From: Leland Jory (ljory@mts.net)
Date: Wed Mar 17 2004 - 21:24:34 GMT
On Mar 17, 2004, at 7:16, Platt Holden wrote:
>> It's similar to the concept of a sculptor looking at a
>> block of stone. To the sculptor, when they are hammering away at the
>> block,
>> they are not turning the block into a statue. Rather, they are
>> freeing the
>> statue from the block. Does this make sense?
>
> The difference being a sculptor working on a block creates a singular,
> one-
> of-kind work of art while a Quaker craftsman creates many chairs,
> chests,
> tables, etc. of the same basic style.
Yes, but I have a couple of comments. First, isn't it possible that
Quaker crafts have the style that they have because, from a Quaker
point of view, that is simply the 'best' way to construct a
chair/chest/table? In other words, the methods they use are the
highest-quality methods. I'd wonder if any woodworkers on the list
tried building a table using Quaker techniques (or a chair, or chest),
would it not end up looking like a "Quaker Style" piece? The method
leads to the result.
Second, compare different examples of Quaker furniture, take a dozen
chairs for instance. Scrutinize them closely and I'm sure you'll find
they are not identical. The craftsman worked with the characteristics
of each individual piece of wood, changing things slightly to guarantee
the structural integrity of the piece.
The problem with manufacturing today is all pieces are constructed
identically from homogeneous materials. There is no sense of identity
with any one example of construction, because there is no discernible
example of construction. They all look the same, and they were all
constructed per a programmed design by robots.
--
Leland Jory :^{)>
Cafeteria Spiritualist and Philosopher
"It is a puzzling thing. The truth knocks on the door and you say, 'Go
away, I'm looking for the truth.' and so it goes away. Puzzling." -
Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
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