Burak Eceral
Aaron Krach
Critical Studio: Everyday Objects
Introduction to “The Gift”
31 March 2021
“Where we reckon our substance by our acquisition, the gifts of the gifted man are powerless to make him substantial.”
This sentence managed to attract my attention with the profound message it conveys, which dominates the whole introduction section. In this sentence, the writer states that when the artists calculate the value of their craft by focusing on their profits rather than concentrating on their piece’s spiritual significance, it lowers their substantiality. The main thing that surprised me about this sentence is the strategic use of the word “gift.” Here the writer uses this word to symbolize the talent that the artists possess and the influence they provide to the community using any form of art. As a young artist, learning the importance of sharing my work with society completely caught me off guard. I have learned that sharing the art piece by the act of gift-giving will keep the spirit of the art alive forever. I also figured out that this process can act as a gift-giving ceremony since seeing the piece will inspire others and make the audience irresistibly move. On the other hand, I have noticed that commercializing the “gift” with only the intention of earning profit will only diminish the work and the artist’s holiness and downgrade the art into a materialistic state.
