At this morning’s Creative Mornings Charleston, a monthly morning lecture on a various topic chosen by Creative Mornings International, Tim Wolf took the mic at the City Gallery to talk ethics. I was skeptical of the talk from the beginning — ethics is one hell of a broad topic. But it’s what CMCHS had to work with, and I can see why they chose Wolf. An inspirational speaker of sorts, Wolf is a software engineer, currently consulting for tech companies, helping them “grow” teams of people who work well together. He says that he can’t tell us what’s ethical — which I appreciate, because, that would be pretty bold — but that he can tell someone “what’s not ethical for you.”
What’s not ethical, for Wolf, is to live a mediocre life. He’s built his current life around this philosophy. He’s even got a tattoo on his arm, mediocre life, to remind him how not to live.
I appreciated Wolf’s enthusiasm, and his message. He encourages people to be vulnerable, open-minded, and tenacious. I just think the crowd at CMCHS is already all of those things. I’ve spoken with so many young creatives and I see all of those aforementioned qualities immediately. And then some (humility, acceptance, bravery, patience, and then some more patience). Wolf’s talk was good, but I don’t think the young creatives in Charleston needed to hear it. Quite simply, they’ve got this shit.
Before Wolf took the stage, Karen Ann Meyers spoke about the City Gallery’s current exhibit, Flowers for Tony, which features large canvases of Tony Csavas‘ work during his life in Charleston. In 2014, Csavas committed suicide, and Meyers, his girlfriend, has curated this exhibit in his honor. While the gallery’s outer edges feature Csavas’ work, the inner walls showcase other artists’ pieces inspired by the title, Flowers for Tony. Meyers came up with the name for the exhibit based on a huge painting Csavas had created for her years before, Flowers for Karen, which then turned into a series of images.
The exhibit will be on display at the City Gallery until Mar. 6, with a closing reception on Mar. 4.
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