If you haven’t seen Paula Scher give her ‘solemn v. serious’ TED talk you absolutely must. In it she talks about the way that something serious (ambitious, exciting, new) can morph into something solemn (repetitive, ceremonial, dull), and the challenge of continuing to pursue the serious over the solemn.
I was sitting in City Hall Park last night after seeing the A-Team (they fly a tank – I have nothing more to say on the matter), and talking to a friend. He told me that in his own art-making, he tries to focus on really loving the process of making it, and not worrying as much about what becomes of the final product. You can’t control it once it’s out of your hands, you just have to begin again, on a new thing, and continue to find ways to love the process of getting there.
Anyway, I know we all think OK Go are amazing makers of videos - some think their videos outstrip their songs – but I want to go a step farther. I think OK Go embody Paula Scher’s idea about seriousness, and my friend’s idea about loving the process. The question is, can their earnestness and craft in making these videos go on ad infinitum, or will they ever simply become solemn.
I suppose this also goes back to Ze Frank‘s talk at Internet Week – is authenticity and sincerity scaleable?