Waste of resources?

[1gear]

Is art and pot making a waste of resources?
Im sat in a 3d lesson in 6th form, and its just occured to me that it is.
These pot makers spend alot of time and material making some pot or tea pot that they will never use.
So if u think of all the carbon emissions from this waste of time, we would be much better without it.
Kilns, they use alot of energy.
And, from going to a sculpture park, tthere was metal and other material used to make some sculpture to serve no purpose at all.
Some of them, were too delicate to touch. Whats the point in that?
I just dont see the point in this pot making/sculpture making stuff.
Yorkshire sculpture park is also pointless because u walk around a cold place looking at sculptures. Why not just put them all in the same place?

[andygates]

Yes, dear.  *pat pat*

[nicknack]

 

Bless.

[1gear]

I take it that neither of you two know either then?
All i want to know is whats the point in making sone weird shaped pot, that you cant use? Wasting all that electricity and clay(and all the other resourses used to extract the clay from the ground) to make a weird shaped pot, that you cant or wont use.
Now im going back to watching catchphrase

[Pancho]

You obviously don't value art for the sake of art[1]. So why, in the name of God, are you studying art? If this is VI Form, then presumably you have chosen to be sitting there artifying rather than doing something useful (like physics, for example).

[1] a view with which I have a great deal of sympathy

[andygates]

I believe you're asking "what is the point of all art?"  

I refer the honourable gentleman to 1960s Soviet architecture for a fine example of artless hell.  

Childish dabbling is how you get started.

As an exercise, work out just how much of the national resource is being 'wasted' in this pot-making; numbers are more informative than going with gut feeling.  

[border-rider]

Yorkshire sculpture park is also pointless because u walk around a cold place looking at sculptures.

That is the point

Why not just put them all in the same place?

Cos it'd look like a scrapyard ?

I think the Yorkshire Sculpture Park is great. Sometimes it's even warm there.

[1gear]

I chose to do 3d because the teacher had me beleiving i was going to be doing woodwork and stuff on the lathe.
Ive done bits on the lathe and they are pretty good. But it occured to me today, just how much wated time and effort is put into stupid looking pot making.
Ill find figures out.
But i dont see the interest of looking at a weird pot that has no function other then to look ok.
People think BSOs look good, but they are crap because they dont work.
So they effectivly bought a heap of scrap that they can just look at.
Same with weird shaped pots. Bought some rock harde clay you cant reuse unless u smash it up and put it in the bottom of a plant pot.

[clarion]

I love Bretton Hall.

[Adrian]

 doing woodwork and stuff on the lathe.
Ive done bits on the lathe

Lathe? Do you know how much one of those contributes to greenhouse gasses?

[1gear]

Yes, not much.
How long is a kiln on for? How hot is a kiln? How long does it take for a kiln to heat up.
How much energy does a pot wheel thing use?
How much does a lathe use?
So i think i just blew your come back out the window.
Im sorry ive just pointed out that clay working, pot making is pointless, but its true.

[Adrian]

Apologies, I should have used one of those little round face things so that you could interpret my previous post as being other than serious.

[LEE]

The kiln should warm up the classroom and therefore reduce the amount of heat required from the school central heating.

It may be a more efficient method of heating the room depending on how it done normally. 

Same as scrapping 100w lightbulbs for 10w tubes, they produced mainly heat so now all the country folk have to compensate by burning more wood, coal and oil to generate that missing 90w of heat.

Maybe we should all buy an electric kiln for out front room and buy our electricity from a renewable source company.  That way we can save the world, keep warm AND make teapots.

[1gear]

The kiln will be on over the xmas holidays, no need to heat the rooms.
The kilns are in a seperate cupboard, so dont really heat the class room.
Already radiators in the class room which heat the classroom up.
So its not more efficent,it wastes energy.
How many people or places do you know who have a kiln and use it as the only heating source?

Now when using a lathe, the shavings can go onto a fire used to keep you warm. Also if you dont like the work you have done, or any offcuts or scraps of wood can also go on the fire
Simples really

[Andrij]

I think you could develop quite a good rant, but you need more inspiration.  How about visiting the Tate Modern down in London? 


I've been, and I think there are a few items worthy of the label "art" at the Tate.  But as for the majority of exhibits... 

[Adrian]

Could we see some photos of the pots and the woodwork? We could then vote on the relative merits.

[LEE]

The kiln will be on over the xmas holidays, no need to heat the rooms.
The kilns are in a seperate cupboard, so dont really heat the class room.
Already radiators in the class room which heat the classroom up.
So its not more efficent,it wastes energy.
How many people or places do you know who have a kiln and use it as the only heating source?

