I Agree with you Olive
and my last word on the subject is that I never thought for one minute that Nick's post was a personal attack on snybody- more an overview of the sort of person that is comfortable with fakes and counterfeit, and I completely agree with him. The sort of person that is happy in fake Calvin Klein pants sitting on a fake Barcelona chair lacks a certain integrity in my view.
There is, however, no need for the sort of personal attacks that have been too commonpace of late on the forum.
I realise some of the newcomers are possibly lacking in communication & language skills, but even so, let's not make it personal guys? This used to be a fun place to be.
No witty title (con't)
Not everyone has the time to eat, sleep and breathe design. Some people may simply be uneducated or just unexperienced. Perhaps they just want to see a particular piece in their home until they can afford the real thing. Or perhaps they just appreciate the style of a piece and do not know, or care, about the name stamped underneath. Who knows. At least they have the aesthetic sense not to be furnishing their homes with items from Wal-Mart, K-Mart, or any other Mart.
One positive thing about fakes, reproductions, appropriations, or whatever you want to call them, is that they can help to disseminate design. An Eames-style chair may catch someone's eye and pique their interest. From there they may begin to educate themselves about where or how that form originated. And out of this kind of curiosity a true appreciation and understanding of design may grow. Those who truly appreciate design, its history and what goes/went into its creation will make a conscious effort to educate themselves and look to buy original/vintage pieces. Those who do not will likely eventually lose interest in the style or design and turn their energies elsewhere.
My point is,...oh screw it, I am going to bed.
No witty title.
I am relatively new to the site (about 6 months or so) and only recently started posting in the forum, but I have read almost every single post and have enjoyed most of what I've read. It seems to me that there are a lot of knowledgeable people on the site who truly care about and appreciate good design. Many of such people are willing to share their experience in the hopes of educating those who have a mutual appreciation but may be relatively new to design and possess limited knowledge, like myself. They generally treat others with respect. Then there are the people who seem to enjoy berating others by making fun of their preferences and tastes (or lack thereof), criticizing their lack of experience, or crapping all over their newly acquired treasures. These people hold themselves up as a pillar of good taste against which all others should be measured. Somewhere along the line to becoming all powerful Gods of design they've forgotten about the amount of time, effort and energy that went into the acquisition of the divine knowledge they seem to enjoy holding over those beneath them. They forget about all the stumbles they've had along the way to the top. Which type of person are you? We all have to start somewhere. For some that means asking questions, reading books, browsing the net, making poor purchase choices (which may mean a generic piece of whatever, or even a fake), and so on.
Now I am not advocating the buying of fake anything. Obviously, as a visual artist, musician, and now design student, I value and support the idea of intellectual property. But before you call out those who purchase fakes - whatever their reasons - take a minute to reflect upon all the music you've listened to, the movies you've watched, the games you've played, or the software you are running on your computer. Any illegally downloaded music pirated movies, games or software? Be honest. If you can honestly say that you've never partaken in any of these things, pat yourself on the back. You are a devout supporter of intellectual property. If you can't pat yourself on the back, get up, walk to the nearest mirror and take a good look. You are looking at a hypocrite and should immediately STFU. (continued, if you are still interested in my humble)
I must learn English
Artsnot,
There I was, following your very logical, yet passionate post. Agreeing with most, perhaps all of what you said. I was really thinking, I'm getting this message. THEN, from nowhere, as if a spell was cast, or someone in very high places was paid off.
It caught me completely by surprise that the point of what I read was "screw it, I'm going to bed"
me thinkee me english no so good no more
Anyway, back to reading and Comprehension class for me, I was way off
Sorry
I just realized the time and that I was quickly approaching a 3 hour morning lecture and needed my beauty sleep. Nobody was paid off. My English abilities are still in tact. As for trying to justify buying a fake on a design forum, I completely agree. However, it goes back to what I said. Some people may just be unexperienced or uneducated. Give them some time, they may come around. They may just be that person who has just discovered the beauty of design and are hyped to own something in a modern style, without considering or realizing how those actions affect the craft. With a little patience and education, hopefully they'll come around. And if not, it is their delusion that they've just gotten something really special. People don't have to drag themselves into it by slinging mud. There are nice and articulate ways to make a point. Besides, I am sure we all have an "inspired by", or "in the manner of" something or other in our collection. If not now, at least we may have at some point. Depending on how deep this debate goes, a case could be made about the against this as well. How similar is too similar. At which point is an "inspired by" design really nothing more than a rip off of a great design?
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