It's In the Package!

I recently purchased a new Apple device. Now I have one of everything Apple makes! It’s a hobby of sorts. Anyways, I almost didn’t want to take it out of the box. It was packaged so elegantly, everything in its place, perfectly boxed so that everything not only fit in said box, but it looks more like art than packaging. I hated to undo someone’s meticulousness.?

It reminded me of when my family and I were stationed in Germany. I was assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe Band. I had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe, enjoying the sights and people. It worked out that we always went to Italy just before the Christmas holidays, which afforded me the opportunity to shop for my girls. I found this little store in Pordenone, right down the street from the Hotel Due Leoni, where we stayed, that had all sorts of trinkets and cool one-of-a-kind gifts. The proprietor and I became friends who looked forward to seeing each other every year. She would wrap whatever cool gifts I bought better than the Apple folks do. It was art! The presents were so beautifully wrapped that my girls had a hard time opening them. I almost had to force them to take them apart to see what was inside.

Here’s my point. Someone, in the case of my Italian gifts, my friend, took the time to envision that package they produced. In the case of my Apple device, I took the gadget out, without considering the work it must have taken to design that package so perfectly. That took a person or ten. I’m an artist. I know the work invested in just writing down these thoughts. Nowadays, we take a lot of art people create for granted. It often serves a different purpose than art, but it’s still art. I commend you to look beyond the package and appreciate the person, or persons, who created the art you hold in your hands every day.?

I still have that Apple box. I can’t throw it away. It’s too elegant. And I believe I saw an Italian gift, still boxed up, in the closet the other day. The art is in the package.