[QUOTE=Starving Artist]
IIRC, AFG is Canadian and an artist with a particular love for native (i.e., American Indian and Eskimo) art, so she’s probably looking at it from that perspective. There is much about art as it relates to a particular culture that can seem simplistic to people who are not tuned into it. I never really appreciated Indian art or African art until I began to learn a little bit about art, it’s origins, and what it was intended to convey (and I still miss much in regard to the latter).
Plus, artistic people in the main tend to be dismissive of and see little value in expensive materialistic things. They also tend to see little value in things created so as to appeal to the masses, regarding artwork as such to be the work of ‘hacks.’ So I’m thinking these things are the basis for her dislike of designer bags. Little-known artists also tend to see value in and try to support the work of fellow artists and craftspeople who are not widely known and/or financially successful, hence her love for her bag she bought and her support for the person who made it.
[/QUOTE]
I’m going to address this because it seems to be directed to me.
I live in Canada. I attended art college. I am a collector of art, including but not limited to Canadian Aboriginal art. I have commissioned more than 20 pieces of art from local, Canadian artists - sometimes so the artist in question could pay their phone bill. Additionally, I have dozens of other art works by Canadian artists that I’ve purchased at small local art shows or off their websites. Some of those artworks include handbags handcrafted by local artists.
I also happen to have a number of designer handbags, handcrafted by someone else (a very high quality hand bag is made by hand - it’s not machine cut or sewed).
Interestingly, I can appreciate the aesthetic appeal of BOTH types of bag, and can understand why a person would enjoy having bags of both types. Additionally, I can appreciate that some people are quite indifferent about handbags and a $12 bag from Wal-Mart suits their needs more than adequately. What I cannot appreciate is someone who feels that belittling others because they spend more on a bag than you do makes you look like anything other than an obnoxious, ignorant little twit (this is the royal you, not you specifically Starving Artist).
Frankly, if AFG were truly knowledgeable about art as you suggest, I would expect that she would have at least a passing admiration for the craftsmanship that goes into a very expensive bag, even if the aesthetic is not to her taste.
