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The need to feel and experiment, as opposed to possessing and accumulating, seems to be an increasingly established tendency in our society, which is generating an important revolution in the way in which we have understood our economic, social and/or cultural relationships. Maybe it is not something new, but now, faced with over-saturation from products, services and messages, attention is centered on all other differential questions, integrating intangible factors and values such as: creativity, cultural contextualization, ecology and sustainability, design, social responsibility, interactivity and participation and above all, the capacity to offer new and personalized experiences. |
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Disonancias – Ricardo Antón of Amasté
The need to feel and experiment, as opposed to possessing and accumulating, seems to be an increasingly established tendency in our society, which is generating an important revolution in the way in which we have understood our economic, social and/or cultural relationships.
Maybe it is not something new, but now, faced with over-saturation from products, services and messages, attention is centered on all other differential questions, integrating intangible factors and values such as: creativity, cultural contextualization, ecology and sustainability, design, social responsibility, interactivity and participation and above all, the capacity to offer new and personalized experiences.
For this reason, many of the agents implicated at different levels in the market are putting increasing emphasis on these questions which, until now, did not seem to be central to their business plans, in order not to be left behind by their competitors and ensure future success for their organizations.
For this reason, it is essential to redefine both what the organization does and how it should fulfil its objectives, meaning, in many cases, it is going to be necessary to consider a total change both of the structure and the work processes, increasingly understanding organizations as interdisciplinary work teams made up of professionals with diverse and complementary profiles, where an artist, as a professional specialized in creativity from an abstract and radical point of view, can find his/her space and also play a fundamental role. And it is a fact that many artists are increasingly moving their work (both in terms of reflection and practically) towards territories that are searching for tangential relationships synthesising with scientific, technological and social aspects, researching new materials, new modes and relational systems, new experiences, new actuation scenarios, new channels of communication, new languages, etc.
Within this context of possible tangential relationships between art and other social and commercial areas where Disonancias/Dissonances emerge (www.disonancias.com), an initiative promoted by Xabide Group which consists of relating international artists with technology centers and R+D+i units for companies located in the Basque Country, to work jointly on a research project, with the intention of producing deviations, divergences and dissonances in the logical thought and actuation processes, which can lead to defining prototypes for exceptional products, services or processes which will differentiate the participating entities.
The main objective of Disonancias is to promote the innovation processes in companies and research teams working from the exchange that is generated in their relationship with the artists. This relationship is based on the premise that artists are researchers who, working from informal unspecialized knowledge of a determined project, can help to propose new and different ways of innovating, contributing creativity and work methodology, serving as a catalyzer for the members of a research team, or simply, signalling something which maybe others did not “spot,” as it was too obvious.
Disonancias also aims to give international artists the possibility of researching a specific field with advanced and highly specialized professional means by interacting with the business and technological world. It gives them an opportunity to apply their creativity to specific fields of actuation in real environments, or work with other artistic practices that are more speculative or expressive.
In this 2006 edition, the artists will be incorporated into ten research projects promoted by companies and technology centers, centering on product.
But beyond the companies, the artists and their projects, Disonancias searches to promote the idea of innovation in society in general, developing socially responsible and creative environments. It invites us to take risks without being afraid of failing (failure is just another section of the path), to go further and look inside the unknown with a spirit of curiosity, providing people to accompany us on this trip who have resources, knowledge and experiences that are different from our own and who are prepared to share them. Because what we are all looking for in the end (from art, companies, administration or any other field), is to live in a world, or possible worlds, that we have dreamed of so many times.
Ricardo Antón (Bilbao, 1974) studied Fine Art and later took Masters, postgraduate courses and workshops in marketing, communication, philosophy, cultural management and different fields of creativity. He is one of the founders and co-directors of Amasté (www.amaste.com), an agency that is specialized in below-the-line communication, guerrilla marketing and socio-cultural unrest. It is specialized in new modes of production, diffusion and communication, particularly in what refers to the urban culture, new markets for art, new trends in the market and youth public. In his everyday work at Amasté, he moves between the consultancies, the work of mediator and strategic and artistic project management. Ricardo Antón is collaborating with Xabide Group providing design and communication for the Disonancias project.
