The Final Major Project

Another video I watched was ‘Jack Daniel's meets The Sign painter’ which was a short three minute video about Derek McDonald who works for Golden West Sign Arts. I was interesting to see the two different ways that the hand signs are created. The two pieces that he creates were on wood board and then on a car door. It was really interesting to see the techniques used and the work rather than it just being churned out of a machine on a plastic sheet. 

Hand painted sign I see as art even the worn away ones that you have to look really closely to see. It is these that live longer than the vinyl prints and also give you an insight into the past to see what the area was like. For example the old cinemas sign in Kingston to show where the old cinema was, it has now been turned into the horrible places called oceana. So it is these dying arts that are being eradicated by the involvement of machines that I feel show have their say rather than go out quietly and I like the fact that they are still valued within the art world. 

I can see the advantages of using computers and I think they are amazing and have helped produce and develop the communication industry. However I do feel that some of the old techniques are being lost which I see as disappointing wrong. They shouldn’t be lost as there are still valued and create effects and kinds of work that could not be produced through a computer screen or any other modern day method. However there are many crafts that have diminished through lack of demand. For example do we really want a vast army of thatchers when we have a tiny number of thatched houses? So I don’t know if I would go so far as to say that they are dying out but dwindling as many crafts are still in business but on a smaller scale. I would find it really interesting to go out and experience these dwindling crafts and skill to see what they are like and the way they are still practised today. As an idea I could take short courses that teach you the basics of techniques like cobbling and blacksmithing. I want to know if it is easy to gain these skills or not; maybe try and find out the reasons why these crafts and methods are dwindling and some how present my findings.

Looking at the differences in both skill and quality between hand made one off items and factory mass-produced things I see as a main point in this research. Factories churn out the same product that could have been created through these dwindling artisans that I am focusing on. It would be interesting to find out peoples opinion of hand made goods and why they see them are more valuable than machine made objects even though in some instance they could be exactly the same item. I personally think it is the personal choice of the maker and the fact it is created with someone’s hand so it has been moulded that makes them more valuable. It is as if the artist is creating their own kind of niche area of the market and from there producing one of kind pieces that are seen as more valuable.