Reply
Fri 20 Mar, 2009 01:36 pm
I have a collection of tools and artifacts that no one can remember their purpose..They have that used loved look about them, chisels for a certain job a tapered square wooden ruler.It made me ponder on the known tools i use , hammers screw drivers. They are instantly recognisable and their use cries out to you by just looking at them.Association with objects of use and of no use, how does the mind value them ? I value those i dont know their use by the intrigue they instill in me and those i know i covert for future use..they are mine all mine..I then looked at an antique staffordshire dog of my grandfathers, it has no real use other than to remind me of my grandparents but how precious is it to me..Objects i value mark my presence and when i go they will become my grave artifacts buried with my memories, loosing their cherished attraction.
@xris,
It's probably not the utility (or lack thereof) that is speaking to you. It's probably the design, the artistry, or perhaps just some visceral idealism about a different time. I feel the same way about certain things. I'd bet an antique hammer or screwdriver, i.e. one that looked like the old tools but functioned like the new tools, would appeal to you the same way that the other ones in the unique collection do. It reminds me of a small museum of dental history in one hospital I used to work in. All the tools would probably still work, but there's just a different feel to them.
@xris,
xris wrote:I have a collection of tools and artifacts that no one can remember their purpose..They have that used loved look about them, chisels for a certain job a tapered square wooden ruler.It made me ponder on the known tools i use , hammers screw drivers. They are instantly recognisable and their use cries out to you by just looking at them.Association with objects of use and of no use, how does the mind value them ? I value those i dont know their use by the intrigue they instill in me and those i know i covert for future use..they are mine all mine..I then looked at an antique staffordshire dog of my grandfathers, it has no real use other than to remind me of my grandparents but how precious is it to me..Objects i value mark my presence and when i go they will become my grave artifacts buried with my memories, loosing their cherished attraction.
I use to have an old level that my stepson gave me. Never used it much. It was a unique level. One of those kind that expanded to nine feet. Someone stole that level. I wished I had it back. not to use it, but, just because it was a gift from my stepson to me.
@Elmud,
I wondered where does art become functional and a tool a work of art.Oil paints and the brushes have a smell, a feel that gives you an anticipation of what might be.Children dont distinguish between them, they look at all objects and ask" whats that"..The most beautiful sculpture is nothing more than a swing in the garden and yes to them what is the most valuable? Have we become creatures of valuing life in general by societies reasoning ? have we lost the ability to value our own treasures..A hammer on a desert island or Shakespeare's sonnets..
@xris,
xris wrote:I wondered where does art become functional and a tool a work of art.Oil paints and the brushes have a smell, a feel that gives you an anticipation of what might be.Children dont distinguish between them, they look at all objects and ask" whats that"..The most beautiful sculpture is nothing more than a swing in the garden and yes to them what is the most valuable? Have we become creatures of valuing life in general by societies reasoning ? have we lost the ability to value our own treasures..A hammer on a desert island or Shakespeare's sonnets..
If I understand you rightly, I'd say most of this falls under the 'associative value' we place on things. As we experience 'X', the extent to which X is a pleasurable, rewarding process so do also those
tools or things used.
Some of it, I'm sure, is society's reasoning - much of it is our own; value imbued via our own associative experiences.
@Khethil,
Khethil wrote:If I understand you rightly, I'd say most of this falls under the 'associative value' we place on things. As we experience 'X', the extent to which X is a pleasurable, rewarding process so do also those tools or things used.
Some of it, I'm sure, is society's reasoning - much of it is our own; value imbued via our own associative experiences.
Yes your probably right Khethil, i just worry that when we see mundane objects they dont inspire us as much as they should.We are going to an art exhibition and on theway we could see the most beautiful pile of logs randomly stacked but with no artistic value.This group decisions by society is fine to encourage us to admire art but not its real value.
@xris,
xris wrote:... i just worry that when we see mundane objects they dont inspire us as much as they should....
Yea, I think I know where you're coming from.
Art and Beauty are
soooo subjective, but I share your concern of what popular notions of "art and inspiration" are.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace