<<" This divorce of art from technology is completely unnatural. It's just
that it's gone on so long you have to be an archeologist to find out where
the two separated. Rotisserie assembly is actually a long-lost branch of
sculpture, so divorced from its roots by centuries of intellectual wrong
turns that
just to associate the two sounds ludicrous."
ZAMM, chapter 14.
Seen in the light of MOQ, why are art and technology divorced? What is their
role today? Is this divorce definitive?>>
________________________________________________________________
~ Formerly When Art was strong and Technology weak, people mistook symbolism
(form) for purpose (function); now that Technology is strong and Art is weak,
people mistake purpose for symbolism.
The above statement shows the current status of the "Question" in our
western world today. But it also exposes the absurdity of the question
itself. Because the fact remains that Everything is Valuable. It's All just a
system of Values.
I consider myself an artist, but I was born from an "almost dead" technical
school that instructed me in the "art"/skills of metalsmithing needed to do
repair and construct jewelry as well as set gemstones. I continued my career
with a careful study of gemology, which enhanced my ability to appreciate the
skill required for setting different varieties gemstones with care by
understanding crystalline structure. I now am able to combine my knowledge
with skill attained through practice and perseverance in order to create
works of art that have meaning to the clients at the jewelry store where I
work. The clients may not understand metallurgy, gemology or craftsman
technique such as welding, but they do understand the beauty of the jewelry
because for them it has meaning. Conversely, I may not fully appreciate the
design of a certain piece but I can always find value in the construction of
the piece. The flip side is that I can also always find imperfection and the
client will never find contentment in the meaning of their jewelry. Alas,
there is only the content of Value!
I feel that both my career and my personal path give me a unique perspective
of this months question. Of which, I consider both fertile and futile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ø I've seen a recent Cleveland artist, paint beautiful (although dark) scenes
of Industrial landscapes as well as the WWII closely-knit houses that
surround them.
Ø I've seen a lady that worked at a potato chip factory, sift through the
rejected burnt potato chips in order to find ones that looked like works of
art to her. She saw doves, bears, dogs and even Richard Nixon's portrait all
depicted inside of burnt potato chips. She kept these treasures wrapped
inside of velvet cloth like valuable gemstones.
Ø I've seen beauty depicted in poverty, so much as to make abundance appear
to me as nauseating and repugnant.
Ø I've seen apprenticeship and labor appreciation die while
self-rationalization and egotism are encouraged with barren social rewards.
Ø I've seen flags raised by half-dead men with honor and flags pissed on by
vital-men with anger.
Ø I've seen assembly lines that suck the life out of employees and I've seen
ones that are able to grant 13-week paid vacations.
Ø I've seen machines that pollute and machines that purify.
Ø I've seen Art powerful enough to make people worship it with sacrificial
reverence, and Art powerful enough to make people despise it with selfish
profanity.
Ø I've seen Technology so great that it kills and destroys life by hundreds
of thousands both slowly and in a single moment. And I've seen Technology so
great that it can create and save life by hundreds of thousands of both the
young and the old.
Ø I've seen art and technology make love in unity and I've seen them rape
each other in discord.
Ø I've seen them as one and I've seen them as two. United, Divorced,
Reconciled, and Separated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So then,
<<"why are art and technology divorced?">>
The one reason they are divorced is the same one it has always been and shall
always be. The reason in one word is "Progression". And by that I mean an
ongoing progression, for the separation is essential in order for growth.
<<" What is their role today?">>
Their prime role is competitive. Of which, I mean to say that they
compliment each other by means of confrontation. They teach each other by
taunting each other. One may even summarize their roles as, "compassionate
competition" or "competitive compassion".
<<" Is this divorce definitive?">>
For the whole, "Yes", the divorce is definitive, because the separation is
a primary need for motion and activity. In addition, You can never get
everybody on the same page at once. Anyone that seeks this 100% unity pact
seeks decay and ruin.
For the individual, The divorce is both real and fictitious. It is like the
fear a child imposes upon himself when confronted with the darkness of his
own room. And so it is possible for the individual to reconcile the divorce
within themselves. When this 1% unity is sought it produces vision rather
than decay because it never really dissolves the separation. Rather it sees
past the division with a kind of sympathetic intuition and appreciation.
They are both put of the undefinable Quality. They both have value, and it
is all just a system of values. "Where your treasure is, there is your heart
also!"
Camp A: Tech Lovers
Camp B: Art Lovers
Camp C: Motorcycle Enthusiasts
(We all belong in camp C, whether we know it or not.)
Peace, Todd
"I really didn't do the topic justice here, but I hope that you all will
forgive my shortcomings."
MOQ.org - http://www.moq.org
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