For this Fun Friday post, I am happy to share the artwork of Gaping Void, created by Hugh MacLeod. This has brought many laughs and smiles to myself and coworkers, plus motivation and focus. And I’ll tell you how it played a role in transforming a company culture.
Art is an essential part of human existence. We aren’t just engineers, scientists, technicians, or managers working on complex engineering programs. We are complete people. In addition, the physical spaces that we inhabit have a fundamental and profound impact on how we think, feel, work, and interact. This is a complete field of study in itself (not just architecture and interior design).
This is also why the STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) movement is becoming more about STEAM (adding the “A” for Arts). Or even better, re-arrange the letters to create TEAMS, which communicates a collaborative and project-based approach.
Anyway, when I was thinking about how to catalyze a spirit and capability of innovation for myself and others in my aerospace engineering job, I wanted to find some artwork that was smart, funny, and relevant for my office space. I made some myself (which I may share on another Friday post). But a good friend and colleague of mine found Gaping Void artwork and it became an instant favorite of mine. These brought much humor, motivation, and focus to me at my desk.
Then, when I had the thrill of establishing a dedicated space for other employees to pursue their own innovation projects, I knew we needed some artwork in the room. Activating and utilizing both sides of your brain is proven to create more innovative results and more fulfilling work. Because we are complete humans, right? (I recommend Dan Pink’s “A Whole New Mind” if you want a book on this topic.) With valuable support from my colleague, we obtained some prints to frame and hang in the room. They became an essential element in the space.
Here are links to the Gaping Void website and some of my favorite cartoons. Enjoy!
Full disclosure: I am NOT making any commission or royalty from this post or endorsement. I’m writing it because I’ve benefited from it and I’ve seen others benefit too.
Fair warning: some of these pieces have an R-rated version. None of these links go to those but the buzzword piece has s**t.
Oh no, it’s human potential: http://www.gapingvoidart.com/gallery/human-potential-2/
Quality isn’t job one: http://www.gapingvoidart.com/gallery/quality-clean-version/
Work extremely hard: http://www.gapingvoidart.com/gallery/extremely-hard/
One buzzword away: http://www.gapingvoidart.com/gallery/one-buzzword/
Main site: http://gapingvoid.com/