From: msm@cbnews.cb.att.com (melanie.s.maher)
Newsgroups: alt.sewing
Subject: bozo alarm
Summary: each to his/her own
Keywords: tolerance
Date: 5 Nov 92 20:51:15 GMT
Organization: AT&T

In article <1992Nov4.180400.14058@cbfsb.cb.att.com>, motto@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (mary.rita.otto) writes:
> 
> Gentle Readers,
> 
> I read your flames of me for mentioning that my "Bozo alarm" went off
> while reading Michael's request.  If you read my post, you will see
> that I never said he was a Bozo, just that the alarm goes off upon
> reading such requests.

       At the end of your post you say that someone who fits your
       seven parameters is, in your opinion, a bozo. Does that mean
       that although you didn't actually call this person a bozo,
       he should, in your opinion, be regarded as a potential
       bozo, because your alarm did go off to warn you of this
       possibility?
> 
> What exactly is the Bozo Alarm?  And what is it for?  I have read your
> interpretations, and want a chance to answer.
> 
> The Bozo Alarm is for:
> 
> 1.  People who would like to displace the human designed with the machine
> scanned.
> 
> 2.  People who would like to take jobs away from those who product fine
> work by hand by replacing them with a machine.
> 
	I don't believe (at least in this newsgroup), that this is 
	a real end goal. Probably of greater concern is an even
	more valuable commodity to most of us.....time.


> 3.  People who feel that using a machine to generate a picture is superior
> to a hand rendering.
> 
	Sometimes it is. Not everyone has sufficient talent,
	ingenuity, or dexterity to accomplish this. Is it wrong then
	to want to make something yourself and not have it look
	pitiful? 

> 4.  People who despise the small variations of manual work which make each
> piece slightly unique in favor of machine generated uniformity.
> 
	I think this is personal preference. Variations sometimes
	enhance the beauty and charm of an object, other times they
	take away from it. Isn't there room enough in this world for
	both kinds of appreciation?

> 5.  People who always feel that a machine could do it better.
> 
	Always is a definitive word. My feeling is that anyone who
	*always* feels a certain way about *anything* is taking a
	rather narrow approach. Particularly in an area which
	encompasses so many levels and degrees of computer assistance.

> 6.  People who want the look and feel of handcrafted without needing
> the services of a craftsman, and create a market for imitations which
> are demeaning to the human creative spirit and heritage.
> 
	Those that know will seek out and recognize the work of a
	craftsman. Did you happen to mention that they will also pay
	a premium? Would you rather see the human creative spirit
	and heritage be carried on by those sufficiently wealthy to
	pay for it, or, be appreciated by a wider cross-section of
	the population whose only means of exposure to such
	art is through a less expensive imitation? Doesn't everyone
	have this right? Hasn't much of what we consider our
	heritage been passed on by those who were forced into creativity
	because of their less than optimum situations? 
	The way to champion a cause is not to degrade the rivals. 

> 7.  And, people who want those crafters and designers who are trying
> to perpetuate those arts and crafts to provide information on how
> things can be produced without the crafters and designers.
> 
	I think two issues are being confused here. The first is the
	method of producing the craft, i.e. by hand in a particular
	fashion; and second, the end product itself. The general
	availability of machine-made cross-stitch, crewel, knitting,
	whatever, has undoubtedly produced a more widespread
	awareness of these items, and perhaps sparked increased
	interest in those who wished to create their own, or find
	someone who knows how. However, not everyone is so inclined,
	and why shouldn't someone be able to enjoy the "look" of
	crewel in an attractive design without a)paying a great
	deal, or b)attempting it on their own? 
	As to the method of production, well, it appears somewhat
	hypocritical to want to guard this information and
	disseminate it only among crafters and designers. What
	happened to creative human spirit? Isn't it part of our
	heritage to want to make things quicker, better, cheaper? 
	Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is always the best
	way, and out with the old--in with the new, but, what if
	we didn't try? 

	I make all my husband's dress shirts. They fit him really
	well, all the stripes/plaids match, and they take more of my
	precious time than I'd really like to give, but I feel good
	when I see them on him. On occasion, he has been known to
	pick up a shirt while shopping. If it happens to have a
	construction or fashion detail that interests me, instead of
	being threatened, I will shamelessly attempt to duplicate
	the technique, and if it works and saves time, it's mine!
	A lot of people can't afford to have their shirts made, and
	an even smaller number can actually make them.(and would want
	to wear them.)

	I have a question. Does the skilled craftsman approach apply
	to all trades or just needlework? I had my kitchen cabinets
	custom made by a skilled woodworker. True, some panels are
	not quite symmetric, and I know where there are a few nicks
	here and there where the sander gouged the wood, but I like
	them a lot. They fit my kitchen and lifestyle. I haven't in
	the recent past visited someone who had stock cabinets in
	their kitchen and thought they were a bozo.
> 
> I worry because people would rather turn to a computer for help in creating
> something than to a skilled crafter.  There is more to designing than
> simply generating a message in a "cute" font -- there is an artistic
> element to design that should not be ignored, but routinely is ignored.
> So, for me, this sets off the "Bozo" alarm.
> 
> When somebody scans a photograph and then makes a cross-stitch of the
> photograph, it does not have the artistic spirit, nor make use of the
> artistic conventions of cross-stitch design.  For example, these "designs"
> rarely, if ever, have any back-stitching details which bring out the
> depth of design.  So, the finished product looks, in my opinion, stupid.
> 
> The same can happen when other things "designed" by the computer are
> used in other crafts.  There are limitations to crafts which computer
> graphics programs do not understand, like the thickness of the media (yarn,
> for example) being used.  Or that in needlepoint, the stitches all slant
> and solid lines are not created in the same way in each direction.  But
> an artist and a crafter does understand these things.  And artists and
> crafters understand styles, such as American Primitive, Impressionist,
> and Cartoon, so that things can be rendered "un-photographically".  Which
> is better on a sampler?- a photographic rendering of a house, or a rendering
> of the house in the primitive style?  A scanner can create the first but
> not the second from a photograph.
> 
> What happens is that "Bozos" don't want to learn about what a designer can
> do for them.  They shut their minds to our creative input, and want instead
> the cold facts on how we can help them eliminate us.
> 
	Apparently creativity is a well-defined static commodity
	that is the exclusive domain of designers and crafters, who
	themselves are well-defined and easily recognizable.
	Someone who can mimic a human process with a machine is,
	IMHO, pretty creative. 
> 
> If you feel I'm out of line for defending these principles, or for
> criticizing those with whom I take issue, I can live with that.  But
> if you are one of the people described by 1-7 above, then, I think
> you're a Bozo.
> 
> Mary Otto
> 
> 
	Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, however, it is
	not generally accepted as "nice" to refer to another
	individual in a derogatory fashion, implied or otherwise,
	because their beliefs do not match their own. 
	

	I'm sorry I got on my soapbox here, but I was taken aback by
	the hostile response to a reasonable question. I mean he
	wasn't advocating the abolishment of all handcrafting
	activities. I love this newsgroup. You should be able to ask
	questions about anything....from sticking your slipcovers
	together with scotchtape to making a bridal gown....and we
	do! The attraction (for me anyway) is that we as subscribers
	come from different backgrounds, have different experience
	levels, tastes, and expectations, (we'll cover body shapes
	in another post), together which provide a rich resource
	and sounding ground for questions and ideas.  Can we keep it
	that way?

Next week: people who buy the store brand of macaroni and cheese
when it's on sale for 3/$1 instead of making it from scratch. :)

Mel