The creatives over at Wieden+Kennedy want you to know that they are not just commercial shills. No, they are special artistic flowers—which, after all, is how they were selected in the first place to work at one of the most competitively sought after advertising firms in the world. And after they’re done breaking their asses for the man all day, they go home and make their own art, “to make ourselves sane and keep true to our heart’s definition of art,” explains Wieden designer Katie McHugh, who founded the annual WE MAKE art show three years ago to showcase what her colleagues can do.
“This year it is nine artists with pottery, paintings, photography, sculpture, portraits, visual/performance art and more.”—some names that might ring bells are Tyler Riewer, Mark Shepherd, and Chris Lael Larson—”And free booze. Of course. Every artist is insane for juggling the hours at WK and still finding the time and pleasure in going home and making more art. We want this show to have no expiration and to support other artists who need this.” WK artists are, of course, the lucky ones, and the majority of artists in town probably “need” a little more of what they’re having (paychecks). To that end, the annual opening party (free booze!) is also a potential networking/judgmental self-comparison opportunity (First Thursday Nov 1 at the Cleaners). And if you find “people who work at Wieden+Kennedy” to be a bit irksome as a theme for an art show, McHugh hints that the show may expand next year to include artists from beyond the walls of their offices. “We had so many requests this year to be a part of it we will have to discuss changing our venue next year,” she says.
Wish they’d clean those little white spots off their logo, but they can leave my initials on there, I’m OK with that.
“The creatives over at Wieden+Kennedy want you to know that they are not just commercial shills.”
To the “creatives” at W + K, and all of the other “creatives” is this city. The creatives at NASA can put a man on the moon and take pictures of other galaxies. Your commercial is neither creative nor art.
Let’s judge participating artists for being talented (how they were selected in the first place) and commercially viable (they earn paychecks). (Lucky) Sell-outs!
Let’s now also ridicule them for any non-commercial efforts. Imagine the nerve, I mean, clearly only un- or under-employed creatives are worthy of the Mercury’s support.
I find the writer’s schoolyard-tone “a bit irksome.”
… Says an 8-year veteran of WK.
“Clearly,” I publicized the event. Are you so unaware of how privileged a job at Wieden is that you can’t take a little ribbing?
I know I feel that way about the Merc. It’s not like I’m punching down, here.
An 8-year veteran of WK? Uhh, nope. In the spirit of journalism and not of trolling, I’ll leave it at that.
And then, in the spirit of momentum—your misplaced ad hominem notwithstanding—I’ll leave the argument alone as well.
My time commenting might better have been spent thanking my (non-WK) employer for selflessly giving me a paycheck. I wouldn’t want to seem ungracious or unaware.
Maybe you should go ahead and thank your (non-WK) employer for selflessly giving you a paycheck even though you’re here at 1:36 pm on a workday trolling the mean threads of this shitty magazine. But maybe that’s what “creatives” do these days to convince other “creatives” that they are actually creative and not in fact just clueless proxies going around pinteresting ideas not their own and believing deep down that they have a single original and creative thought inside their head. TROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL