I’d be lying if I told you there’s a
shortage of public art in Chicago, given the amount of artists continuously
pushing the boundaries of design and function. Thus, it’s no surprise a
marketing strategist and a filmmaker would successfully reach their Kickstarter
goal for one of the brightest and most useful public art displays in Chicago
history. The Wabash Lights
are a long strip of colorful LED lights running the stretch of the elevated
train tracks along Wabash Avenue in the Loop. The Kickstarter began in August
2015 and has since reached its $60,000 goal. The lights are not only meant to
be an aesthetically pleasing addition, but the intended plan allows for
Chicagoans to help program the sequence of lights for an interactive
experience. The main goals of the Wabash Lights project are:
“Fostering a safer, well lit downtown,
the promotion of Chicago as a global destination, beautification of the ‘L,’
broadening the profile and number of annual visitors to Chicago, attraction and
retention of downtown businesses, and boosting civic pride.”
Phase one was implemented
in January 2016, and a small strip of lights were installed and would be lit
for the following six months. The rest of the project is still awaiting further
funding before it can be seen to fruition.
Two seemingly dissimilar
creatives started this incredible project. Jack C. Newell and Seth Unger, a
filmmaker and creative strategist respectively, are the masterminds behind this
unique art display. Newell describes himself as a public art enthusiast in
addition to his title as a filmmaker, and “uses his background in film to
inform his public art projects. His ability to use light and color to tell
stories and illicit emotion from the audience is at the heart of his work in
both film and in the public space.” Unger is a business creative—he solves
problems in the marketing world. Yet, his prior experiences in theater give him
the background to understand human connection and spatial compatibility, and
his “collaborations have helped facilitate, design, and implement innovative
brand, workplace, and creative strategy across diverse areas of focus.”
So what makes this project so creative?
Well, the originality is the first and most obvious reason—there’s nothing like
this in Chicago. But aside from that, it’s the functionality and problem
solving aspect that elevates this project (literally). Nighttime Chicago can be
dark and scary, so a little light and community involvement can go a long way.
The extra step of allowing individuals to participate in the exhibit is
something all too familiar to advertisers and marketers (ahem, Unger), who
understand the benefits of consumer involvement. This project showcases efforts
in artistic beauty from Newell’s expertise and insights into function and
garnering awareness from Unger’s field to create something amazing in a seemingly
separate realm of work. The collaborative nature of this project is what seals
the deal on its status as “creative.”
Then what makes these two guys so
creative? Simply put, it’s their passion for doing fun things. Both men are
creative by profession—a filmmaker and a strategist need to be in order to find
success. Yet, because this was a side project, outside of their realm of
responsibility, they needed significant amounts of intrinsic motivation to
provoke such creative thought and execution. According to Collins &
Amabile, “creativity is motivated by the enjoyment and satisfaction that a
person derives from engaging in the creative activity.” When you like what
you’re doing, the ideas flow more freely. In addition, they write that “high
levels of intrinsic motivation are particularly important when the emphasis is
on novelty.” New ideas are inspired by insights that are of value to the
individual who came up with them. Both Newell and Unger saw a problem and an
opportunity, that using their respective expertise, they could solve for the
hell of it.
Collins,
M. A., & Amabile, T. M. (1999). Motivation and creativity. In Robert J.
Sternberg (Ed.) Handbook of Creativity.New York: Cambridge University Press.
I think that the idea of making Chicago more aesthetically pleasing, more than it already is, is a really great concept. I like that Newell and Unger did so in a beneficial way, using lights to make the streets feel safer as well as provide an interactive experience. I think that they exemplify the "little C" creative in the way their innovation is useful and fun to Chicagoans. As said in the post, this was a side project for both men. I wonder if they both put their entire creative force behind this project, would it have had a greater impact on Chicago? I had not heard of these lights prior to this post, and they have been around for over a year. I assume that if this was Newell and Unger's main/sole project, that we would be seeing these lights throughout the city.
ReplyDeleteI love this idea! Not only does it look cool, but it also makes those areas (which can be pretty sketchy at night) a lot safer when you're just trying to get to the train. I agree that these creatives were intrinsically motivated as you pointed out since this idea was outside of their creative fields- they saw a practical need and a way to solve it. Are they planning on expanding this project at all, possibly making different installations in different areas of the city?
ReplyDeleteI think the most interesting thing about this is the creators at work-- a filmmaker and a creative marketing strategist. As someone who works in Marketing, I found that it's become more prevalent that content is tailored and interactive-- and I think you can definitely see that in the intent with this project that allows Chicagoans to help program those lights.
ReplyDeleteI admire your use of Collins and Amabile's idea of the link between creativity and motivation and the fact that this was a side project for the creators. It's cool to see this sort of passion project turn into something so tangible and visible downtown.
Do you know how we can influence the sequence of those lights? Is there a voting process or suggestion box?
This is amazing! I've seen similar endeavors in Chicago, but I had no idea about its origins. I think this is an interesting case where creativity and art are not just made public, but make up part of the city itself. They attract attention but also, serve as a means to highlight the beauty of the city. They also serve as a public utility as they help city goers find their way on dark nights-the art is both aesthetically pleasing and utilitarian for Chicagoans. I would love to see this program expanded, but I do worry about light pollution. At one point is this too much light? If we have an issue of light pollution in cities, would this contribute to that? I would like to hear how this goes in the future with Collins and Amabile.
ReplyDelete