Digital age; Everyone's a little Van Gogh! Reading Response

"Indeed, the genuine sophistication of even the most basic audio and editing programs and the possibility of drawing on existing media to resource DIY media projects mean it is quite possible for the everyday person to create a polished product without necessarily being “artistic”Lanksher and Knobel (2008)

After reading this in this weeks reading I felt like: Should I cut off my ear, am I mentally disturbed, am I in, out... I like it, I use it, why does it make me feel this way? 

Is there another famous work of art that is re-mixed, recreated, emulated and adorned other than Van Gogh's Starry Night? In it's inception back in 1889, I am sure that Van Gogh would have never believed that his relatively small 29 x 36 1/4 acrylic painting would grace the sides of buildings all over the world, let alone be a part of gif's, memes, and become clothing articles. 

Never would someone back in the 19th century believe that anyone could be an artist or create such artistic and esthetically pleasing pieces as the Masters, but today with DIY Mecca's such as Pintrest, everyone is giving it a try. Van Gogh didn't even see himself as an artist, or really that good, and here we are proclaiming artistry with little effort and commitment. A Van Gogh painting can sell for millions, what value does DIY created work hold? Is is purely for the advancement of and recording of a time in history, and if so, who is keeping it? 

Again, I board the roller coaster of likes and dislikes of the digital age, pulsating and swirling like the clouds in Van Gogh's Starry Night, I just can't pick a side. I am challenged by the excitement of a new way to create, but the notion that everyone thinks that they can do it, is nothing sacred? Why do we peruse specialized degree's if everyone with a phone and a laptop will be able to get by producing what I spent years perfecting? 

And then I remind myself, there will always be a difference, maybe subtle, but there is a difference between professional quality and that of a weekend warrior trying it out for the first of maybe even tenth time. I agree with the integration of technology and gaming and all the digital, but with caution. During my undergrad in Industrial Design is was evident who had a background and who did not, it still takes an understanding of the basics. I guess what I am saying, is yes, I love DIY and finding that thing that you didn't fathom you could do, and then getting it done, but I also worry about the practice in participating in a little of everything and being specialized in nothing. 

As Pintrest is a great site for DIY, it does not promote creativity what so ever, as most people use is a a copy and paste board, what I refer to as monkey see, monkey do. All these sites are giving way to more copying ( I think that they are meant to re-mix, but is that really happening) and not necessarily true creativity. I will be the first to admit that I LOVE incredibox, but it harbors nothing in the sense of creativity, they are not your beats, not your space, and being ground to reality, I know that I am nothing even close to a DJ, but I am afraid for others, that kick out a quick beat and suddenly believe that they are musically inclined. 

"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.- Van Gogh"

Don't get me wrong, Lankshear and Knoble (2008) have a lot of good points, "learning through passions", "The idea is that doing it yourself (DIY) is worthwhile activity in and of itself (Jacobson, p. 32, this volume)."There were a lot of things that I was shaking my head yes at, I may have gotten a little Starry Eyed at the statement of everyone doing something that is passable with out the artistic, creativity part. 

I refocus and start to re-read the chapter again with what I am hoping is more clarity and less of a wall constructed.... Hoping to sway my inner battle positively. 

"A graffiti mural in a back alley on King Street in London pays tribute to painter Vincent van Gogh’s painting The Starry Night. I bet van Gogh would actually be chuffed that he inspired such street art."