cultured stuff

   In an earlier post, I did what I could to take on the distinction between applied arts, fine arts and crafts.
   Like many things in life that society trips over such gradations confuse some, who are often want to be given few choices.
   And so it is with culture. Many have had their chance at a definition; here's mine: The evolved abstractions of a living group to express and/or establish order and/or standards. This applies equally true whether one is speaking of the Maori tribes of Africa today, the Inca’s of a bygone era, the urban Manhattanite, the rural Mongolian of the Steppes, of pod of dolphins, an essential ingredient in yogurt.
   Such a definition certainly has its use. Ordinarily, this is to distinguish customs from one area of the world of human experience to another.
   To use the metaphor of the arts, this would encompass every creativity. And like the arts, a well preserved classic example of a late 17th century Mennonite chair might not at first blush seem as engaging as a Herman Miller Aeron chair. On the one side you have something that seems to be primitive, versus a well developed and entirely thought out technology. On the other hand you have one item that is a priceless and unique survivor, a rare example the likes of which we may never see again, versus something that may have come off an assembly line.
   And so it goes; we argue values, and it's all very subjective. And where we find general consensus, however gelatinous and organic that may seem, we include that in our inventory as relative marker.
   So is life worse off for the Aboriginal of Australia, just because relatively speaking they are primitive? Is it not possible that many among them by now are well aware of life in Sydney and see Sydney-siders as the barbarians? Again, it's always relative.
   So when someone says in response to the question what is culture, that it refers to finer things in life, such as fine arts, literature, philosophy and classical music, are they wrong - Absolutely not. Just as there is such a thing as fine art, there is such a thing as fine culture.
   But honestly, I would rather have that crude looking late 17th century Mennonite chair, a craft, than an acrylic on canvas board produced by someone who has marginal commitment to the experience.
   So there's high or fine culture, and culture in general, and everything in between … and I don't know if you saw this coming but here's the point: they all have value (it's just a matter of where your perspective is).