What are some examples of lost or dying art forms?

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   Laura Schneiderposted 10 years ago

   What are some examples of lost or dying art forms?

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   ChristinSposted 10 years ago

   Handwriting and calligraphy.  Most people use computers now and fonts and don't really practice the writing anymore.  Cooking foods wholly from scratch (I think it's an art form anyway lol) I love how you look for recipes now for "from scratch" items and they say add a can of this or a cake mix or something lol so not from scratch sorry!  My mom does a lot of the fiber arts, not just spinning and knitting she raises the sheep, cards the wool etc.  She also has a loom and does weaving - those are kind of dying arts in some areas too.  A lot of people spin/knit but don't make their own yarn etc.  Photography the old fashioned way with film - definitely a dying art. There are a lot of things that are kind of giving way to convenience.  In many ways that's great - in others, not so much .

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      Laura Schneiderposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Great examples, ChristinS! Thanks for sharing! (I agree--cooking "from scratch" is a dying art form. I know I can't cook at ALL. :-( ). Thanks for commenting!

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   tsmogposted 10 years ago

   ChrstinS had some great examples. I would say in the world I have been associated with length one answer would be rebuild relating to the automotive industry. Once it was a real art form to diagnose a car problem and rebuild the component - generator, starter, carburetor, and etc. or system - cooling, electrical motors, engine, suspension, ignition, fuel, and etc. Today, diagnostics exists and is a growth industry (much more sophistication with electronics, e.g computers, their controls, and actuators), yet it is replace with a component off the shelf. Maybe rebuilding was rebuilding with components off the shelf = parts, yet parts were used much more than components = assembled parts and a functioning unit.
   
   Carpentry has gone away with manufacturing methods, modernized machinery (more than likely computer assisted like CNC, NC, CAD/CAM, and etc.), and mass merchandising. A plane for shaving and shaping wood is most seen today in grandpa's wooden tool box or a museum it seems. Even the craft of wooden boat and ship building is fading with high-tech composites that are molded by some means.
   
   Music I ponder as it is now easier and growing in popularity to create music with electronics rather than an instrument. A child now receives a toy for music that is an electronic instrument and sound more than likely rather than the now far less seen toy (I even now forget its name) where you strike a metal or wooden set of planks to arrive with notes and tones. We are taught at a very early age how to push buttons (behavior) and receive pleasure (reward). Drums may be an exclusion to that. I remember not having the first toy mentioned and mom filling glasses with water and handing me a wooden spoon.
   
   Maybe the younger generations just learn 'so much' and 'so fast' and 'so young' those seem as lost or dying art forms, yet are experienced simply sooner and understanding purpose has lost relevance.

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      Laura Schneiderposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      An insightful answer! I love your analysis. There IS so much to learn nowdays, especially since the Internet brings everything to our fingertips. I do think that we get new "art forms" for all the dying ones: humans are creative by nature, I think.

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      Seafarer Mamaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Wow...yes, those toy xylophones....and there is a baby in our community who will be reaching her 1 year birthday next month. I think we'll give her one as a gift. :0)

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      tsmogposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for the name Seafarer Mama. I have had that thought lurking in a corner of my mind : I ponder a child knows how to type before they read or of least as they learn reading. That is such an early age  now. As as skill I did not type until 24?

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   ESPeck1919posted 10 years ago

   Victorian hair art or memorials. When people died in the Victorian age, their loved ones would make amazing jewelry out of their hair in homage to them. Another variation was of people making art out of their own shed hair and that of their families.
   
   Some people still do it today, but not many, in part because of the cultural feeling of being creeped out when products of our bodies are used as art materials.
   
   I've seen some beautiful pieces done with that method, but I'm not sure how I feel about it on a personal level.

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      Laura Schneiderposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Haha Thanks for commenting, ESPeck1919! I'd only been vaguely familiar with this art form. Now I'll go and research it--sounds fascinating. I agree with your assessment, though: not sure how I feel about it on a personal level. :-)

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   The Examiner-1posted 10 years ago

   Paintings like the Mona Lisa and music like Tchaikovsky.

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      Laura Schneiderposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Oh, great examples, The Examiner-1! I LOVE Tchaikovsky. I would add a thousand (give or take LOL) composer-players to that list of musicians, and Da Vinci, though one-of-a-kind, has good competition: Hero, to name one ancient master of invention.

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      The Examiner-1posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I could have made a longer list, after all there is art in all of life/nature, but I was only using examples.

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      Laura Schneiderposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I understand, there's limited space in a single question to list everything—and the list might just be pages long if even one of us spent the time to think about it! Thanks again for your inspirations!

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