Mary Putman
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
I had good penmanship. My handwriting, regardless of style I adopted, was neat, uniform and highly legible. Sadly, without the opportunity to practice, I have now lost much of this skill. Just the other day, when I picked up a pencil to write for an extended period of time, I was horrified at the unevenness of every alphabet, in every word. Right at that moment, I realised that I have also forfeited my skills in painting, calligraphy, and various other “manual labour”. It got me thinking - how would my life have unfold without the computer, and by extension - the Internet? Would I be able to build a simple stool to sit on? Would I be able to knit myself a sweater?
Perhaps this is why Mary Putman’s paintings depicting various barns and fields so compelling. With technology, we have lost touch of our roots: we know very little about “manual labour”. I would like to start using my hands again…