art and theatrical minded folks out there I can offer up a few suggestions that can help you stay slightly ahead of the game. It's hard to paint a canvas scene of The Champs Elysees or London’s Big Ben if you’ve never actually feasted your eyes on those treasures. Sure, Google has the power to take you anywhere in the world via its images tab, but what Google cannot provide is the smells, sounds, tastes, and temperatures (Okay, maybe temperatures but that’s not the point here) of the places that you view. Additionally, Google images cannot create new friendships and memorable moments. In order to do those things, you must venture out to new places and experience the culture of those places first hand. 1 Travel A big part of being able to compose fresh art work and come up with new ideas is first being able to visualize them. Visualizing is kind of hard to do if you’ve never removed yourself from your comfort zone. Darren N. Bowens 28 TAE MAGAZINE