“There’s no use sitting around all day when you could be out doing something.”

This is how local artist Joseph Griffin describes the spirit behind his new multi-media experiment, titled “We Are the Dead: Works for the Future.” The show, which combines video, poetry and live musical performances by Griffin, runs today through Sunday at Ad Astra Gallery, 205 W. Eighth St.

The idea for the somewhat unusual title first hit Griffin after reading the Dalai Lama’s book “Advice on Dying: And Living a Better Life.” In it, he offers guidance on how to live one’s life to the fullest.

“Last year I turned 26 and it hit me: What am I doing with my life?” Griffin says. “So I’ve been doing some spring cleaning.”

That “spring cleaning” took the form of “We Are the Dead.” With samples from several different artistic and performance mediums, the show is a veritable lesson in diversity, consisting of work from the last four years of Griffin’s life. As part of the celebration of Lawrence’s 150th anniversary, he feels that the varied nature of the show’s components is an apt metaphor for the city and its unique flavor.

“There’s just such a diverse group of people — in the downtown area in particular — that you come across everyday,” he says. “There are punks and anarchists and Christians, and it’s just a wonderful cross-section. I think that’s kind of how the show works, too.

“After you live in a place long enough, it kind of influences what you do, what you see and how you think about things.”

Griffin has lived in Lawrence for nine years. He moved from Ottawa to attend Kansas University, where he got a degree from the school’s film department in 2001.

Though he concentrated on film, it certainly wasn’t his only interest. Griffin had been writing poems since the sixth grade, and he graduated to skits and plays when he hit high school. During college, he further honed his craft by taking playwriting classes. Movies, specifically “Dead Poets Society,” have played an important role in the young artist’s development as a writer.

“I’d say I was a writer first, but I’ve been watching movies for a long time and decided that was something I was interested in, too,” he adds. “I feel that if you’re interested in the arts that you shouldn’t be afraid to try everything. At worst you’ll find that it doesn’t work out, but at best you’ll find it’s something that you’re really gifted at.”

Heeding his own advice, Griffin also branched out into composing music. Though he took guitar lessons for a couple of years to lay the foundation, he says he’s worked most of his style out on his own.

When asked to describe what that style is exactly, he struggles to find the words.

“It’s kind of hard to explain,” he says. “It’s pretty much just a matter of writing a song that sounds like something you’d like to hear.”

Griffin’s music ranges from standard chord progressions to one-note tunes that accompany his lyrics. But his music is just one-third of what the performances will showcase. Combined with his poetry, which tackles such subjects as the trials of growing older, and his video, which will be projected alongside the poetry and music, the words complete what Griffin feels is a successful melding of several artistic mediums.

• Friday-Sunday 06.04-06.068pm :: We Are The Dead: Works for the Future
• more info

“Everybody has their own form of expression,” he says. “This is what I’ve been doing the last four years, all in one night.”

Though this is his first official presentation, Griffin isn’t feeling nervous about it, though the decision as to which pieces would make the final cut weighed on his mind initially. Now, however, he’s just ready for the curtain to go up.

“It’s come a lot easier than I thought it would,” he says. “I’d say the excitement is definitely more present than any stress that I’m feeling.”