tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post1035577682286047421..comments2024-03-28T21:32:26.550+00:00Comments on Bruce Charlton's Notions: The Genius Famine in the artsBruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-71340325723292240072015-12-28T21:04:31.434+00:002015-12-28T21:04:31.434+00:00@GFC - Yes, I know the book. I liked parts of it a...@GFC - Yes, I know the book. I liked parts of it and found it generally memorable, but found the English translation by Lowe-Porter a bit unsympathetic. I am actually planning to re-read it soon, in the new translation by Woods (I was hoping to get it for Christmas... so I'll have to treat myself). There was a movie of it in German, which I would like to have seen (assuming there were subtitles) - but it seems to be unavailable expect for a ridiculous price. Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-71595101277759807472015-12-28T20:00:45.340+00:002015-12-28T20:00:45.340+00:00Bruce - a propos of Schoenberg and evil artistic g...Bruce - a propos of Schoenberg and evil artistic geniuses destroying their own arts, I recommend <i>Dr. Faustus</i> by Thomas Mann. The protagonist is such a figure, a composer, and his music was loosely based on Schoenberg's atonal work. It's a great psychological portrait of such a twisted genius, and a convincing characterization of the kind of man who chooses damnation. GFCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-37810649038261715422015-12-28T16:53:31.163+00:002015-12-28T16:53:31.163+00:00@HP - Leaving aside the living, the decline in gen...@HP - Leaving aside the living, the decline in genius is not subtle if you compare the number, proportion, status and quality of geniuses between now and a century, or 150 years, ago. There don't seem to be any counter-examples - i.e. fields in which the number/ proportion of geniuses has increased. Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-59853914202639691092015-12-28T16:08:35.261+00:002015-12-28T16:08:35.261+00:00It may be premature to pass judgement on current a...It may be premature to pass judgement on current artists. You might want to consider that artists such as Bach and Shakespeare, while moderately successful in their own time, were largely forgotten after their deaths, and didn't achieve their current status until a few centuries later. As they say, truth is the daughter of time.Hawk Spituinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-82520511518678710912015-12-28T03:14:02.020+00:002015-12-28T03:14:02.020+00:00Mass entertainment hasn't had geniuses for a l...Mass entertainment hasn't had geniuses for a long time, and at this point, is lacking even people with an ordinary level of competence. To some degree this is because their primary mission is no longer entertainment, but the promotion of various political agendas and the exaltation of "victim" groups.JPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-40659880337321791562015-12-27T16:34:44.780+00:002015-12-27T16:34:44.780+00:00I suspect that's because these days artists of...I suspect that's because these days artists of genius caliber are attracted to pop forms for financial reasons. These days the masses have the dollars to make being a popular entertainer very lucrative indeed. Prior to the 20th century the primary source of income for a professional musician would be in the employ of a church or a wealthy patron. While popular music had it's audience, realistically being a street singer or a vaudeville act really didn't pay very well. You notice that the rise of pop music corresponded with the development of media enabling wide distribution. The financial incentives for artists have changed drastically.Hawk Spituinoreply@blogger.com