Now when using a lathe, the shavings can go onto a fire used to keep you warm. Also if you dont like the work you have done, or any offcuts or scraps of wood can also go on the fire
Simples really

The kiln will be on over the xmas holidays, no need to heat the rooms.
- Why is it left on over xmas holidays?
The kilns are in a seperate cupboard, so dont really heat the class room.
Where are the cupboards?  Where does the heat go? (it must go somewhere)
Already radiators in the class room which heat the classroom up.
So its not more efficent,it wastes energy.
If the heat from the kiln escapes into the classroom then it's the radiators wasting energy.  Most of the energy going into a kiln is turned into heat energy in and around the kiln.  Most central heating boilers vent a huge amount heat into the sky as exhaust gases.  A kiln is an electric fire after all.
How many people or places do you know who have a kiln and use it as the only heating source?
forty two(There's a bloody good Kiln salesman in the area)

Now when using a lathe, the shavings can go onto a fire used to keep you warm. Also if you dont like the work you have done, or any offcuts or scraps of wood can also go on the fire
and you are concerned about emissions?  tut tut
Simples really

Having said all that, I don't think my descendents will look back at history, from their overheated, water-world, wasteland and think "It was those damn GCSE pottery lessons to blame"

[Si]

Waste of resources?
How about paying to educate people to A level standard in subjects that they have little interest in?
Surely if you believe the side effects of the course to be so wasteful and pointless then the only moral recourse is to pack it in and go do something more worthwhile? 

Let's face it, following this line of thought we have to consider that every essay that you have ever written for every subject during your education has been entirely pointless - no one has had the least interest in reading it (your teaching especially, I'd warrant).  Ditto every science experiment that you've done or methodology that you've written up.  All a total waste of resources.  You should be ashamed of your self. 

[1gear]

Im not ashmed of myself at all.
Im made to do the pointless to get a grade in a subject that i have a little interest in.
Ill put on some pictures of the bowls ive made on the lathe.
Ive been to the tate modern and a few other galleries when i was slightly younger.
All were pointless.
There was a budgy man outside them though, that was good to watch.
Plus, they are in london. Another place i dont like

[giropaul]

Your education has been far from pointless young 1gear.

You clearly understand that most of what we all do is pointless, and that most of everything is crap.

It takes many people most of their lives to get to this point!

[1gear]

Brilliant, im well ahead then!

[Rig of Jarkness]

Shouldn't this be in the RANT thread ?  Or has it been posted here for our entertainment ?

[John Henry]

We could all spend our time producing pointless art. In which case nothing useful would get made and we'd all starve to death.

Or we could all spend our time making strictly utilitarian things, in which case we'd all have everything we need to sustain life, but precious little worth living for.

Humans from the stone age onwards have realised that we have both practical and aesthetic needs which, as a society, we need to fulfil. The most satisfying human endeavours are those that combine the two, and produce an object of beauty which is also practical and efficient.

What I am saying is, get back to work and stop staring out of the window, boy. 

[1gear]

We could all spend our time producing pointless art. In which case nothing useful would get made and we'd all starve to death.

Or we could all spend our time making strictly utilitarian things, in which case we'd all have everything we need to sustain life, but precious little worth living for.

Humans from the stone age onwards have realised that we have both practical and aesthetic needs which, as a society, we need to fulfil. The most satisfying human endeavours are those that combine the two, and produce an object of beauty which is also practical and efficient.

What I am saying is, get back to work and stop staring out of the window, boy. 

Right. Ok.
You are right. Pointless things get made, like this:

which will never get used. Face it. It will be sat in someone's house on display, getting dusty for no reason. It will never get used will it.
A more useful pot, like a cup, or a pot for cooking food in is a pot WITH use. And some can look rather nice anyway.

And no, this isnt a rant, i was wanting some art buff to come on and tell me the point of it.
Infact really, there is no point to art, so this should really just be the entertainment section. Name change maybe?

[nicknack]

Oh, good grief!

It's practice dear boy (girl?).

In order to get good at something you have to practise the art. Whilst doing this you will produce some crap. Get over it. It's how it works. Just as you wouldn't want to listen to a budding musician practise, you may not regard the products of a budding potter/sculptor with much favour.

However, if you don't appreciate a whole genre of art, then I suggest you're really not in a position to criticize. Just as I wouldn't presume to judge the prowess of a banjo player.

Of course, if there is no form of art/music/literature that you can appreciate then I feel truly sorry for you.