Above Pictured, Mama Nomusa, African storyteller, performing at the first "Art Not Apathy" Gathering.

Art Appreciation

    Art and creativity lie together, unnoticed, but vibrant in the souls of their creator. most the message from its maker. They don’t realize how much the inspired pieces actually affect the world we live in, no matter what the actual piece is. Art is everywhere and everything.

Of course, when many of us hear the word art, we don’t think of true art. Most think of the colors on the paintings of different walls in places they’ve been, or the dance show they saw last night. However, this is not the real art that many of us think of. True art is emotion and how it is conveyed. Love is a type of art. The art of love is when you feel the connection you have with a friend, partner, or close family. You show it with the smile on your face or the smile you’ve given someone else. Happiness is an art in the way that most can’t keep it there because of the worries that they have about the outside world. A cherished smile is an inspired piece that shows on your face and is embedded  in your soul, and therefore is art, but not artwork.

    These emotions are what inspire beautiful accomplishments of artwork. The hard days of labor put into a message are what make the artwork. When the dancer takes emotion and turns it into the steps they use to make a performance, that’s artwork. When the artist splashes a million different colors onto the canvas or whatever they may use; this is artwork! They feel their artwork, they are their art. They hope that their audience might feel the same  way, or maybe feel some other way in their translation, as long as they touch the viewer.

    Yet much of this goes without translation or emotion by the audience. Many people don’t realize that the way they live, walk, talk, and feel is a way of art. Not one person is exactly the same, yet many are too caught up in their world to appreciate anyone else’s, whether it is visual artwork or not. Emotion often becomes confusing  when you don’t understand the art of yourself.

    Art needs appreciation. Art needs inspiration and creation. You, as well I, are art. Every one of us is an artist, all part of a bigger piece. So I challenge you to ask yourself this question. What can I do to make my creation better? What can I do to be better and to make things around me better? When these questions are answered, all of our colors will be brighter.

                            -Twick

Above pictured, Misty Grey and Jacob Hey, Executive Directors of O4I

Hello, my name is Jacob Hey, co-coordinator of Twick and Jake’s Organization for Inspiration. For years I’ve have wanted to do something  like this without the inspiration and willpower to pull it off. This inspiration and willpower was manifested into my life in the form of my dearest friend Misty Gray AKA Twick. We met at MIAD and we originally collaborated on her organization concept “Twick’s fund for Peace and Love”, but now with T&Js O.I. We are both collaborating together along with many other people, and have a lot more momentum and potentiality. Our goal is to inspire and be inspired, we wish for people to become active, and voice their opinions, even if no one else is ready to listen to them. This will be an experiment in the creative intellect of the human spirit. I am greatly looking forward to the years to come for our organization. It doesn’t take much effort to look around at our world and see we need help. Spirituality is at an all time low, war and profits is the only seeming concern of the rich, the number homeless people are growing rapidly, global warming threatens our lives and the life of our mother Earth, and the art and musical world seem to be taking a major turn for the worst, new popularized violent music scenes seem only to be interested in money and sex, giving a major shift of the populaces energy, and more and more artists are being left behind owing to the new technology utilized by the art industry, and a lot of inspirational positive art seems to have hidden away. So many confusing aspects of our modern reality are taking place on a moment to moment basis. People seem not to understand what the quantum hologram theory is trying to say to us, and that is the fact that every positive or negative feeling you have is contributing to the worlds positive and negative thoughts and feelings on a major scale through a network of energy that connects us all. This is not some new age bullshit, it is a proven FACT. Every act we make is affecting the world at a deep level for better, or for worse. If more people could find the heart to understand this within themselves,  we would probably have more organizations, musicians, politicians, artists, and thinkers dedicating themselves to increasing the positive within them and around them. That is why we are holding these shows. We hope to bring positivity and creativity to our troubled city of Milwaukee. Milwaukee is known to be one of the most segregated city in the united states. We also have a very high crime rate. I once heard that thousands of volunteers from around the world came to Washington DC to collectively Meditate. The FBI predicted at least a 25% decrease in crime rate in DC after the Meditation, based off of previous studies made in other cities. The DC Police chief came on TV in regard to this prediction saying “Look, it’s gonna take over two feet of snow to reduce the crime rate in this city.” But to the police department’s surprise the crime rate indeed did drop over 25 percent after the meditation, and the police department actually ended up helping to fund future projects for the organizers of the meditation. This is why we are here. The collective consciousness of this city needs more love, more positivity, and more creativity if we are to live together more peacefully in Milwaukee. This is what our Art not Apathy gatherings are for. This is what I will dedicate my life to. But it is YOU who will be able to make a difference. Each one of you. With ever act of kindness, every word of good will, every painting you paint, every song you sing, every positive word you write, you are changing the entire world with that singular act. Whether you know it or not. I hope you will join us at many of our future gatherings to come. -Jake