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<p>[QUOTE="Sealgair, post: 4254372, member: 97867"]Skywalker: please note that I prefaced my remark by stating it was a statement of PERSONAL aesthetics. It was limited to one tiny offshoot (illegal when most exx were produced, since they “defaced government currency”) of coinage matters overall, and silent about all the rest. I actually deeply admire the skill of today’s computer-aided designers for whom the NARRATIVE of the design is central (e.g., Canada’s several WW I and II historical series, and I buy those regularly). However, I find the iconography of most of the original exx in this thread to be pretty trite and superficial (the blended face on the obverse of “White Rabbit” is an exception) or just confusing (exactly why the High Plains Indian skeletons of “Bad Mojo” were chosen for a LOVE token, which is what mojo charms are, is far from obvious). On the other hand, the original “hobo art” coins are essentially individual expressions from a distressed and seriously disadvantaged segment of the American population, originating almost a century ago, and deserve serious consideration along with “Grapes of Wrath” and the photographs of Lange and her fellows as windows into that period. If I could step well beyond the areas of my own expertise, I might suggest that the design exx here appeal to the same sorts of people who engage in cosplay in which they imitate others—comic book characters, etc.—as opposed to creating fantastic new images for themselves. One group finds a personal social and aesthetic area of expression to be desirable, while the other apparently prefers to identify with masses of others. I happen to be an old Maine farm kid so I suppose it’s not surprising that I am more drawn to individual expressions than to mass adoptions. So, one of my personal pleasures is in finding exx of artists who manage to convey highly individual images (e.g., among ancients veiled/mourning faces, and the rare early Celtic obverses with more “realistic” faces). But, as I said before, that is a PERSONAL aesthetic, one not shared by others.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Sealgair, post: 4254372, member: 97867"]Skywalker: please note that I prefaced my remark by stating it was a statement of PERSONAL aesthetics. It was limited to one tiny offshoot (illegal when most exx were produced, since they “defaced government currency”) of coinage matters overall, and silent about all the rest. I actually deeply admire the skill of today’s computer-aided designers for whom the NARRATIVE of the design is central (e.g., Canada’s several WW I and II historical series, and I buy those regularly). However, I find the iconography of most of the original exx in this thread to be pretty trite and superficial (the blended face on the obverse of “White Rabbit” is an exception) or just confusing (exactly why the High Plains Indian skeletons of “Bad Mojo” were chosen for a LOVE token, which is what mojo charms are, is far from obvious). On the other hand, the original “hobo art” coins are essentially individual expressions from a distressed and seriously disadvantaged segment of the American population, originating almost a century ago, and deserve serious consideration along with “Grapes of Wrath” and the photographs of Lange and her fellows as windows into that period. If I could step well beyond the areas of my own expertise, I might suggest that the design exx here appeal to the same sorts of people who engage in cosplay in which they imitate others—comic book characters, etc.—as opposed to creating fantastic new images for themselves. One group finds a personal social and aesthetic area of expression to be desirable, while the other apparently prefers to identify with masses of others. I happen to be an old Maine farm kid so I suppose it’s not surprising that I am more drawn to individual expressions than to mass adoptions. So, one of my personal pleasures is in finding exx of artists who manage to convey highly individual images (e.g., among ancients veiled/mourning faces, and the rare early Celtic obverses with more “realistic” faces). But, as I said before, that is a PERSONAL aesthetic, one not shared by others.[/QUOTE]
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