As a fine arts student, what i learned to appreciate in Marx is the value he gave to creativity as the most important aspect of a person.
In his analysis of the capitalist mode of production, he showed the damaging effect of the division of labour to the being of a person.
I know the importance of seeing a creative product as a result of my imagination, but in a capitalist system the artist's work is treated more as a product.
i once saw a movie "Sea Biscuit" which begins with showing the making of cars as a product of the division of labour. i remember the lines saying "under the division of labour seamstresses became button-holers, furniture makers became knob-turners. The beginning of the division of labour was the end of imagination." These words struck me. I can now understand that if a seamstress just makes a part of a dress the whole day, like a sleeve or a collar, without seeing the whole dress, then how alienating that would be.
If i am an artist and i am hired to do only certain effects in an animation process and if I will never get to see the end product, i would feel that i am an alien to myself. This will surely result in the dulling of my imagination. Marx's idea of imagination has opened my eyes to what is happening these days. We and our works are being turned into commodities. Can artists live in such a condition? If my imagination would be dulled, will i still be a person?
I guess you can view it in two ways.
ReplyDeleteOne, your imagination dulls and you get tired of your work. You feel miserable. Life gets miserable. Eventually, a machine may take your job and you'll be left out on the streets. Then, because of the dulling of your imagination, you may view art differently and be more pessimistic about it.
Two, you are content doing something related to something you love. It is just as people always tell us, "Do what you love." Eventually everything may become routine to you; however, because you love what you are doing, you continue to love it and are content.
For me, I would rather think of number two as the best choice. I have been a musician for seven years, and I think that those involved in the arts have a different level of passion than other people. You go into engineering and you get a good salary. You go into music, you will most likely have a more difficult time just getting by than someone who did engineering. However, why do they do it knowing that there are financial difficulties in the arts? Are they just crazy? Well, that may have a bit to do with it, but I really think it's because their level of passion is on a whole other level. Note, I'm not trying to bash other people and their passion for their field or saying that they have less passion than those who go into the arts, I'm just saying it's different. I guess it's one of the things that you can only experience by actually being a part of the arts.
Creativity is said to be something done for a purpose rather than just responding to external factors. Creativity nowadays is very important and is seen in various ways.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree though, that if an artist or a person is using his creative capabilities only to a certain extent then he may get tired of his work. If you are not able to express your creativity to the fullest, and you cannot see the end product of your work, then chances are that you may not find your work as enjoying and fulfilling. This may lead to your getting tired of your work, and because of the advanced technology today, a machine may do your work.
However, as Mr. Almeda said, if you love what you are doing then you will continue to do it.So, one must view this scene as not being stripped off of his creative power or limiting his creativity. If you love your work, then you would not have to work a day of your life. Continue being creative.
I agree. Creativity has a purpose. Samantala, ang mga nagtratrabaho sa mga pabrika sa ilalim ng "division of labor" gumagawa hindi para makabuo ng isang bagay na talagang gusto nilang gawin. Nagtratrabaho sila para lang sumuweldo, na kadalasa'y hindi naman nakasasapat: oo, sumuweldo para mabuhay, kung minsan pa nga, "kulang pa para mabuhay." Kaya naman, kung anong patok, yun ang dapat likhain. Pero, matatawag ba talagang "likha/creation" ang bagay na iyon? Oo, maaari, nguni't ibang-iba ang tunguhin ng pagbuo ng bagay na iyon: kumita, bumenta, pumatok. Hindi ba sa Metro Manila Film Festival merong parang gantimpala para sa "blockbuster" na pelikula; kugn anong bumenta, yun ang maganda.
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ReplyDeleteHmm. I'm getting your point though, masyado ata linear yung example para sakin kung eto lang yung pagbabatayan mong sukatan ng pagiging tao.
ReplyDeleteArtist will live with that situation, especially if their economic need is dire. Alam kong medyo mechanical yung pagkakasabi ko pero eto yung katotohanan.
Can artists live with that situation? Eto yung medyo tricky. Depende na to sa personality ng tao/artist, maraming taong magkakaiba ng gusto/kakayanan at priorities. Kung ayaw mo at hindi ka papakulong sa ganitong sistema ng pagtratrabaho, then isa ka sa maraming magsabing they can't live with it.
Isipin mo. May trabaho ka na hindi nalalabas yung full capacity ng creativity mo. Eto lang ba ang factor para magdull ang imagination ng isang tao? Tama, in that scenario we can say that naalienate ka but can't you find any other way para mahone ang creativity mo like getting a hobby or doing other work which you retain creative control? Unless, either your work sucked any force out of you or ayos ka ng magdull ang imagination mo.
Oo, tao ka parin. Haha. You still use your creativity though from what I have heard minimal lang yung paggamit mo doon. Saka pag sinet aside mo yung Marx and Smith and Judeo-Christian philosophy, you can find philosophies na hindi creativity ang basehan ng pagiging tao. Haha. Merong bumabase sa capacity to think, capacity to feel and other abilities na tingin nila unique sa tao so certainly in other way of thinkings, you're as human as we are.
What are your thoughts with this?
multitasking is a beautiful thing. And artists, fortunately, are capable of it. You can be, as you said, a button-holer for most of the time but in the evening you can be a seamstress of the most beautiful pieces of clothing.(wasn't Engels a capitalist in the day and a proletariat at night?)That would be exhausting of course, but i'd like to think determination and perseverance are attainable human traits. In addition to this, creativity enables you to create great, beautiful things. true. But creativity could also enable you to search for ways to channel this creativity in spite of the rigors of the times. Circumstances create limitations, but it is up to the human being in you to break them. If being a human being can be taken away by working in a factory or other manners of division of labor, then humanity must be a very, very fragile thing. Don't you think that being human could also mean being creative enough to break out of this assumption by being creative and persevering in spite of working in a factory of sorts?
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