A Celebration of the Lost Arts

When I'm in the check-out line at the grocery store, I look for coupons, get out my checkbook and try to keep an eye on the cashier to make sure she's keying in the right code for my produce. So I don't always pay attention to the way my bags are being packed. On any number of occasions, I've groaned as I unpacked the bags at home to discover bananas at the bottom of a bag of canned goods. Or eggs tossed in willy-nilly with items that could cause breakage.

There is an art to bag packing. I have met these artisans. Generally, they are mature men in bow ties, who take bagging seriously, rather than the high school boys who view it as a bottom-of-the-totem-pole kind of task. This led me to think about some of the other lost arts in our supersonic fast-paced society.

Here are a few I've come up with...

Typography
If you cruise through magazines from the 1960's and 70's, you will find that type mattered. It was used to convey the look and feel of an ad. It was part of the design. Up-and-coming designers today rely too much on lifestyle and product images to set the tone. They see words as a necessary evil. As if to say, "well, of course, you have to include the 60% off message and all of the disclaimers, but those other words just get in the way." Maybe I'm just sensitive to it because I'm a word person. But the words, the way they look and feel can convey emotion just as effectively as a photograph.

Frugality
My mother used everything. And used it. And used it. Aluminum foil was not a one-time gig. Nor was string or plastic bags or even milk cartons. Towels became rags and rags became threadbare. A lot of them did not leave the premises until after she did. My parents and their parents lived through the Depression, which was largely why they were reluctant to let go of anything. Food was not left on our plates growing up. Over-ripe bananas were made into banana bread. Stale bread was ground into breadcrumbs. My mother was appalled when she saw waste. She was a proponent of recycling long before it became fashionable.

Letter Writing
Yes, we have email. And yes, I have succumbed to the evils of electronic communication. But I still get a thrill when snail mail arrives in my beat-up metal letter box. I love that someone took the time and effort to write to me. This is not to discourage those who email with their news. There are many advantages to the speed and efficiency of email. But speed has its price...words sent this way are often dashed off in haste, unedited and uncrafted. Letter writing is a lost art.

Movie Making
These days, it's all about the special effects. There are very few new ideas in Hollywood. If you doubt this, think about all of the remakes (or remakes of remakes) that have been released over the last several years. The original Star Wars was filmed in a garage with home made props. Computer technology didn't exist in the movie industry at that time. It all had to be done by hand, frame by frame. That took imagination and ingenuity and persistence. With all of the instant graphics at hand today, something grand has been lost.

I'm certain there are lots of other lost arts. Feel free to comment with your own. For now, I'm a little blue.

Maybe I'll go bake something. Or curl up with a book and some classic Christmas music. Ahh, that's better. Thanks, Dad. Thanks, Mom.