Courtesy of Supadart (via Flickr)

It’s a shame to say that most large corporations do this – they ban art. Why I say that, is because of the 30 different organizations I’ve worked at to fund my own art, never once did any higher level management or executives show any interest in the innate gifts and talents of their people.

Not one!

As a matter of fact, more people in the workplace were more threatened by people like me, than anything else.  So we keep quiet about anything that has to do with art – creating a dull, fearful and lifeless environment of people just showing up to get a paycheck and obeying the commands they are given…

And we’re crushing the very lifeblood of what it means to be human and do great work.

Why?  How?

We still judge people by how they look.  What they make.  The size of their cubicle. Who they know.  What they wear.  If they look like everyone else.  Where they live. What their job title is.

Shit… I had a boss who loved me but couldn’t get anywhere because his “right hand” person didn’t.  She thought people from the east coast are rude (disliking the fact that I was born in Brooklyn, NY) – and nothing I could do could change her mind.

The fact that I did great work, meant nothing.  The fact that I had a degree in psychology, meant nothing.  The fact that I could run circles around her… meant nothing.

And so I got fired.  Fired not because of the work I did, but because she thought I was going to take her job – never really knowing who I was and what I was really there to do (fund my own business).

Can we make a difference?

People really think they can’t, but I like to think that we can.  How?

Because we’re all choosing who we want to be every day we wake up.  We choose to draw or not to draw.  We choose to share or not to share.  We choose to write or not write.  We choose to take our actual breaks and go outside to breathe fresh air, or we choose to stay inside and chat with the same people we have for years breathing in fake bullshit conversations about our job that we can really care less about.

We choose to play an instrument or not to play it.  We choose to communicate how we honestly feel about things, or we choose to lie and do everything we can to just play it safe.

But we can choose something different.

We can choose tea over liquor.  An art museum over a bar.  A quiet night out by ourselves – or a loud night out with strangers.  A left turn instead of a right turn. The familiar, or the unfamiliar.  To speak up or shut up.  To feel something or pretend it’s not happening.

And we’re making these types of choices every day we’re alive (whether we know it or not).

Choosing something new.  The truth.

The truth is sometimes hard to take.  People don’t always want to hear it.  As a matter of fact, people go to great lengths to avoid it.

Of course, some don’t mean to do this – it was never their intention to lie to you (because that’s what they were told). As a matter of fact, lying to people has become part of the business practice of a lot of people and organizations because many of us have been taught to avoid the truth. “It costs us big bucks” they think – scolding, publicly humiliating or even passing over people to deny them of their holiday bonus or raise… because their scared or deathly afraid of what’s going to happen if they don’t lie.

But here’s the thing… people want the truth.  It’s refreshing.  It creates soldiers instead of employees.  It creates artists instead of pawns.  It creates growth instead of staleness.  It creates aliveness instead of fucking boredom.

I mean what entry level employee wants to know that they were hired to be a cog in the wheel (when that’s exactly what they were really hired for)?  Or given a position that no one really wants to do.  Or the fact that they will never be able to climb up the corporate ladder because of the color of their skin, their race or nationality, or because they don’t “know the right people.”

Sounds familiar, huh?

And then there are people who think, “well that’s just how things are.”  Well fine, but just because it’s been happening this way for so long, doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do or has to continue to happen while I hear another horror story of the bullshit that’s been happening in the workplace.

And so I’m going to put something out there that may or may not work.  In fact, it might even be something a lot of people don’t even like.  However, with your help, I can get the message out there to stop banning art in the workplace.

How?

It’s simple.  Be your true self.  Take the veil off that you’ve been hiding – and show your true scars.  Hit the “Retweet” button on this post.  Tell your friends you accept them for who they are.  Tell other coworkers it’s ok to be different.

Shit… you can even sell your car and ride a bike to work instead.  Take motorcycle lessons and learn how to ride a Harley. Shit… ride a scooter.  Take your vacation days you’ve accumulated for some “rainy day” and go somewhere you’ve always wanted to go.  Buy a moleskin and start randomly sketching like my friend Michael Nobbs.

Heck you can even go crazy and use Garageband to create an album of music for people to UNnumb the work day.  Call it something you resonate with – I named mine “Flight.”  It doesn’t have to be different just because you want to be different… however, it does need to be you.

So stop banning art in the workplace.  To do that, we need to accept ourselves as who we are… as artists… as people… as human beings who are all in this crazy and exciting world together – to each make a difference and leave our own unique footprint behind.

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