As the son, and grandson, of professional artists, all I ever wanted to do was to paint. Unfortunately, the results of my efforts convinced me by the time I was 10 years old at what I saw in my mind eye bore no resemblance to the image I made on the paper.
So, my efforts went into industrial design, where the ability to turn the image of a machine into a working artefact that would sell all over the world made my fortune.
It would take a family tragedy to turn me away from the company I had built to start a new career, writing the stories based on the childhood of my family.
I have spent half a lifetime trying to work out what beauty is, and what constitutes art, and have come to the conclusion that it's one of those things, like philosophy, but everybody has their own idea of, but nobody seems to adequately explain what it is.
Thanks for sharing, Tom. I think you're right of course; and as with just about everything concerned with creative endeavour - the concept of beauty, knowing what's 'good', how you should depict X or Y etc. - there are no 'right' answers.
Intriguing discussion! In a general language definition, I am tempted to say we agree as a society to call a person a writer when they make a living from writing. Whether a copywriter in an office, or an author in a cafe, a writer lives by the fruits of his labour. But then there is Emily Dickinson….a writer extraordinaire.
Interesting. Any craft - boat building, cookery, hat-making, ironmongery etc - possesses a basic set of rules and methods. Quality up and down is based on objective collective consensus as to how well and interestingly these have been followed by an individual. Do we really need a giant tome of words to try to explain something so obvious?
As the son, and grandson, of professional artists, all I ever wanted to do was to paint. Unfortunately, the results of my efforts convinced me by the time I was 10 years old at what I saw in my mind eye bore no resemblance to the image I made on the paper.
So, my efforts went into industrial design, where the ability to turn the image of a machine into a working artefact that would sell all over the world made my fortune.
It would take a family tragedy to turn me away from the company I had built to start a new career, writing the stories based on the childhood of my family.
I have spent half a lifetime trying to work out what beauty is, and what constitutes art, and have come to the conclusion that it's one of those things, like philosophy, but everybody has their own idea of, but nobody seems to adequately explain what it is.
Thanks for sharing, Tom. I think you're right of course; and as with just about everything concerned with creative endeavour - the concept of beauty, knowing what's 'good', how you should depict X or Y etc. - there are no 'right' answers.
I am disturbed by this line of thinking on a writing platform
Intriguing discussion! In a general language definition, I am tempted to say we agree as a society to call a person a writer when they make a living from writing. Whether a copywriter in an office, or an author in a cafe, a writer lives by the fruits of his labour. But then there is Emily Dickinson….a writer extraordinaire.
Interesting. Any craft - boat building, cookery, hat-making, ironmongery etc - possesses a basic set of rules and methods. Quality up and down is based on objective collective consensus as to how well and interestingly these have been followed by an individual. Do we really need a giant tome of words to try to explain something so obvious?