tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206373238418288113.post3930537553079823643..comments2023-08-19T10:04:08.922+01:00Comments on Thought • Art • Representation: The Myth of GeniusJim Hamlynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488331333061422244noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206373238418288113.post-46726547359459633112012-07-10T13:57:11.623+01:002012-07-10T13:57:11.623+01:00"Artists have a vested interest in our believ..."Artists have a vested interest in our believing in the flash of revelation, the so-called inspiration… shining down from heavens as a ray of grace. In reality, the imagination of the good artist or thinker produces continuously good, mediocre or bad things, but his judgment, trained and sharpened to a fine point, rejects, selects, connects… All great artists and thinkers are great workers, indefatigable not only in inventing, but also in rejecting, sifting, transforming, ordering.” -Nietzsche "Human, all too human"Jim Hamlynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16488331333061422244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206373238418288113.post-90483949644246214832010-07-26T15:06:09.076+01:002010-07-26T15:06:09.076+01:00@Anonymous
Small wonder - look at his first major...@Anonymous<br /><br />Small wonder - look at his first major teacher! Notice though that Schopenhauer's definition of genius is significantly different to the one which I'm criticising - for him genius was the ability of artists and art to distance us from the domination of the Will.Jim Hamlynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16488331333061422244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206373238418288113.post-56977579300979256182010-07-26T13:33:47.660+01:002010-07-26T13:33:47.660+01:00Schopenhauer would disagree with you: -
http://en...Schopenhauer would disagree with you: -<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Schopenhauer%27s_aesthetics<br /><br />See "The Schopenhauerian genius"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206373238418288113.post-73147132654402107662010-07-26T12:27:46.225+01:002010-07-26T12:27:46.225+01:00I'm afraid what I was reading wasn't an ac...I'm afraid what I was reading wasn't an academic article and you would be horrified at its title...Tamsinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10005849693688143703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206373238418288113.post-4735472941729334872010-07-25T18:56:26.588+01:002010-07-25T18:56:26.588+01:00@Anonymous
Good question. I'm not so sure it ...@Anonymous<br /><br />Good question. I'm not so sure it does have a use other than to mystify the achievement of excellence. However, I must admit that I do often use the term myself to describe “works of genius” but this is usually to describe something that appears to have arisen out of nowhere and , of course, on reflection (or investigation) I know (or find out) that this is never the case.Jim Hamlynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16488331333061422244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206373238418288113.post-87764468606754320012010-07-25T18:10:26.087+01:002010-07-25T18:10:26.087+01:00"Learn to fail, or fail to learn" is a p..."Learn to fail, or fail to learn" is a popular motto in Positive Psychology. There's a guy called Tal Ben-Shahar, who taught "the most popular course at Harvard" (I think it was Harvard .. ), a Positive Psychology course, and he banged on about this during one of his lectures. Gave the example of Edison and his many failures before reaching the lightbulb.<br /><br />What then, is the function of "genius"? When, and why do we use the term? What uses does it have?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206373238418288113.post-15204693158457084082010-07-23T13:46:53.937+01:002010-07-23T13:46:53.937+01:00Really interested to see that article Tamsin if yo...Really interested to see that article Tamsin if you can remember where you read it.Jim Hamlynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16488331333061422244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206373238418288113.post-6340270677726708052010-07-23T12:57:58.713+01:002010-07-23T12:57:58.713+01:00I read something the other day about most people b...I read something the other day about most people being prepared to have a go at doing an excellent job of something, but most of us not being prepared to do a bad job. The writer's point was that such perfectionist thinking stops us from stepping off the edge of the cliff into one of our unknowns. Whereas if we can accept that we'll probably be crap we can get going on something new...Tamsinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10005849693688143703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206373238418288113.post-43644206690795252862010-07-21T03:44:35.250+01:002010-07-21T03:44:35.250+01:00Jim,
Nice post. I love that Parker/Pollock quote....Jim,<br /><br />Nice post. I love that Parker/Pollock quote. Attempts to "de-socialise the production of art" persist, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, unfortunately. I feel honored that you chose to riff on something I posted.<br /><br />Thank you for your kind words about my writing, by the way. I'm happy to have "discovered" your work as well.<br /><br />Wayne (from Imaginary Boundaries)Waynehttp://imaginaryboundaries.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206373238418288113.post-74572588487424799952010-07-20T18:09:50.522+01:002010-07-20T18:09:50.522+01:00"Fail. Fail again. Fail better." --Samue..."Fail. Fail again. Fail better." --Samuel Beckett<br /><br />When I can't squeeze out my 3 "Elbow (writing) exercises" per day, I wear a shirt on which these invaluable words are drawn.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11201903186751873107noreply@blogger.com