The Social/Cultural Sphere

The social/cultural aspects of DIY are a complexly woven map with little discernable separation between the cultural and the social realms. DIY is inevitably a social construct as it relies on the sharing of instructions for its creative tasks. In today’s DIY there is often no separation between those who make instructions and those who follow them. DIY often seems to rely on a group structure in which each member shares the methods they have uncovered for various projects, and in turn each member benefits from the instructions of the others. In our society DIY is often the only pathway for those looking to succeed in the arts. If one is involved in writing, visual art or music it is almost inevitably that you must begin as a Do-It-Yourselfer. The most popular form of DIY arts in America is the crafts movement; encompassing everything from scrapbooking, to knitting circles, to home repair. These areas of production come directly out of a social need to gather and also to share ideas, support one another, and participate in a creative community. Traditional folk music has always had an aspect of DIY: one musician teaching another a new tune through playing and listening or recording words and music to pass on. That same process now applies to all arts, as creative works are easily shared, altered, and disseminated on the Internet. Podcasting, for example, in many ways extends the folk and oral traditions of passing on music, commentary, and stories. The internet offers new ways for cultural producers to distribute their work without going through professional channels and surrendering their DIY status. Many significant historical art movements took the concept of an artist as a DIY figure who should strive to alter the social and political world around them. Groups like Fluxus, Situationists, or Dada encouraged social interaction as a cultural production. Today’s DIY philosophy retains this sense of creativity through exploration in society and the desire to alter the everyday objects and experiences around us.