To determine to what degree the "art of the craft" is an attribute of national character, or more an expression of some mix and match eccentricity, as stated in Peter Weigle's post about his influences, one generally has to dive into murky waters to sift the sand. The production of the large bicycle manufacturers, it may possibly be best defined as an adherence to certain business models, more than a subscription to some specific cultural identity, but once again, the magnifying glass may have to be employed here. Quoting the 'Harvard Business Review', "To maximize profit potential, a company needs to identify its innovation fulcrum--the point at which an additional offering destroys more value than it creates" As to our expression of national identity by the way we relate to these products, eccentricity can be contageous, more an open book, and the image of the individual craftsman burning the midnight oil in his homey shop is a romantic one, even to a society easily manipulated by high budget skilled marketing by the big boys. Without getting the big dusty books off the shelf, it all seems pretty hazy to me.
Dennis Young Hotaka, Japan
>
> Jerry and Art,
>
> I have followed this discussion with a great deal of interest.
>
> I tend to agree with you about this issue of "national character,"
> but,
> there are qualifications. While there has been a great deal of
> monoculturalisation in recent decades as a result of globalization
> - and
> dare I say the clone culture (the Walmartization or MacDonalization
> - I am
> being careful not to say "Americanization") which has spread
> rapidly around
> parts of the world - there has been a recent strong retrenchment back
> towards national, regional, and local identities. Many societies
> are now
> fighting back against monocultures - for example, we are witnessing an
> interest in "slow cities," "slow food," local heritage, etc. ....
> but that
> is another story and off-topic for this list.
>
> What is perhaps interesting for our discussion here is to question
> whether
> the large bicycle monopolies of both past and present - Raleigh,
> Schwinn,
> Peugeot(?), etc. - and their mass-produced bicycles, are more
> reflective of
> "national character" than the smaller, specialist, hand-built, often
> eccentric, builders of the past and the KOF of the present? Are we
> comparing
> apples and oranges in this case, however? I don't know. As well as the
> individual builders we must also ask who were/are their customers
> and what
> were/are their preferences?
>
> I think that for those of us who have an appreciation for the
> "craft," the
> precision, the skill, the "art" of the craftsman, we would like to
> think
> that that is more truly reflective of our deeper "national
> characters." We
> appreciate the eccentricities, the subtleties, the finer points of
> craftsmanship of the smaller builder (and lest I get flamed for
> this, I am
> not for minute suggesting that the larger builders did not also
> produce a
> range of bicycles of high quality). Maybe it is simply more
> reflective of
> what we identify with on a personal level? If that is "national
> character"
> for us - so be it!
>
> Paul Williams, in a frigid Ottawa - and to many that is reflective
> of a
> "national characteristic" of the "Great White North"
>
>
>
> Paul B. Williams, PhD (Queen's)
> 70 Viscount Ave.,
> Ottawa, On, K1Z 7M9
> ph: 613-761-3867
> e-mail: castell5@sympatico.ca