Who would have ever imagined Marry Cassatt would have had anything to do with IT! Not many. Only recently I discovered a common link between Mary's spirit and the future of IT and it is not something many of us in IT dare to flaunt: the power of imagination. Mary Cassatt is an American Impressionist who lived most of her life in France. Mary demonstrated the spirit of infinite optimism, innovation, and ability to manage with very little resources and support. Mary Cassatt teaches us that the IT that thrives and innovates today is one driven by vision and innovation as key to survival in a world lacking in technology research and development (R&D) resources and support.
Mary did not have much resources or support from her parents when she choose to become a painter. Mary's father was not supportive of her choice to become an artist! He insisted that she would be "self funded" on her own. He was willing only to support her basic needs. However, this lack of support did not stop her. Mary became a rare female impressionist and a rare American artist as well as the only American artist to exhibit her work with the original group of impressionist Artists such as Degas, Monet, and Renoir. She exhibited her work with Impressionists in 1877, 1879, 1880, 1881, and 1886. What can we in IT learn from Mary? a lot. I would posit that the first thing we can learn from Mary is that innovation and vision is a personal choice. As an artist, she knew what she wanted to accomplish and what form of art she liked. She did not have much support or resources but that challenge did not stop her.
Many of us in IT can attest to the innovation challenge due to lack of resources to support technology research and development. In the past ten years, IT R&D budgets have nearly come down to a halt. Should IT stop innovating and just focus on cutting cost or just support basic business automation needs? Mary's answer was a brilliant no! Her answer is what we see today in her art, style, themes and spirit. When it comes to technology innovation, IT must find a way despite the continued challenge many technologists face today where IT has become not necessarily the agent of change or transformation but a tool for cutting cost and a tool to support basic needs. This means IT must manage more with less to transform itself from being the agent of basic needs to becoming the agent of beautiful transformation.
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