VisualsSpeak blog

Garr Reynolds over at Presentation Zen reminded me that today is the twenty seventh anniversary of John Lennon’s death. Garr was not very far from where I am now in Oregon when he heard, I was in my third floor studio at Rhode Island School of Design. I remember the images I was working on at the time, it was one of those senseless moments where I wonder how the world can be so insane. My roommates came home a short time later and I couldn’t even tell them. It was like it didn’t make enough sense to repeat, my brain couldn’t quite comprehend how or why it happened.

John and Yoko were regular topics of conversation at art school. No discussion of conceptual art occurred without someone talking about Yoko, and discussions of performance art always contained mention of John and Yoko’s work together. It wasn’t just the art, the talk was also around maintaining identity as an artist independent of collaborators, who takes the spotlight and why, and a myriad of other aspects of being an artist in the public eye. We listened to their music, and paid attention to what they did. We noticed they had made the choice to step back and raise their child, to put Sean at the center of their world.

I’ve noticed the tributes Yoko has paid to John at the anniversaries of his death. Marveled at her ability to create in the face of such pain. So when Garr linked to her latest, I clicked over right away. Perhaps I should have paid a bit more attention to his comments:

The letter and the video (especially the Happy Christmas music video at the end) are evocative, and for many provocative perhaps. But you can not read the letter and watch the video presentation and not feel something. First I read the letter from Yoko to John. It is very simple and very beautiful. It speaks to the loss all of us have felt, (feel, or will feel) when we lose the person most important to us. For many, you’ll feel something quite profound. Read the letter, then watch the video; you will surely feel something.

I watched the video and read the letter late, right before I was going to bed. I didn’t sleep much, and still can’t get the song and the images out of my head. I would describe it as searing. Almost ten hours later, I can still feel a physical clutching around my heart. It is an incredibly powerful message, and worth seeing. But probably not right before you need to do something else. You can get there by clicking the image below.

This is a great example of how the visual and the verbal can combine to tell a story. When I first started writing this post, I thought I would analyze how that was done, and talk about the power of image. I’ve erased my words numerous times. They seem to silly, detached, and trite compared to the incredible piece of work Yoko has created. So, I’m going to leave it be. Go, watch it. Then go to Presentation Zen and watch the other videos Garr has found. Read the story he posted. I’ll talk about the images with less important images as examples. Just experience these.

I am so blessed. I get to work with the VisualsSpeak tools all the time. The absolute best part of it is hearing the stories. Have people pick photographs, and they respond with amazing stories. I get to laugh and play with people in the most incredible ways through the images. Shed an occasional tear with a few. But I never tire of it. Each session teaches me so much about how incredible people are.

Here are two stories which have touched me. Not from VisualsSpeak this time, but from two blogging colleagues. Both of them have really enhanced the power of the stories they are telling with the photographs they included. You’ll have to visit their blogs to see them, but it will be worth it.

The first is from one of the blogging challenge participants. We have been working to improve our blogs. The Indian Blogger shares a story of Dashrath Manjhi who moved a mountain, literally. You have to see what he did.

The second one is from Patti Digh. She is a colleague who teaches experiential learning techniques, particularly as they pertain to diversity through The Circle Project. I have had the pleasure of taking classes Patti teaches, and they are fantastic. Her blog is one of my favorites, and she is probably the main reason I am blogging today. She has inspired me over and over and her blog is full of stories. One of my favorite of her stories is about a man she met on a plane.

Storytelling has been used to teach since the dawn of time. Do you have any favorites to share?