Skill Versus Conceptual Approaches

 

There's a new feature in Google NotebookLM that will create debates. I decided to try it out on the topic of whether skill is important to the success of art, drawn from my writings on this blog and in my diaries. 

I'm still on the fence about it. After the pandemic, I returned to craft in music, as a "neo" period, but I still love postmodernist art, which is all I do in visual art. DIY has definitely enriched the art world, but went off the rails a bit in the last decade. 

I don'r care for the sound of these voices. They both sound too conservative, odd for the subject matter, or sound a bit like David Sedaris. It would be like a Keith Richards and Janis Joplin debating Bayesian inference.

LLM prompts:

- Discuss craft versus de-skilled creativity
- Discuss metamodernism
- Discuss how the avant-garde changed pop music

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The Source note:

Skill and the deliberate lack of skill (de-skilling) are both recognized as effective and intentional approaches in art and music-making, often serving distinct artistic or conceptual goals. The sources highlight the value of traditional craft and mastery, while also acknowledging that a lack of skill, or finding shortcuts, can lead to powerful and sometimes necessary artistic outcomes.

The Value and Rigor of Skill and Craft

Skill in art and music is generally seen as the result of dedicated practice, study, and the honing of one's abilities over time.

• Practice and Mastery: Human beings need to practice to improve skills. Playing musical instruments demonstrates how slow the brain is in gaining new skills, which requires years of practice. Once skills are acquired, they require maintenance practice to prevent plateauing or fading away. This dedication to craft is rigorous.
• Cognitive and Spiritual Benefits: Engaging in manual craft and developing skills is described as more spiritually rewarding than merely generating ideas or using tools. Hands-on engagement provides a crucial tactile connection and is essential for "keeping the brain wiring in good order". The act of playing music can be an activator of spirituality.
• Foundation for Ideas: Training and skill provide the foundation and creative range that allows an artist to realize complex or original ideas. For instance, knowledge of music theory is necessary to write classical music or jazz, and drawing/sketching skills are paramount for developing visual art ideas. The absence of technical musical skills means the ability to write for traditional instruments or orchestras is limited.
• Intimacy and Logic: Mastery of a subject, such as music theory, allows a musician to see music from multiple angles and work rigorously. Jazz musicians, for example, are often fluent in music theory, even when playing what sounds like free form music. Skill is necessary to translate human creative logic into something that can be coherently communicated, especially in complex musical forms.
•Avoiding the Mechanical: While composition is seen as Apollonian (analytical/left hemisphere), performance should be Dionysian (intuitive/right hemisphere). Skill is necessary to get to the point where one can perform intuitively without analyzing in real-time.

The Effectiveness of Lack of Skill and Shortcuts

A deliberate lack of skill (de-skilling). or reliance on shortcuts can also be an effective artistic approach, especially in movements like postmodernism, punk, or when technology is used as a primary tool.
• Conceptual Art and Postmodernism: De-skilling shifts the focus from traditional craft to the ideas and concepts driving the work, which is central to postmodernism. Conceptual art can be rigorous even if skill and craft are lower on the list, as the rigor is found in the intellect and the exhibition of the idea.
• Spontaneity and Raw Expression: In pop music, skills are often considered less important than artistic expression. Sometimes musical ability arises without structured learning, or by simply "banging on an instrument with little or no knowledge". Early rock 'n' roll, for instance, employed non-linear, scholarly approaches, providing a "shortcut to extrinsic rewards" while still proving highly creative.
• Finding Art in Accidents: Untrained or de-skilled artists can sometimes cut to the chase and experience success with a modicum of effort. The errors or imperfections in de-skilled artwork can make it interesting, giving it a certain charm. This relates to the idea of art arising from "happy accidents" during experimentation.
• Technology as a Shortcut: The rise of new technologies, particularly generative AI, offers a shortcut to aptitude that doesn't involve years of practicing. With AI, almost no skill is required for content generation. While this promotes the idea of convenience in creativity, it can serve as an access point for new musicians. For artists with little musical skill, making music with computers can be enriching.
• Cunning and Irony:
 Artists who are not traditional musicians have historically used cunning to achieve artistic results, such as Andy Warhol, who was perceived as having little skill but was a very hard-working artist, or Brian Eno, an admitted non-musician. AI music can be viewed as a new form of Dada or Avant-Garde, utilizing a "crazy-like-a-fox" approach to art-making.
Synthesis: Finding the Sweet Spot
The most effective approaches often involve integrating skill and conceptual thinking, or embracing the limitations (constraints) that lack of skill or new tools impose.
• Balancing Skill and Concept:
 There is a constant tension between focusing on musical skill and pursuing conceptual art, and an artist can choose to alternate between these approaches. The author advocates for having a wide range of skills to draw from and use different strategies on the axis between traditional and purely conceptual work.
• Curation as a Skill: While AI generation requires almost no skill in playing, curation—the ability to select and synthesize results—is a combination of skill and talent, requiring an "eye" or "ear".
• Leveraging Constraints: Imposing constraints, whether self-made or due to a lack of resources or skill, often leads to creative breakthroughs. Playing an instrument without effects might highlight flaws, but playing an effected electric guitar requires a certain touch and a different way of thinking about the instrument.
• The "Musicist" Approach: The shift towards technology means that skills in using software are increasingly valued, giving rise to the term "musicist"—someone focused on composition, performance, and the overlaps with other technologies. This role involves adapting and diversifying creative activities.
Ultimately, an artist may choose to operate at various "Levels" of creativity, with
 Level 1 being the basics of tools and rudiments, and Level 4 being purely conceptual audio art. Both skilled approaches and approaches where skill is minimized can be effective, provided the work is driven by strong ideas, intentions, and sincerity.