Art For Art's Sake

Writers: Avery, Yvonne
Date Posted: 1st April 2008

Characters: Kapera, J'nus
Description: Kapera and J'nus discuss art, something the Weyrwoman has never thought about before.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 8, day 9 of Turn 4

Kapera

She'd wanted to talk to him for a few days, but she'd had hidework to do, and then someone in the infirmary had wanted to consult about supplies, and then she'd spent another night sleepless, which had put it off a bit. Now she was finally free. So was he, according to his dragon.
"J'nus? Kopth told Riyanth that you were free."

The door swung open at her touch and his weyr exhaled the sweet scent of polished wood and spice. The bronzerider was sitting on a chair beneath a light with a book in his lap - he looked up when she entered, and smiled. "Kapera! Kopth didn't tell me you were stopping by. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Oh, he didn't?" She hadn't ordered Riyanth to surprise him. "I just..."
Now that he was asking her, she didn't really have a reason for him. "I wanted to see you." she answered plainly.

The bronzerider grinned, feeling rather tickled at the idea of the pretty goldrider seeking _him_ out. Never mind that he was old enough to be her father, and that she most likely meant it differently than it had sounded... it was still flattering. He set his book aside. "And here I am. Since you're here, can I interest you in a game of cards or cribbage? I'm afraid I don't have much else to entertain you with."

She looked around his weyr. "Are you sure? You have so many interesting-looking things." It was clear he had fine taste, too, and brought home how good he'd been at the Gather, finding bargains. There were beautiful weavings and carvings all around. "If I asked about all of them I'm sure it would take all night!"

The bronzerider smiled, feeling flattered in spite of himself.
"Not really. Most of them are just... art. There's no story attached to them."

"Do the ones that aren't art have a story?" she inquired.

J'nus settled back into his chair and folded his hands across his stomach. "Well now, that's a tricky question. What, exactly, makes one thing art and another trash?"

"I didn't mean to imply anything was trash," she said, suddenly worrying she might have offended him. "But art versus not-art...I never thought about it." she admitted.

"Really? Well, if you think about it now, what do you think the difference is?"

"It can't be who makes it, because if only Harper artists could make art, most people couldn't buy any. There wouldn't be enough. So maybe it's the quality?"

J'nus arched an eyebrow. "So what makes something 'quality'?"

"What it's made with? I mean, silk is of a higher quality than wool."

"And workmanship doesn't matter?" he asked gently. "And what about subject matter?"

Okay, this was a little harder than she'd thought. "Um..." She had to ponder it. Maybe art wasn't as easy to define as she'd thought. "So you think the quality of the craftsmanship, regardless of the credentials of the person who crafts it, counts?" she asked, trying to figure out what he meant.

"Is that what you think? Wait- don't answer. Let me get you something to drink, first." The bronzerider rose and hurried over to a small table where a jug was sweating onto a scarred wooden platter from the kitchen.
"All I have is redfruit juice. Is that all right with you?"

"It's fine." the goldrider replied.

He poured a glass, then invited her to sit and pressed it into her hands. "I know I always think better with a drink in my hands."

She contemplated his earlier question. "I guess I can see how it's possible, but it isn't something I considered before. At Gathers, I've heard to always buy the pieces that are Craft-marked, because those are better quality. It sounds like you're saying that doesn't always have to be the case." Her family, at least, had thought that Craft approval meant all. Their tools, the instruments the Harper had taught them on, their blankets and their clothing, had all been officially Craft-made things, though she and her sister had learned to repair the clothing themselves as part of their womanly training.

"I can only tell you what I think, Kapera. The beauty of art is that it's open to interpretation." J'nus poured a second glass of juice for himself and settled back into his chair. "But you're right - Crafted goods are often very high quality. But there are craftsmen without knots who produce just as fine products without training at a Hall. Granted, they're fewer and further between, but they're there. And then there's the question of whether or not Craft-marked goods are lacking in...
soul, I guess. Crafters go to the Hall and are taught how to produce art, whether its a song or a carving or a woven rug, in one fashion or style. They're trained to all think one way about what makes their goods quality, and so there's less motivation to push the boundaries of art."

