Karim Rashid's Creative Manifesto

Karim Rashid's "Creative Manifesto."

I particularly enjoyed Karim's manifesto, out of all the ones we've read. I really connected to his point #9. which reads: "Experience is the most important part of living, and the exchange of ideas and human contact is all life really is. Space and objects can encourage increased experiences or distract from our experiences." This is actually something I grew up hearing, because it is something my mother would probably include if she ever wrote her own manifesto. 


My parents are artists, so we never had any notable amount of expensive material possessions, fancy cars, or lavish houses like some of my peers had. My parents built our house, the car I learned to drive in is turning 20 this year and looks it, and when we went on vacation we didn't buy souvenirs for ourselves or all our friends because we simply couldn't afford it. 


Which leads me back to the point Karim is making. 


Where we didn't buy a lot of material items, my parents made up for in experiences. In the end all you have is your memories, and that's what sticks with you the most anyway. I actually read somewhere that Queen Elizabeth I's last words were, "All my possessions for a moment of time." In the end possessions don't matter. So my parents made darn sure that my sister and I got life experiences few other kids can boast of. I have backpacked in Utah canyons so remote the only roads to the trail-heads are not even gravel, but dirt, touched ancient Anasazi ruins, snowboarded in Colorado, participated in a month-long program to bring peace to Northern Ireland (and went there the next Spring), swam in glacier-fed mountain lakes, taken the train through Germany and walked to Austria, and many, many others. 


Karim says that experiences are imperative for understanding the world and learning about yourself and others, and I agree completely. I read a quote that said "The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page." You cannot begin to understand how the world works unless you experience it, and likewise you cannot lead a creative life exploring these kind of things unless you have experienced life. 


Looking at Karim's work, I can definitely see a connection between his manifesto and his work. He talks about creating and buying culture, and he shows that in his work. It is all creative and out there, and you know he has soaked in all the work of others he has seen throughout the years to create his own stuff. He also says that "Normal is not good," and this is apparent in the weird yet fun and organic shapes he creates in his works. His manifesto is fun-loving and prompts thinking outside of the box, and his work mirrors that. 


Here is my own Manifesto:


Gretchen's Super Duper Manifesto

• Travel, travel, travel. There's always another culture out there that you've never experienced, and you must experience as many as possible if you want to understand the world outside of your own little bubble of your home. 
• Do something every day that scares you or puts you out of your comfort zone, or just something you never thought to do. Run in a race, get your ears pierced, see an opera, cut your hair, get in your car, throw a Rand McNally in the backseat and just see where the highway takes you. 
• Explore! Go for an adventure! The real world can wait. 
• Take a class way outside your major for no other reason than because it sounds kind of interesting to you. 
• If your're interested in something, do it. Don't just sit there and go, "Gosh it sure would be fun to paint something." Buy yourself some watercolours and do it. 
• Don't worry. There's a song called the Sunscreen Song that says, "Do not worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is about as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum." Worrying will accomplish nothing but stressing you out, so for goodness sake, refrain from it. 
• Relish the weird. 
• Don't be afraid to show your work to others. In fact, show it to everyone who will look. 
• If you have an idea or a goal, don't wait for some undetermined future date to put it into motion. There won't be some magic date when suddenly flashing lights will appear saying, "Now!" You've gotta live in the moment. 
• Sing loudly and break out into dance. Frequently and with abandon.
• Don't be afraid to fail. There's a great Samuel Beckett quote that says, "No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." One of my greatest acting teachers once told us, "You have to be able to say, 'Look at me! I am a trainwreck! I am a debacle! And I will dance in the flames.'"