would have given us more time on this soil if we were meant to perfect every single trade. I have many years ahead of myself and my craft despite all that I have already learned in the last twenty years of my life. I would like to think that if one might believe you could replicate artistry in mass, without so much as a fraction of centuries worth of skill that goes into calligraphy, you would have to be mad. I doubt that the printing press will impact my business for long once the lord straightens each and every fool's path.
I chose calligraphy as my calling because I enjoy nothing more than to interpret the art of communication. I have written enough bibles to know that the lord deserves the very best of his scriptures held to high standards. While the printing press might impress the locals, I'm far more interested in captivating the hearts and eyes of my royal consumers. My prices have always stood out throughout the nation and for fair reason. Any landowner will be anxious to impress his competition with original, unique, hand-written scripture.
Devaluing my work as a means to consider printing as a threat to my business is completely out of the picture. Regulars come to me for my uniqueness, originality, and consistency. The reality stands that we are faced with a historical moment in which aesthetics and knowledge diverge thanks to their strongest divergence: functionality. Prayers, thoughts, and many scattered words will find themselves flying around God's land and, instead, safely my work will find itself preserved and bound to the wealthiest of lords. I should find myself grateful that merely a handful of purchases in the average month go towards necessities given my reasonable prices.
I can only hope that with this newfound gift to peasants there can be a profound resurgence of interest in the beauty of vocabulary. The emphasis of sharing literacy can have the potential to bring me various types of new faces. I have faith that God has only the best intentions.
While we can't stop new inventions from coming in, sticking to your craft and catering to people who actually respect your art is the best way to go about it if you don't want to change your entire practice. No matter your art or what new thing come sin, there will always be a group who admire things by hand and your skill alone.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Desiree, relating to this situation as if it were to happen today. There are adjustments that can be done but it's like people who pay big bucks for original pieces; so who knows people will pay big bucks for original manuscripts.
ReplyDeleteAs artists coming into an age of AI, this is a scary reality for us as much as those Illuminators with the age of print shops. They were more than nervous and often times living off of that career their whole life. This was beautifully written from their perspective and I was fully immersed with the writing.
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ReplyDeleteI completely understand the concern about new inventions, especially with all the developments in AI lately and the stuff happening around it. It's cool how you showed that in the entry while also highlighting the illuminator's confidence that there will always be people who value the craft and uniqueness of each piece, the overall look of the entry and details that you added are also great :)
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