She contemplated it while drinking from the juice. He did have a point.
"Crafters have access to the better source materials to start from too, which gives them an advantage? They get better yarn than homespun." She remembered how, once she'd become good at knitting, she'd been allowed to use better yarn. It had made the scarf she'd made so much nicer.
She'd been so proud of that scarf, but she'd had to trade it in exchange for...well, the past was past.

"So a Craft education isn't necessarily better, because while it might teach you new things that you can't learn if you're just a Holder forever, it could also trap you into their way of thinking?" That was how it seemed to her, anyways.

J'nus hesitated. "Yes and no," he said finally as he got up out of his chair. From his shelves he pulled a stylised dark wood sculpture of a dragon, and a twisted bit of wood with a hole in the middle that had been shined with oil. He handed both to Kapera. "Which one is better?"

The goldrider held them both, turning them over and contemplating them.
The dragon wasn't purely realistic, but something about it was compelling, she thought as she traced a fingertip along the wing. Then she turned her attention to the wood. It was shiny, and if she moved it the light reflected interestingly, but other then that...

"The dragon." she said.

"Why?"

"It's a dragon. It means something. This wood, it's polished wood with a hole in it. Is it supposed to mean anything?" Art was supposed to have a meaning, right?

The bronzerider smiled. "The dragon was made by a Journeyman Woodcrafter, but the other carving was made by a fisherman. He found the driftwood himself, and then carved the hole because it reminded him of the reflection of the moon on still water. I just like the shape of it."

"So it meant something to the fisherman. But how is anyone supposed to know that if they aren't him?" Kapera thought J'nus came up with some pretty interesting topics. She'd always considered art to be fine tapestries, or gorgeous weavings, or paintings or pottery. The concept of something simple being art eluded her, as did the concept of drawing distinctions. Pricing and where it came from had defined art in her life, and she was struggling to find a different view.

"You can't. You just have to judge it on how it makes _you_ feel. Like I said, I just like the shape of it. It reminds me of something I can't quite remember." He plucked the two carvings from her hands and set them aside. "For me, art is something that evokes _something_. It feels good, it makes me smile, or it evokes a thought or memory or feeling... and not every Craft-marked piece does that."

She thought about it, remaining silent for a few minutes while she pondered them. "I think that's a definition I've never heard before."
she admitted. "But I don't think it's a bad one. It certainly sums up how you feel when you look at a painting of dragons in flight, for example."

The corners of his eyes crinkled up as J'nus smiled at her. "Well now, that really depends on the painting in question!"

"What are you going to do when you run out of space for everything?" she asked him, more seriously.

"Ask the Headwoman for a bigger weyr?"

"I can make sure she'll grant that." she joked. "Did you ask for a bigger one after becoming D'wrayt's Wingsecond? I'm sure there's some vacant larger ones."

J'nus looked shocked. "What, and _move_ all this stuff? Are you joking?!
It would take _days_."

"It might, but if it gave you more room, wouldn't it be worth it?" she inquired. "Besides, you wouldn't have to do it alone. I would help, and there are always eager Candidates."

The bronzerider shook his head. "No, thank you. I'd never be able to find anything. I have everything in my weyr just the way that I want it. It'd take turns to set it up again."

She laughed. "At least you're comfortable."

"I am, indeed. And you, Kapera? How do you like your new, larger weyr?"

"It isn't _that_ much larger." Kapera said with a half-laugh. "Riyanth enjoys it though. She says the couch is more comfortably worn. My bath is larger, but not by too much. I do believe my bed is larger as well, though that might not be a property of that weyr but of one of the helpful cavern workers who cleaned it out before I moved in adding a little extra comfort." Maybe because they'd heard of her proclivities.

"And for that I'm glad. Nobody enjoys it when the Weyrwoman is a grump,"
J'nus said gently. "And I certainly hope that you're comfortable in _my_
weyr, and I haven't been an overly provoking host by foisting my ideas about art on you."

"Oh no, you're a most gracious host." Kapera assured him. "And as a host, could you pour me some more juice?"

Last updated on the April 5th 2008

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Art For Art's Sake