A follow-up thought to Andrew Keen's recent critique of the distributist Web 2.0 phenomenon, from none other than the 20th century's greatest rotund British journalist, writer and thinker, G.K. Chesterton (and an echo of my own commitment to imperfectionism)
"It is a good sign in a nation when things are done badly. It shows that all the people are doing them. And it is bad sign in a nation when such things are done very well, for it shows that only a few experts and eccentrics are doing them, and that the nation is merely looking on." (from Patriotism and Sport, in All Things Considered)
And now for an interesting counterpoint, also from Chesterton. During Prohibition, GKC was so impressed by the quality of American homebrew (and it's superiority over the then-outlawed mass produced, big name factory beer) that he made a tongue-in-cheek proposal to outlaw commercial production of bread and clothing as a means of improving the quality of both (because people would then make their own).
Have you ever made your own bread or brewed your own beer? Have you ever put homemade bread next to a slice of Wonderbread(tm)? Or homebrew next to a Bud? Or one of French Toast Girl's artprints next to the mass-produced "art" available at your local Walmart?
Q.E.D.
As Chesterton explained, distributism doesn't mean we should all be chicken farmers... just that most of us should have a few chickens. We don't all need to be artists, brewers or bakers, but we should each occasionally do some painting, brewing and baking. And yes, that means for every wonderfully talented French Toast Girl, there will be dozens of moderately talented artists like myself trying to put color on paper. So be it.
With all this production, some of us will undoubtedly do it badly. But even when we do it badly, we will have done it - and there's something beautiful about that.
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
23 May 2007
Desert - Illustrated Edition
This morning, I published the illustrated edition of The Desert. It now contains five beautiful paintings by the very talented Mandy Hoelmer, who also did the illustrations for the Boomer Sisters books.
I think we can consider this to be the definitive, final edition of The Desert. I'm not planning on making any further changes. If I come up with any more stories like the ones in The Desert, I'll put them into a sequel (Return To The Desert?).
You can find the book at Silly Hat Press.
I think we can consider this to be the definitive, final edition of The Desert. I'm not planning on making any further changes. If I come up with any more stories like the ones in The Desert, I'll put them into a sequel (Return To The Desert?).
You can find the book at Silly Hat Press.
19 April 2007
Two Photos
I recently had my picture taken by two professional photographers - one from a newspaper for the Boomer Sisters interview, and one here at work to accompany an official bio I had to submit for a conference I'm speaking at next month.
Guess which photo I liked better?
With the newspaper, the photographer took a million shots, chatted with me casually, had me try a bunch of different poses. We had fun, my smile was natural, and the end result was cool.
The official one, however, had me sit in a remarkably uncomfortable & unnatural pose ("sit there, let your hands hang at your side, sir. OK, point your chin that way, tilt your head the other way, hold it..." *flash*) . I'd post the photo here, but it's just not very good at all. It's not horrible, but it's just not good.
Maybe it's just a matter of opinion, but I think there's something objectively better about the newspaper photographer's approach.
Guess which photo I liked better?
With the newspaper, the photographer took a million shots, chatted with me casually, had me try a bunch of different poses. We had fun, my smile was natural, and the end result was cool.
The official one, however, had me sit in a remarkably uncomfortable & unnatural pose ("sit there, let your hands hang at your side, sir. OK, point your chin that way, tilt your head the other way, hold it..." *flash*) . I'd post the photo here, but it's just not very good at all. It's not horrible, but it's just not good.
Maybe it's just a matter of opinion, but I think there's something objectively better about the newspaper photographer's approach.
05 April 2007
Lessons From Art Class
From the Jan 2006 issue of Rogue Project Leader:
Meditations From A Drawing Class
The Rogue Zen Master recently took a 3-week drawing course at the local high school. It was a profoundly enlightening experience and a source of much insight. The following Principles from the Art of Art are presented for your meditative consideration.
- Stand up.
Just because you are drawing at a table or desk does not mean you have to be seated at that table or desk. By standing, your arm and body are able to move more freely. You’ll have better control and will be more likely to move around a little and accurately see the object you are drawing.
- Rotate the paper.
Just because your drawing will be viewed with the paper in a particular alignment doesn’t mean the paper has to remain in that alignment while you draw. For example, bio-mechanically speaking, it is easier to draw a straight line if you move the pencil from the lower left toward the upper right part of the page. When you want to draw a straight line, rotate the paper so the line you draw will begin at the lower left and proceed towards the upper right.
The Rogue Zen Master recently took a 3-week drawing course at the local high school. It was a profoundly enlightening experience and a source of much insight. The following Principles from the Art of Art are presented for your meditative consideration.
- Stand up.
Just because you are drawing at a table or desk does not mean you have to be seated at that table or desk. By standing, your arm and body are able to move more freely. You’ll have better control and will be more likely to move around a little and accurately see the object you are drawing.
- Rotate the paper.
Just because your drawing will be viewed with the paper in a particular alignment doesn’t mean the paper has to remain in that alignment while you draw. For example, bio-mechanically speaking, it is easier to draw a straight line if you move the pencil from the lower left toward the upper right part of the page. When you want to draw a straight line, rotate the paper so the line you draw will begin at the lower left and proceed towards the upper right.
02 April 2007
General Update
Had a great visit to NYC this weekend. Got to hang out at the Natural History Museum (where the Ben Stiller movie "A Night At The Museum" was set), and even bought some cool art from a couple painters in front of the art museum, just on the other side of Central Park.
I also got a lot of ideas for the next Boomer Sisters book (The Boomers Meet Manhattan??). It's really starting to come together... I found some great quotes from C.S. Lewis about art this morning, and the duties of an artist.
What I'm reading: The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand. Very interesting & enjoyable book. I'm also in the middle of the following books:
I also got a lot of ideas for the next Boomer Sisters book (The Boomers Meet Manhattan??). It's really starting to come together... I found some great quotes from C.S. Lewis about art this morning, and the duties of an artist.
What I'm reading: The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand. Very interesting & enjoyable book. I'm also in the middle of the following books:
- Wikinomics
- Metaphors We Live By
- Ambient Findability
- The Narnian
It's going to be a busy/slow week. We've got a team of inspectors coming through our lab, and I'm sitting in the "ops center" monitoring their movements, inputs, observations, etc... Lucky me!
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