Recently I visited a history museum. After a long-long time in fact. May be after a decade, at least not since I left college.
There were such beautiful artifacts on display. Old Pottery, Bronze, Gold and Silverware. Each piece looked so unique and beautiful. The designs looked timeless. Though the pottery had lost its glaze with time and the Gold and Silver were no longer glittering. Yet each of the piece was so beautiful.
It made me think.....as usual :)
Gone are the days of customized, personalized products!!!
Today everything is mass made. In good old days each pair of shoe was unique because it was hand made to order. No two pair of shoes would be the same. Clothes were tailored to individual liking and design. Today we pick up most of our clothes from the super markets and stores. House hold items were specially made and so was jewelery; so unique. Everthing was unique. One of its kind.
Today that unique edge is gone. Everything that you buy has many- many duplicates the market. Even when one pays a huge sum of money for a very niche branded product or personal item, rest assured there are thousands of fake look alike of the same item sold all over the world.
Nothing is unique and one of its kind!!!!
And this was my realization.
The old, broken, weathered piece of Pottery I saw in the museum was unique because it was one of its kind. The beautiful Bronze, Silver and Copper ware in the museum was unique because there were no two...three....or tens and thousands of the same mass produced.
Yes, these days nothing really feels beautiful or touches our heart because it has no uniqueness left. Everything is mass produced.
Beauty is about something that is uncommon.....unique.....We have lost beauty in mass production.
Hi Rajshree,
ReplyDeleteNice posts. Thanks to google, it always throws up surprises and unknowns and so I accidentally came across your blog.
Couldn't resist writing on this one on, "Why nothing feels beautiful anymore ?"
Good point but if you dig further, by nature humans always have spent thinking of creating something for future and many times have gone back to what was available (fashion is one of the examples), you can check the trend.
Also, somehow, wanting something better than what we have, has always refrained us from enjoying what we have. Probably people in those times wanted something made out of machine and more precise.
Regards
Rahul
rahul@epsiloncons.com