Knowledge is key.

Would you ask a plumber to do a bypass surgery on your heart? I think you wouldn’t. Does it make sense to hire a vicar to consult your sales team? Not really. Why not? Because they are educated in their specialism, probably certified and they have built a strong fundament under their talent called ...knowledge!

The first thing I did after registering my newborn sons as Dutch citizens, was signing them up as a member of the local library. They were probably the youngest members ever. And why? Because I totally believe that literacy and the education that comes with it inspires people to connect the dots in life. Curiosity, inspiration, education, understanding...it’s all dramatically connected.

The one, who knows why Oliver Cromwell’s ghost is still alive in the British daily society, understands how to approach the current challenges. My wife mentioned last week: When the European leaders would put the map from Europe as it was divided in the fifteenth century under the map of current countries and they would hold it against the light, they would immediately recognize what Europe’s real problem is...tribal differences! That’s genuine knowledge.

For me as an Art Director it was always of an existential importance to know a little bit about a zillion of subjects, in order to come up with associations and metaphors. It’s key!

And I’m personally convinced it’s key for any artist anyway to „know‟ about stuff. It brings depth in Art.

Artists are the scientists of the soul. Our domain is the genuine human emotion. We question, we show the World that there are sometimes other options, better solutions. In that case we’re sometimes even „dangerous‟. It’s a human life skill to secure ourselves, live comfortably in our convenience zone and embed our life in structures, rituals, dogma’s, cultures. But a good artist is able to dig for the real thing and ask about the „why‟ in order to come up with an unexpected brand-new „how‟!

That is why „society‟ sometimes struggles with the artist’s reflection. Art, just like science, means especially trouble when knowledge is involved. Combined with genuine creativity it can be very disturbing. „Masters‟ of the reflection like Darwin, Einstein, Sagan, Gaudi, Hockney or Wilde weren’t appreciated in their own time because they questioned based on reason and came up with very convincing , on strong skills based, creative output. Knowledge is power and they were living proof.

The book I would recommend in this case is „The God Delusion‟ by Richard Dawkins. It is written in the first place for Dawkins himself (huge ego) but especially for those who feel stuck in their cultural dogma, whether socially, religiously or culturally or creatively! Aren’t we all? Dawkins questions all religions. Not because of the fact that people believe in „something out there‟ but because of the clerical ritual dance that comes most of time with it. It draws a curtain over daily life. It hides stuff! It’s a very intriguing book which will leave you with more questions.

Wasn’t it Albert Einstein who once mentioned “The more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know.”... That’s humble but it’s the truth. And Einstein was a master in questioning himself.

Therefore it’s so important to let our children read from the first day they are among us. So they can question us when their time has come and show us a mirror.