Our Art Pieces
Our Art grows. Each piece is first completed as a little version book, a small book about the size of Cat Then, we grow it from version to version (expressing it in many different ways) until it becomes part of our lives (some people like the bootleg version better)
As Positive Deviants we believe in "version art" We create and treat as complete Our Art (e.g. books and movies) before it is perfect; in fact, even before it is anywhere near what conventional standards would deem complete. Because it is "version art" (and Positive Deviant Art), Our Art is not bound by traditional standards. So, you should expect the first versions of Our Art---be it movies, books or other forms we create---to be free-spirited and taking much artistic license. Because we often run Our Art out the door before it is refined, things like grammar, layout and style elements are imperfect. We choose to do it this way, we choose version-art, because we believe that in most cases, 90% of the value of our ideas/practices can be communicated and employed by ourselves and others even when they are in their early stages of development. We choose to make “the mistake” of putting Our Art out “too soon”, rather than too late, as we believe that many people have good ideas, beliefs and practices that sit on the shelf, often never seeing the light of day (or seeing it only much later than could be). We believe many of our ideas and practices can make an important contribution to people’s lives even if these ideas are released in a very rough-draft form. We believe our “beta version”, our pre-mature version, is going to be appreciated and useful, when the audience has a great need for it. This is what we count on. Our Version Art allow us to refine Our Art over time, as we get feedback and develop even better ideas/practices….so that they can become increasingly effective. We, therefore, trust that you will overlook any inadequacies of our early versions. In return we will cut you a deal. When you buy one of our version books, for example, we give you the right to every updated version of that book thereafter. In fact, our first version is usually free. Later versions will cost more, as Our Art develops. Regardless of the version you buy your initial purchase will qualify you for a free copy of every subsequent version. Finally we aim for little (e.g. little books, little movies) because we strive to have Our Art express the principle of “creative constraint.” This principle suggests that small spaces, carefully constructed, can generate important pressures—pressures that give rise to creativity that larger spaces might not. This principle is reflected, for example, in our choice to write “one-page books” and to create minutes-long movies. As Positive Deviants we have come to believe that most self-help books could effectively be boiled down to one or two pages. It is our belief that if such a book was written well, people would still get 90% or more of the benefit that they would get out of a three hundred-page book of the same title.