Consumer/Producer Paradox

Wooden Box, Steven Spiro, 1979

A recent thrift store purchase got me to thinking about the value of things, both as a consumer and as a producer. This elegant box, hand made by a noted woodworker, ended up with the mass produced Pottery Barn and Pier 6 kitsch, and was priced even lower than most of that dreck. What am I to make of that? Just a lucky find, I guess, but still I can’t help but think that we, as a culture, are becoming enchanted by ephemeral media and mass produced simulations of craftsmanship.

There is no connection to the creative process.

The internet itself has a tendency to repeat itself with the re-posting of images, video and writing, but there is original material available, and it’s even cheaper than my wooden box, although it probably won't last as long.

What's it going to be for me then? Consuming the cornucopia offered by the internet, or producing content, original content at that, in a blood-draining drip-drip-drip? The topic has been on my mind all summer. It would be easy to sit back, surf a few chosen sites, and then let it go. No posting, no spell-check, no comma patrol. No midnight pounding on the door: “Open up! It’s the grammar police! We know you are in there; you and your pretentious little semi-colons!”

My answer: “Publish Post”, hit enter, and I’ll do it again tomorrow night.