Kevin McGuire

Once upon a time, humans were hunter/gatherers. We never stayed in one place for very long; as the food was used up or the herds moved on, so did we. But then we discovered agriculture and settled down. It was the start of civilization.

One of the side effects (other than modern obesity) was that we were able to start to collect things. Before then, all you could have was what you could bring with you. Like camping from hell, if you ask me. I hate camping.

It also happens to be the start of what we’d consider war. Prior to that it was basically skirmishes (”Hey, give me that caribou back!”); nobody really had anything worth fighting over, and worse case you could just leave. The bible claims we lost our innocence over the apple. Close, in my books it was the orchard.

Anyway, one of the things we could have was kilns, because prior to the Coleman’s you just couldn’t bring those suckers with you. As time passed we learned to make hotter and hotter kilns. This history of technology is the history of harder and harder metals, which required hotter and hotter kilns, from copper, bronze, all the way to steel.

The combination of agriculture and technology meant we could start to gain efficiency over our food collection, preparation, and storage. This led to more free time, which eventually led to the cruise ship vacation. Somewhere in between it led to art.

Why art? Who knows. With this free time, we starting making things. Some were useful, but others served no other purpose than self-expression and exploration. Because we had the time, and the desire.

A recent event at work has reminded me of this deep need we have to create. Much of what we do is of immediate practical benefit. A better scythe for the crops. But there is this other aspect which is purely aesthetic. We argue for its value in terms of usability, product identity and differentiation, keeping relevant in the competitive industry. That’s all true. Yet underneath it all is something else, an inate need just to make something pleasing, whose real purpose is nothing more than the successful act of creation. It is so intrinsic in our existance that we cannot take that away. We’ve been at it for about as long as there’s been a “we”.

And for that, I’d like to thank our friend Michael Van Meekeren, who left the software industry to be an apple farmer. Because without it, we’d have no art, and I’d be stuck with camping.

This entry was posted Friday, January 26th, 2007 at 12:48 pm and is filed under Its Friday. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.