Apparently I do analog collage.
Not that long ago, we would have simply called it collage. But since one can now use endless number of apps and programs to assemble photos into a digital montage without ever having to use scissors or glue, we must clarify and call the old school version analog.
Think about guitars. Those instruments were simply called what they were. But along came electric guitars and now the old-school item is called an acoustic guitar.
Everything now seems to be referencing something from way back when. Look at the icon for making a call.
When’s the last time you actually saw a phone that looked like that? Most of the kids taking selfies have never touched such a useless instrument. I mean seriously, all it can do is make phone calls. Crazy.
And what about the symbol on the Women’s washroom? The last time I saw a woman with an inverted triangle skirt was while watching a 50s movie…probably on a VCR.
When I quit work, I was a little worried that I would lose touch with the changes happening in the new digitally-enhanced world. This blog has helped me stay on top of some of it. Travel writing pushed me toward Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. All of which I have fully embraced and enjoy.
But lately, I feel a calling back to what feels more ‘real’. I spend less time on digital platforms and more time cutting and pasting in my studio. I spend less time on Pinterest and more time mixing paint. I write fewer comments (though I still manage to write quite a few) and fill more handwritten pages in my journal. When I tell someone I’m ‘pencilling them in” to my calendar, I really am using a pencil. My day timer is paper and so are most of my books and magazines.
I walk in the rain instead of on a treadmill in a gym. I sit with a puzzle pushing tactile little tabs into place instead of playing a game on my device. I punch strips of wool through old burlap to make hooked rugs and stitch together pages in my altered journals. I bake bread and clean my thrift-store crock pot to fill with homemade sauerkraut.
Even so, I still spend a lot of time in the digital world. But this is not an either-or argument pitting one against the other. It is not a diatribe against the digital but more of an ode to the analog.
Because here’s the thing, I like the digital world. I love how I can connect with old and new friends on Facebook and I love finding people on IG and Pinterest to share common pursuits and artistic ideas.
The irony is not lost on me, that although I first wrote this in my paper journal with my favourite pen (Analog Alert!) I am now sending it out into the ether using dots and dashes and the magic of the cyber world (Digital Alert!) I will post the link to Facebook and send it out on Twitter. Not to mention that almost every day, I take a photo of wherever I might be and share it on Instagram.
I definitely straddle the two worlds…
But more and more, I am drawn to the tactile and sensory world. As much as the internet connects me to the rest of the world, It is the analog version of things that truly connects and grounds me to this earth…right here…right now.
So, if I don’t answer tweets or texts or messages right away, it’s probably because my fingers are covered in glue and paint, the music is cranked and I’m doing a silly shuffle in my studio.
I am busy being oh-so-analog and alive.
Here is one of the discombobulating things about the online world. You come across an article, or blog post, written a few years back, and feel like you are having a conversation (albeit, in your head, lol) in the here and now.
I agree with most of what you’ve said, Colleen, but after these last few years of terrible Misleaders and their awful politics, shows like “The Great Hack” and “The Social Dilemma” have given me at least the beginning of a handle on all the hate slinging and extreme conspiracy BS going on. I am wondering if a person of conscience should even be on these social platforms any more. Yes, one can argue about all the beautiful benefits they have to offer (Anything can be used for good or for ill, it depends on how YOU use it, etc.) That is why I am still involved. But some very thoughtful and intelligent people are offering very good reasons to get off of social media—calling it a money and propaganda train that will not stop unless we jump off.
I would love your take on this, Cuz.
Well hello cousin 🙂 I suppose this experience, right here, is one reason to carry on in the digitized world.
I completely forgot about this post. No surprise there, but looking back, I see some of the collages I’d also forgotten about and they are inspiring me anew. Again, that is no surprise, as like you, I’m sure everything I see tends to spark another idea. The biggest problem is making them all happen. Apparently that’s not possible.
Still, I digress from your main question. My wobbly answer is that I continue to hang in the in-betweenness of the worlds. I certainly don’t blog like I once did. I no longer have anything to do with travel writing. I really only use IG as kind of a diary to what’s happening/happened in my world. I love looking back to seeing where & what I was doing on certain calendar days. I also find it inspirational to see how others are interpreting their world by how & what they focus on, or, in particular, what different artists’ are making. Your art is one example. I would be sad not to be able to see the work you’re doing. It often inspires me in ways that I can’t even name. We live too far apart for me to see it in any other way.
I guess what I’m saying, is I feel that I’m using these platforms for my own purposes.
Do they wreak havoc in the world? Yes. And…
Does alcohol? Yes. And… Do cars? Yes. And… Does travel? Yes. And…
The list is extensive but there are benefits too (drinking a beautiful glass of red wine with a friend in a French vineyard I’ve arrived at by car is a very fond memory).
So many things are, indeed, money and propaganda trains. We only have to look at politics all over the world to know that’s true. But I still believe in the power of my single vote. I believe in the changes we can make in spite of the other corrupting factors.
I grew up with such a black and white view of existence, that I now tend toward the middle way in most things. Some would call that a kind of chicken-shit response. I, naturally, would argue that in fact, it’s kind of a tricky path.
Moderation in all things, including moderation, is not that easy at all. Not for me anyway.
My actions need to be consistent with my values and beliefs. I do not feel the need to save the world by taking on every extreme action. However, I do feel called to add beauty and goodness and to challenge the darker tendencies in the world through my art and how I live and what I value.
For now, that’s enough for me.
Colleen, I so agree with you. Although I love the internet for instant link with the outside world. I do like writing letters but it seems so time consuming in this world of instant communication as sending emails is quick and efficient. I do remember these black dialled telephones, (which looked like what they were) standing proudly in the corridor. I also like the idea of doing a jigsaw. I think the best thing to do is mixing the old with the new. The digital world is another tool to be used in an artistic sense. When the monks wrote in their scriptorium and the printing press came along, it soon became the norm.
Catherine. I think it really is about the right ‘mix of the old with the new’. I want to stay on top of the most relevant mediums but not at the expense of living life with my feet on the ground. I think you’ve got the right mix. I know you are good at spending time in nature and I think that rambling in the woods and over the hills is probably the best antidote to the interconnected world of the internet. I am spending less time staring at screens and more time out doors.