Cranberry wrote:Why would one sell and market a whistle that you were not satisfied with yourself? That's unethical business practice, IMHO.
Hear Mr Morale speaking!
I won't comment too long on how much understanding you're ready to spend on others, while claiming it for yourself, Cran'. I'm getting old and tolerant. Or maybe it's the pain-killers I've been gulping these days
But I'll tell you this: try and sell someting of an art or craft done by your hands, or just your wits--from writing to painting to crockery the choice is large.
THEN you may comment on the intentions of other artists or craftsmen. Then again, you'll find out you'll express it in a much less assertive tone.
The reasons you'll learn on this Way of modesty are multiple.
- There is no such thing as a perfect art or crafts piece.
- There's this spot you know you covered up in your painting.
- There's this dye you purchased and discover much later it fades with time, or darkens.
- Anyone painting with lead based white (common rule in XIX th century) was "unethical" because it blackens with time.
- Anyone painting with dry pastels is "unethical". It fades with UV.
- Much earlier, before oil-based paint was invented, the artists couldn't ignore the albumine would crackle in time. Botticelli was "unethical".
- Any Japanese traditional craftsman leaves
on purpose a flaw in every of his creations. Japanese Masters of Crafts (it's an official title) are thusly unethical.
Anyone, even mastering--by anyone's standards--a given craft will in time invent a new, improved process, or a heavy modification of his design. This constant improvement, in MY opinion, is precisely the mark of real masters. This motion is related to the constant doubt faced by any creative person in the course of production. Every artist or craftsman knows that he has to STOP a work at some point, otherwise he'll never end up improving the one and same product. So every work out the workshop has to be a balance between perfectionism and a way of humility. Humility being in this case an understanding it will never be perfect anyway.
In this sense, any artist or craftsman is "unethical" or plain sloppy, else his craft has mummified...
This long path is precisely the philosophical interest when (for instance) Japanese learn a craft as part of their spiritual education: it can be flower art, or ceremonial tea, or sabre, or Younameit-Do.
Finally, your fault may be thinking of people in a static way. Things they individually produce are just a material extension of their mind at instant "t". The only products I know of which are static, frozen at a given development point, and consistent across batches and time, would be industrial. They are not individual, but collective work, which evens out singularities. And even there, there are variations: not two cars are alike, and in simpler products just try and two Generations perfectly matched
remember:
You can't swim twice in the same river.
