Lost Video Island

[Distress Signal]

I picked up the latest issue of Wired magazine because there was a very interesting looking article headlined on the cover that said 'What kind of genius are you?' (not really exact words). I ended up buying it because in both bookstores we were cruising through I started trying to read it when we had to go. I knew that if I read it I was going to find some interesting discovery made. And I was right. The bonus is that it's even applicable to vidding.


The basic gist of the article is that this David Galenson guy found a pattern of when some geniuses (in art, writing, filmmaking, economy etc) are the most successful and others are successful at later parts of their lives. He split it up in two groups: the Conceptualists, young geniuses like Picasso who made their greatest works in their late teens and early twenties, and the Experimentalists, who didn't make stuff that great early on until later, about fifties or sixties mostly, when they finally made their best and most successful works. The theory has been tested numerous times and all come up with similar graph results (price of paintings sold and age of artists). The conceptualists peaked early on and then slowly declined over time, and the experimentalists slowly came to their peaks later. Of course, it's not completely bulletproof as it's just a theory, but it's very considerable.

When I read this article I often thought of Lost Video Island. You know those newbies that submit their first music videos ever, that happen to be so oustandingly brilliant and above-average that they make the rest of us feel like losers? And some of us keep submitting videos that aren't awarded until later on, when we finally get our big breaks. Other things mentioned were that conceptualists plan the fruit of their inventions ahead of time, and doing it is just mere execution, while experimentalists have little or no thought before diving in, where execution is the most important part. Conceptualists are quick and dramatic, while Experimentalists are careful and quiet. Some examples of conceptualists were Picasso and....an experimentalist was Alfred Hitchcock. I'd list more but I can't find the magazine at the moment and don't have perfect memory.


I find it fascinating, enlightening and comforting. Now whenever a newbie submits the best video ever made, or something else to that effect in life, I won't have to think "Why wasn't I that good?" and slap myself in the face.
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sig by IslandofMystery

[Hobbes]

The way I see it, as long as someone is trying new angles and always trying to try somethign new with their art, whatever it is, then it's just a matter of time before they'll hit their big break and step upon what's great. The difference is time: those that hit their little "peak" early on and then stick with that without really changing their methods end up declining because people get bored with their work. While those that don't hit their break until they're much older end up ending their career more successfully.

Of course, you have to add in the fact that what's considered to be good/successful in art changes depending on the public. That's why there have been certain periods where different types of painting was more popular. You can't really know what's trully "good" and what isn't. I know what I consider to be a good video, for instance, which is probably simillar to most people, but it's always at least a little different, and sometimes it's very different. It's the same in all forms of art, and part fo the reason why some new modern art can be a red dot on a white page and considered genius... A lot of those Experimentalist geniuses might have always had some good idea, but it was just never picked up by others until later in life (or long after their death in many cases) when the public was ready for their work.

So don't you worry about some new vidders taking your place DS I know you're definitely on your way to being awesome, because you're always trying out new ideas and working hard to get better. Or who knows, perhaps your work is already perfect as it is and we're just not ready for it I guess we'll never know

Interesting article nonetheless! I sure hope I'm not a genius though, as it seems like a fairly drab life : either doomed to fade out gradually, or never really be great until it's far too late .

[Distress Signal]

Well, I was hoping to touch base with other vidders like myself, or for that matter anyone here.