Over the past several years I have had the honor of serving on the Wisconsin Arts Board. This state agency engages Wisconsin’s people in the creative process, whether in traditional arts or in the art of business.

Our diversified board of professionals, appointed from areas statewide, has reformulated the agency. It offers many rich resources beyond just capital, and as such is now reaching out deeper, farther, and more effectively to art organizations, businesses, industries, local governments, and Indian nations that reside here in the state.

On January 22, we held a press conference in which our chair, Lt Governor Barbara Lawton unveiled a new strategy complemented by a new identity for the Wisconsin Arts Board in the form of a new logo. Arketype stepped up to the challenge and developed a new look that both in form and function best reflects this new direction—a new direction that blurs the boundaries of traditional arts and creativity to include community culture, arts education, and the creative thinking process required for daily learning, working, and playing. A direction that also stresses how art and creativity can benefit the economic power of a place through commerce.

Arketype designed an icon and logotype that captures it all. With a professional presentation of the logo type, playful intent on the word “art,” and a mark that could be a brush stroke, a dancer, a piece of sculpture, or a punctuation, if you will, integrated and seated into the logo type itself. In fact, the icon hints to the birth of a new idea! This new face of the Arts Board has appeal to both the artist, as well the accountant.

In its inaugural presentation to the people of the state of Wisconsin, Arketype created a multimedia presentation that illustrates the new positioning statement and graphically tells the story of the benefits that arts deliver as represented by the four “Cs.” Creativity. Culture. Community. Commerce.

CREATIVITY does not occur in a vacuum. Rather it takes place within an environment through the human experience and the intellectual exchange between people. This exchange nurtures thinking that results in traditional arts, like a painting, a book, or a dance. But well beyond this simplification, creativity also produces products, goods, and solutions. With that said, creativity is really a product of a COMMUNITY, which can be observed on many different levels; i.e., a town, a geographical area, or even the world.

Over time, a community’s creativity efforts build a “brand” which could also be called a CULTURE identifying the community. An obvious example of this would be the Oneida Nation. But let’s extend that concept and apply it to the entire state of Wisconsin, or to a specific location such as Northeast Wisconsin, or to a place like the city of Green Bay. How then do these communities survive? Through COMMERCE, which in turn is the quality of goods or services produced through creativity, community, and its culture!

Paul Meinke
See what else we’ve been up to at:
http://www.arketypeinc.com

Our nation appears to be having difficulty showing respect for one another. Sadly, examples of disrespect and a lack of civility are rampant.

Recently, talk-show host John Gibson laughed off Heath Leger’s death by calling him a “weirdo with a serious drug problem.” He then played quotes from Leger’s Oscar-nominated performance in “Brokeback Mountain,” “How can I quit you?” followed by a biting comeback, “Well, he found out how to quit you,” Gibson said, laughing into his microphone.

In Washington, DC, after a snowstorm left three inches of snow on the ground, a high school senior left his name, number, and a message on the superintendent’s answering machine asking why he was keeping school open. The superintendent’s wife responded by leaving the young man an angry, condescending message, including calling the students “snotty nose little brats.” Her rant found its way onto the Web and into America’s mainstream media spotlight.

And let’s not forget our politicians who have filled news outlets throughout this election campaign with disrespectful rhetoric, especially during the week in which we celebrate the ideals of Martin Luther King, Jr.

What can you do?

On Monday, January 21, the official holiday recognizing Dr. King, Arketype once again closed its doors as it has for the past three years and took it as “a day on.” We spent the day volunteering and engaging the community in which we live and work. This year’s theme centered on respect…how timely!

Four Arketype teams visited area schools, acting out scenes for second-graders that illustrated the use of disrespect in various situations. Students were given pairs of “respectacles” [colorful eyeglasses] and asked to wear them in order to see ways of changing each situation. The teams then replayed the scenes using the students’ tips and advice. The program ended with a song and slide show illustrating the importance of diversity and respect.

Ray Faccio, who is responsible for business development at Arketype, participated in the event and had this comment about the experience:

“Interacting with a class of second-graders on MLK Jr. day always reminds me of the absolute innocence of these little ones. I watched a little girl sitting in the front row faintly mouthing the words to the song, ‘Don’t Laugh at Me,’ as it played. She obviously was thinking deeply.

“As much as we hear how children are growing up faster and faster, these children are innocent and impressionable. They just need adults to show them a good path.

“I think Martin Luther King, Jr. would be happy with the small acts of caring we extend each year on his birthday.”

Arketype is compelled through communication to be a positive influence in the development of today’s youth. After all, designing and building communication is what we do in business every day for others. And we believe that design has purpose. With that comes responsibility above and beyond our own industry.

MLK day is a great reminder for everyone to engage in respectful behavior. Imagine the spectacular results if everyone engaged in just a little respect.

Paul Meinke

See what else we’ve been up to at:
http://www.arketypeinc.com

Like a bolt of lightening grabs hold of the earth, 612 Stuart Street’s Grace, home to Arketype, was engulfed in a sea of creatures on October 31st, Halloween. Not that the building has never been visited before by creatures of the night. Since we made this nearly 100-year-old building our home in downtown Green Bay, there have been several eyewitness accounts that we are not here alone.

A few of us lucky (or would that be unlucky?) ones have heard the echo of deliberate footsteps along the floor of the atrium balcony. A slow methodical pace…heel against maple-slotted wooden walkway. Yet when one gets up to look into the area, the sound disappears, and no one is there.

There was also a sighting of a figure in the bell tower windows, seen in the twilight of this fall. The figure moved from window to window before vaporizing right before our eyes. The interesting point about this sighting is that the floor in the bell tower is a good ten feet below the windows, which means the figure had to be floating!

But this Halloween, the ghouls and goblins on Stuart Street took on many material forms, and believe me they were real because you could poke them with a stick! Especially after feasting on a potluck lunch of gnocchi eyeballs in a bloody red sauce, pumpkin soup, ghostly cupcakes, and we can’t forget our favorite, snot-on-a-stick. These were just a few of the ghoulish delights enjoyed by our crew.

Alive or dead, in spirit or earthly forms, there was much thunder in the celebration with a good time had by all! It was a great way to build camaraderie as we now stare winter square in the face!

Paul Meinke

See what else we’ve been up to at:
http://www.arketypeinc.com