The Art of Maker Culture: What Kind Of Future Are We Working To Build?

I’ve been mentioning lately to Zouch Magazine staff how I’d like to pay a bit more attention to the flow of DYI and maker culture. There are so many innovative things happening there that bleed over into the art world.

I had the chance to have a nice chat with Paul Hart a member of the ThinkHaus.org non-profit, and something came out of my mouth that sums up my state of mind lately: “art is really a big deal”. I meant this in reference to the concept of art, and the way in which we are driven to create it.

I was channeling a recent encounter I had with prominent electronic artist Norman White, who said something to the effect of how all of the modern creative stuff, from fine art to heavy industrial engineering is connected, all part of one same matrix of human creation. We can define concepts in countless ways, but art is the underlying truth.

In the past, intellectuals categorized art and sought to control its flow. But the 20th century, especially the second half, saw a flood of new more organic and individual creativity. For example, Rock and Pop music are more liberated art forms than classical music. There are no necessary standards, anyone can play guitar. Also they’re a more open platform capable of conceptually integrating any form of music that came before. It’s like people finally realized that what matters in music is how it sounds and what it represents, and not the dogma of technical standards, or jargon.

However, so many aspects of human creation and endeavor remain locked in a culture of narrow vision, entitlement, and formality. Seeing human potential stunted because of money or status always raises my ire. But make no mistake about it, the 21st century is a time where innovation is exploding. We’re seeing the emergence of more and more platforms for this to be expressed everyday. The beauty of it all is that we can be a part of the dissemenation of these messages, because the media tube has been blown wide open, and our messages are exponentially more free than they have every been. Perhaps one day, everything we do will be art? I’d be willing to work for a future like that.