Douglas Coupland on Novelty and Craft; the analog world gets new attention
I am reading Shopping in Jail by Douglas Coupland. In the essay, I find two interesting quotes:
…novelty that reflects the powerful but less prominent forces of any culture is interesting and worthy of exploration.
I recognize this in photography. Pictures of the parade are never as interesting as pictures of what is happening on its edges. The people watching the events are more interesting than the event itself.
In an ever-flattening world of downloaded non-physical experiences, the crafted object is in the ascendant and ultimately might prove to be the trunk of the tree that gives rise to the next dominant wave of modern art.
The essays are from some time ago, and we have since seen the rise and death of the NFT as an ultimate non-physical experience in art. Yet, the analog world gets new attention when digital artifacts emerge.
The experience in concerts and festivals emerged when music went digital and streamed. At the same time, streaming channels have the distribution of music accessible to anyone. They are no longer limited to large record companies. This allows more novelty and experiments on the edge. Now, analog music media such as vinyl and cassettes reappear, and “merch”—another name for analog artifacts sold directly by the musicians—has become the standard and is more profitable for many bands than their music.
In the literary world, a similar flattening change has taken place. The internet has reduced the volume of the book-reading audience. Still, at the same time, it has opened up a channel for sharing writing and ideas. While the mainstream e-book business seems dominated by Amazon, there is enough opportunity to access readers with some additional marketing efforts, and these efforts can make a significant difference.
Social media have turned into sales channels for photography and other arts—and we should treat them as such—but analog experiences such as books, zines, prints, and expositions are where art is enjoyed.
