There is a big difference between consuming and making. Our culture inundates us with messages and opportunities to consume products and experiences. For example, it is now effortless to purchase and watch a movie. Push a few buttons on your remote and download the movie of your choice from a streaming service for a few dollars. You can accomplish this as you sit comfortably on your couch ingesting microwave popcorn and sipping wine.
When you compare that experience with what was required to produce that movie, the room you’re in, the flat-screen TV, the couch, the popcorn and the wine, it is embarrassing. In some cases the movie alone cost hundreds of millions of dollars, required an army of talented, well-trained professionals and took several years to produce.
Consumers rarely consider the massive effort and the numerous obstacles that had to be overcome to make that movie. Most watch the movie a few times and forget about it shortly after the next blockbuster is marketed and released. Anyone that has been on the other side of this equation knows how difficult it is to actually produce something new. I am not talking about creating a playlist in your iTunes account or posting a selfie on social media. I am not talking about picking out the counter, paint color, tile and carpet for your tract home from preselected options. I am not talking about following a recipe on the back of a bag of chocolate chips. I am talking about producing something new — something that did not exist in the world before you made it.
When you try to produce something original it seems like the forces of the universe are marshaled against you. It is much easier to simply do what has been done before. The resources, determination, dedication, years of study/training and amount of work needed to overcome the resistance and pitfalls is staggering. It is truly a wonder that anything new is ever produced.
The modern day consumer is largely unaware of the effort required to produce anything of value and quality. Next time you spend time with a work of art, consider the resources, processes, skill, knowledge, time and effort required to produce it. Don’t consume art. Allow it to become a part of your life — like a good friend.
Great post! I find that even many of my archtecture students begin by vastly underestimating the amount of thought and work that it takes to make a design idea become a realized building. This is precisely why I consider the hands-on work of exploring real materials, real things, so important. Whether you use a skilsaw or a CNC, getting your ideas from “in here” to “out there” must be an essential component of learning to be a designer. As someone who has had hand in the art world, I believe that just as a painter must paint, a musician must play, an architecture student must be involved in making their design ideas a reality. My design build students get a real taste of the complexities of creating architecture in a way that most find absolutely transformative, and also highly empowering, as they realize that they can literally transform the world by creating a new reality.