Artistry

Good is a product of the ethical and spiritual artistry of individuals; it cannot be mass produced.

~ William Rotsler

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I love going to antique or salvage or retro or whatever you want to call them stores.  There are so many interesting items.  They are snapshots of our cultural past.  When I see family photos, it makes me sad.  It makes me feel like - as a society - we have an obligation to get those photos back to family members of that set of ancestors.  I feel like anyone else possessing them would not value them in the way that family members would.  Which may not be the case.  Not everyone feels about photos (or families, for that matter) in ways that would inspire them to retain those kinds of artifacts.

But there are other things in these stores, too.  Some people call these other types of items "folk art."  They are things made not by famous artisans, but by everyday people.  Things maybe anyone could create given time and inspiration and the materials involved.  The chair above is one of those items.  And how we value those types of items varies.  Some people are drawn to them while to others think these kinds of things are just a joke.

Again, the chair above is a good example of this.  When I saw the chair, I knew I wanted a photo of it.  I wasn't sure what the story or the blog entry about it would be.  I just knew there was something there.  And I didn't have to wait long for the story to present itself.  This is what I overheard shortly after taking the picture...

Man:  Duct tape chair?

Woman:  No.

That pretty much exemplifies how we differently value folk arts.  (pause)  And duct tape.