Cyber Monday

I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday surrounded by friends and family and a little bit of art and design. I found this year's holiday to be more harried and consumer-oriented than I can ever remember. The actual holiday seemed to be muscled-out by retailers mad dash to entice consumers into the store. It felt a bit like being in an Andreas Gursky photograph, did you feel like this too?

I believe that art and design has an uncomfortable relationship with consumerism. Most artists would love to be purely at their own whim, painting according to their moods and desires, but then there's the need to make a living too. Most designers are bound to commercialized projects or individual commissions, both of which carry their own requirements to get the proverbial paycheck. Magazines, websites and blogs (including mine) all promote consumer goods at some point to keep readers' interests. After all, most people would like to "own" rather than "visit". To be sure; any museum's gift shop is likely to be busier than the museum itself.

So today on "Cyber Monday", I challenge you to seek a piece of art or a design element, take a long look at it, and relish the idea that you won't be buying it today. Make a plan to visit it again soon. Take one step closer to the idea that we don't have to own it to love it. - l.o.d.