Among a Community of Creatives

"The Creators," as in an Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand sense, were those who thrived because of their individualistic and progressive mind capabilities; creators of various trades, crafts and techniques. In this light, specific titles or labels are lost, and hold no value, where as there is a sole interest based on outcomes and results. Through visual professionals, and their keen understanding of ascetics and composition, there is a unity of function and beauty. Keeping in mind value for value, while exploring a community of creatives, art in its most broad term can take many forms. Being pronounced an artist should no longer be reserved for the fine arts, but extended to embrace the architect, design, manufacture, and technical fields. Throughout this article, focus is weighed on realistic acceptance of individual impact, but with hopes of a realization to desire to work towards a unified community of artistic minds.

Referencing one last historical and social concept before submerging into personal opinion, the Bauhaus fits as a model example of a community built of and for creatives. Thanks to semesters of design history and lectures regarding the German school, it's relatively painless to connect some of the theories, or fundamental principles, of the Bauhaus to the topic at hand. Being recognized as one of the most popular design and art schools, the Bauhaus established an environment that encouraged interrelationships among technology and fine arts. The school created a balance for artistic industrial production and taught manufacturing as an art, creating being the most important craft. Thinking of a real-life, present-day application, consider a modernized look at industrial design. There are jobs within the larger job that allow the completed piece to exist: a client in need, an available designer, a reasonable craftsman with skill and manpower, and finally a packaging plan. The result would be unimaginable without the artists that literally and physically created.

As with any production, manufacturing or craft development, using the correct equipment usually ensures the task to be successfully carried out. Likewise, utilizing the most appropriate creator can significantly affect a project's completion. With the artistic restrictions hazing, and attitudes of industries expanding to new levels, an individual's interest in gaining greater knowledge outside of a specific career path has become more common and craved. Mainly, the focus is to realize that career specialization is absolutely necessary. However, within the creative's community, title, rank and position should not be glorified. The work that is designed and produced should be seen as a common denominator that allows all innovative contributors involved to be proud to call themselves artists. In the most basic context, if there were a need for a blueprint sketch of a building, of course hiring an architect would be the best decision. Underlying point being that the architect is, and should still be considered an artist. Occupation: Artists Specialization: Architect

Under the Artist's umbrella composed of professionals from various careers, there can be endless communication, collaboration, or competition. Looking at an example that highlights a range of specializations, the artist's grid can be formatted to serve as a pliable tool. The grid can be found in a range of outlets; from Piet Mondrian's "grid-like" iconic paintings, to an architect's layouts and graphs, to the use of free-hand up-scaling technique, to finally a typographer's grid used to balance counters, ascenders and kerning. Just as the grid is a flexible tool for diverse artists, these artists are connected in their ability to create original work.

With one last idea, embrace the celebration of artists, and the celebration of their work expressed through their unique mediums. Strip each artist of their specialization, and only artists remain.