attached mail follows:
To tell you the truth, I thought when I responded to All Recipients, I
was responding to the entire RP list. For some reason, the original message
that came to me was copied to the four of us. Although it's a nice group,
I wouldn't mind expanding it. (On the other hand, I was supposed to be
writing a paper on this subject and my struggle with some of the philosphical
issues involved have prevented me from finishing a satisfactory result.)
In response to Michael's $64,000 comment (the price is going up), I do
agree with you philosophically, in the sense that many people are born with
creativity, but as you also stated, it's usually beaten out of people by
the time they are 10 years old. My favorite description of this activity is
in Antoine de Saint-Exupery's Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince),
wherein his relatives convince him that he can never be an artist, because his
picture of a snake that swallowed an elephant looks like an old brown hat
to them.
I was responding to and agreeing with Steven's point, however, which I
took to mean that, in fact, given the chance to be creative, most of us lack
the talent or skill with the technologies available to express it in a
form that is pleasing to anyone but ourselves. We are also faced with public
displays of art that don't communicate any deep feelings to us, either,
further inhibiting any desire to embarrass ourselves. In the connection to
RP and art, my friend Brian Clark questions whether most of it is art or
simply craft. What is art and does the availability of a new technology
really make anyone more of an artist?
Keith Brown, himself an RP artist, nonetheless questions a comment I made
about a new aesthetic and whether the availability of a new technology
really allows that. Has a new sense been added? he asks. My only defense is
that science and technology have indeed changed our perception of the
world. When we look up into the stars today, even though they are virtually
unchanged, we see something quite different and are inspired in quite a
different way than we as humans of 4000 years ago, also not really much
changed, viewed those same stars. Even so, great art transcends those changes in
technology and continues to reach something deeper than data.
In support of Michael's notion that the creativity still resides in us
somewhere and is busting to get out, I am reminded of a comment by Kimberly
Voigt, another RP artist, that she took great joy in the beauty and
artistry of the industrial activity she viewed while working at Kohler. She
wasn't speaking of the craft that went into the bathroom fixtures that were
being produced there, but rather the flying sparks and flowing molten metal,
and the movements of the people at their work. Those people were being
creative without even knowing it, although they acknowledged to her taking
pleasure in their results. In fact, they were surprised that anyone else
saw it, too.
In some regard, I suppose I am thinking aloud, trying to understand the
significance of RP and Art. Perhaps I'll finish that paper eventually. In
the meantime, if Steven and Marshall agree that these ramblings should be
public, go ahead.
Brock
ps, if no onntioned it already, check out the Feb IEEE Spectrum full
layout on SFF,uding a short bit at the very end on art.
Marshall Burns wrote:
>From: michael rees <zedand00@sound.net>
>
>>Brock,
>>
>>You make a lot of nice points there. But I have to disagree with one
>>that I hear all the time. It goes like this "Creativity is not
>>widespread". Now I know I circulate in a world that is full of creative
>...
>>something the German Artist Joseph Beuys said: "Everyone an artist,
>>Everyone a human wealth potential." IT IS NOT JUST THE DOMAIN OF
>>ARTISTS!
>>
>>My 2.5 cents.
>
> Give yourself a break, Michael. Those sentiments are worth at least
two
>bits.
>
>
>P.S. I do wish this thread had been shared with the list. Some good
debating
>going on. Do the authors want to give me permission to post a
compilation?
>
>
>*****************************************************************
>Marshall Burns, President
>Ennex(TM) Corporation
>Fabbing the Future(TM)
>10911 Weyburn Avenue, Suite 332, Los Angeles, U.S.A. 90024
>Phone: +1 (310) 824-8700. Fax: +1 (310) 824-5185
>E-mail: fabbers@Ennex.com. Web site: http://www.Ennex.com
>*****************************************************************
>***** Copyright (c) 1998, Ennex Corporation
>
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