Rethinking Outlaws

I'm all over bad guy turned good guy stories. So I was captured by the title of the article I've linked here..."Outlaws at the Art Museum." I was doubly excited that I'd heard of Bansky, seen his bandit work in London. I liked it - I liked the whole romantic concept of sneak attacks on barren buildings - the smiles those images would bring in the mornings. But as I read on, I couldn't help connecting this outlaw story with another thought that's been at the forefront of my mind - networking. How, you say, does one have anything to do with the other? Let me see if I can unravel it for you...and this could be a challenge because the concept is a bit of a tangled mess in my brain as well.

I was not born into the technological age. I'm convinced kids' brains are mutating right before our eyes. Networking to me is email - I'm pretty proud of my ability in that realm. But, because I am in education (and live on this planet!), I recognize how critical it is to learn, adapt, dive into the thorny thicket and figure out this whole thing. Forget navigating the information highway - the world has moved beyond the space shuttle here - it is rocketing to the very edges of the universe through some serious networking ability. The "quality vandals" of the world are those that move with the speed of light through the Internet learning, discussing, trading secrets, dreams, ideas. The street artists of the Internet are doing the fun stuff. I admire that "old grafitti artist work ethic." They are out there getting their work up anywhere, everywhere, any way they can! Man, I want to do that. MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and all the myriad other similar sites aren't the outlaws anymore - they're the residences of corporations, capitalists, and presidents for heaven's sake!

Okay, this is a stretch - this article and my networking ideas...but the street art isn't criminal anymore, somehow it has credibility. Social networking sites aren't just for kids anymore - their telephone/texting/internet obsession has gained some respect in my eyes. I feel like the stuffy museum curator who finally appreciates the value of the great street art. Bring it on!