Remains from the ancient city of Hamilton: Pantone broad-nib marker carbon tested to 1981, and Buffalo Artist Marker, circa 1976 (note the teeth marks on cap, thought to be placed there by a small child).
These exceptional finds post-date the Minoans, Mycenaeans, Greeks and Romans. And while they may be grouped with other common finds — like metal work, lamps and pottery — they add immeasurably to the material remains of past cultures.
Badly preserved drawings of the period, thought to be executed with these tools, include highly crude representations of people, decorative flowers and sober two-dimensional structures with puffing chimneys.
“We work for society.” This is how my dad, Trevor Garwood-Jones (1928-2011), described an architect’s responsibilities to the communities they build in. Buildings house our existing emotions, but also create new ones — some drab, some inspired depending on the quality of the design.
Beauty was key, in Trevor’s mind, to building empathy and a sense of connectedness between human beings. He wasn’t one bit shy about admitting that he wept each time he stood inside an empty French Gothic cathedral. Beethoven had the same effect on his tear ducts. That’s one of the reasons why he specialized in acoustics.
During his career, Trevor found a resistance in the men he dealt with — builders, engineers, government officials, clients — to most aspects of beauty beyond the female form. Many outright refused to discuss colour with him, saying they would bring in the wives to deal with that. “They’re not at home in an artistic environment,” dad said. “It’s like they’re saying, ‘Colour is beneath us, or effeminate or we don’t want to deal with it.’ There’s a nervousness there, which means you can’t show them the direction you’re trying to go in. Devaluing the arts [like this],” he said, ” affects all society.”
This interview was shot in 1991 and stored on a DVD. I screened it on an ancient laptop that I’m glad I didn’t throw out.. I don’t know who organized and shot this video, but if someone does know, please email me so I can credit their work and thank them.
Observation is my primary occupation. It takes on many forms: writing, drawing, and now videos.
While most people have been video DIY’ers since 2005, when YouTube launched, I only took to the form when the story I wanted to tell needed video effects to lift it off the ground.
I prefer to be led by an idea, not seduced by the availability of simple technology.
Create something because you must, not because you can.
In the meantime, thank you to Wideo, an animated video creation platform based in Buenos Aires, for asking to feature my work on their blog.
Alison has been blogging since 2009, and drawing for much longer. Society Pages looks at how technology challenges and shapes human nature and creativity, among other things. It isn't always pretty.
Photo Credit: 
