The Ability to See It Through – Part 3
Pastoral - Spring
One of the most important aspects of a collaboration is the ability to finish a project. At the beginning of a project energy is high and there’s excitement about the newness of the collaboration. As the collaboration moves on, maintaining focus and commitment becomes a key aspect to completing the project or taking that project to the next step.
The mini series The Four Seasons is both complex and compositionally challenging. Since our artwork is created by two people and is not just a single snap by a lone photographer, issues such as color palette, spatial illusion, composition and feel must be agreed upon. Using the skills discussed in parts 1 and 2 and adding scheduling the team to stay on course, we better insured our chances of finishing the series.
Making sure we met, each week, at an agreed upon time, helped us push through the challenge of creating a coherent mini series. Agreements become crucial in collaboration. Everyone’s time is important, so agreeing to meet and work at certain times on certain days should be adhered to. And if you say you are going to do something, then you must do it.
Like any serious relationship, the thing that side tracks that relationship is usually psychological biases that are brought to the relationship. There has to be space to understand that those biases may come out during the collaborative process, but with patience, good listening, flexibility, tolerance and a calendar, the project will definitely be completed.
A quick note on using a calendar: there are some in art who view its use as restrictive and/or as holding you to accountability. Our experience over the years is that it keeps you on task and is a tool that cuts through any confusion. As for accountability, in collaboration you are accountable to your collaborators as they are to you. It is always fair to ask your collaborator why they view the way they do or if they have been doing the work you both agreed upon. Staying on task in a collaboration is not that easy and many whom we’ve spoken with agree, the use of a simple tool like a calendar (not to be confused with a report) is a time saving method that helps cut through any confusion and helps you truly complete your collaborative goals.
Next: The Tyranny of Sharpness