I once asked Eric Siegel, the Director of the New York Hall of Science, why museums are innovative shining stars on the leading edge of culture seldom. He commented that as non-profits, “museums are built to survive, never to succeed.” Unlike startups and rock and roll superstars, museums aren’t organized to shoot for the moon and burn up trying. They’re made to plod along.
Maybe it is time to change that. Year Last, I met Mark Allen, the creator of Machine Project, an extremely cool “post-educational” space in LA that is part art gallery, part workshop space, part mad scientist party central. They host events like Dorkbake in which people design their own Easybake-esque ovens and then bake cakes in them. Next month, the space has been converted into a magic forest.
At one point, Mark commented that they have a “deliberately unsustainable” business model. Quite simply: do great stuff while you can, and when you can’t take action anymore, stop. This is the model that governs most businesses and creative endeavors. It’s the reason terms like “jump the shark” can be found.
Most companies, rock bands, and sports activities teams are only brilliant for so long. They begin to slide Then. Of course, the current financial crisis demonstrates what goes on when companies create artificial life support systems to prolong themselves far beyond their ability to provide great products and services. The unusual part of Mark’s declaration isn’t the acknowledgment that Machine Project will only can be found as …
