Social Values – WETONG Blog

Hal Lewis asked:

Folk art can be described as a wide range of objects which not only reflect the craft traditions but also reflect the traditional and social values of various social groups. These social groups go back to thousands of years ago and only few displays of their art work is left in the world. Generally Folk art is made or produced by people who have very little and in most cases, no academic artistic training. They do not use any kinds of modern day techniques and styles to their art work. They also do not have the desire to emulate art in its finest form. Folk artists usually use established techniques and styles which go back thousands of years for a particular region or culture. Folk art can be painting, sculpture and decorative style art forms. Today we also regard utilitarian objects like tools, utensils and costume as a part of folk art. Traditional art forms are very different from the folk art style. It is distinguished on the basis of the fact that traditional art is collected today based on its artistic merit; it is never really bought for the sake of it being an art form. Portraits and paintings are all a part of the traditional art forms. Folk art does not show any influence of movements or fine art circles. Folk art excludes works of professional artists which is sold as fine art to the society’s art patrons. Native art, traditional art and popular art however do overlap with folk art and is interchangeably used for the same at times.

One of the most popular folk art designers still crafting these works is Vaillancourt. Ms. Judy Vaillancourt has been hand-crafting unique collectible chalkware figures since 1984 and is one of the last remaining crafters still designing by hand. These days, most of these figurines are created with computer software and machines. The fact that Vaillancourt’s designs are still done by hand make their demand high and prices are not cheap. The few remaining companies which make this folk art allow visitors to tour behind-the-scenes. In these work shops the artists hand paint different versions of Santa Claus and Father Christmas figures. Vaillancourt Folk Art produces many styles of collectible Santa’s, rabbits, and even Antique chocolate and ice cream moulds. Another popular designer is Christopher Radko. His popular designs are collected by the rich and the famous, including: Whoopi Goldberg, Barbara Stresiand, Elton John, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Various countries have their own style of folk art. Choosing top folk art designers from any one region is a nearly impossible task with many of the designers being from different regions. Folk art represents objects crafted by the traditional life style, culture and training of different social groups and geographical regions. Without any academic courses to train in their art these people master their folk art in their own way. The folk artists use and implement traditional styles and techniques which are unique to their region and culture. This is one of the most attractive features of genuine folk art.

Holger Thomas asked:

Industrial revolution initiated an enormous development of industry. Suddenly projects never thinkable before became feasible, and people were streaming into the factories, where the owner never seemed to get enough workers in order to fulfil the orders. But human-beings fooled themselves when they thought this could go on and on for ages. When customers started placing fewer orders, the factory suddenly had too many workers; the owners fell behind with paying the wages, and so people had to stay at home and had to cope with the loss of income and of their jobs.

Not so long ago we went through another revolution – the information and communication technology revolution. Entire production processes became fully controlled by microprocessors, sensors started measuring parameters on site, and computer-controlled robots started taking over jobs formerly executed by the ordinary worker. This had a similar effect on society – at first there was a big boom until the market became tight, and dictated by the necessity of making profit, many jobs were lost and people let go.

If you look at it today – there are not too many opportunities left of how we can make society right. Should we continue destroying more jobs than we can create, it might take a while alright, but at the end of the day, there will be only a hand full of people who actually work and have an income. We can’t afford to let everybody behind. We can’t afford to leave entire continents exposed to impoverishment.

So is it the battle to become rich, or is it the incredible pressure in some parts of society, what drives society? In most cases it is a bit of both. But we have to ask ourselves: Which are the values we follow? I think the central values are key to this. As long as everything is about money, society is bound to fail.

We need to think about what is important to us. There are social values that do count, but often become forgotten or we give priority to other things. What about friends, about caring for other people, about charity? Do we really have to wear the latest fashion, have the latest car, gadget or buy our entire furniture new when we move? Do we really have to do everything ourselves in order to save money? Shouldn’t we give other people an opportunity to earn some money too? Isn’t the right balance of every angle of our life better for us? These are just questions, I know. And there are certainly more questions than answer. But please do me a favour and think about it…