Creative Rebellion Essays: Old Masters and Young Geniuses
Painting from The Art of Creative Rebellion by John S. Couch
A few years ago I read a really wonderful, albeit a little academic, book called Old Masters and Young Geniuses by David W. Galenson. Without going too deeply into it, the main thesis is that conceptual artists tend to peak early in their careers and experimental artists develop into prominence much later.
“Conceptual” basically means that the idea or concept of the artwork is paramount. The execution is almost mechanical and almost feels that way in many cases. Marcel Duchamp’s readymade sculptures (a bicycle wheel affixed to a stool or a signed urinal) are probably the most well-known examples of the supremacy of the notion of art being conceptual rather than what he often dismissively referred to as “retinal art” – art that is purely visual, and because it is, often decorative rather than thought-provoking.
“Experimental” art sounds like what it is – the artist is actively searching through the process of making the artwork. There is no clear, final concept at the onset. There may be an idea and some rough sketches but the painting reveals itself through the act of actually painting.
Archetypes:
Experimental: Paul Cezanne
“I seek in painting”
Paul Cezanne
Conceptual: Pablo Picasso
“I don’t seek; I find”
Pablo Picasso
Cezanne’s state of mind: doubt
Picasso’s state of mind: certainty
The book goes on to pronounce that conceptual artists generally reach their creative zenith early in life, doing their best works in their 20’s and 30’s whereas experimental artists tend to get better over time. Case in point, the art auction market values Cezanne’s (an experimentalist) later work (the peak of his age-price profile is 67) whereas Picasso’s (a conceptualist) is at age 27, when he painted the famous and controversial Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.
Conceptualists who peaked early (ages in parentheses): Frank Stella (24), Jasper Johns (27) and Andy Warhol (33).
Experimentalists who made their most valuable work later in life: Willem De Kooning (43), Mark Rothko (54) and Robert Motherwell (72).
The notion as described in the book of conceptual and experimental got me thinking about the work I do professionally, leading a team of talented product designers.
In product design, I’d posit that there is both the conceptual as well as the experimental. The initial creative process of creating the concept (as exemplified by the prototype or “concept car”) could be considered conceptual. This concept is tested by UX research and validated. As the MVP (minimum viable product) is rolled out, it then evolves through audience feedback; the experimental.
Unlike contemporary art, which generally courts good and/or bad publicity, as the worst thing for art is indifference, product design morphs to address the users’ needs and any kind of negative publicity is, well, negative.
However, anything that is truly different and unexpected in product design (or for that matter, literature, art, architecture, or music) tends to be, initially, considered ugly or weird. It’s my experience that people claim that they like change but they generally don’t...initially. Over time, after the shock of the new wears off, they tend to acclimate and then the once avant-garde design becomes the new standard.
Referring back to art, consider the fact that the Impressionists (Monet, Manet, Renoir, Morisot, Degas, et al) were all considered an affront to proper painting norms of the day, as determined by the authority of the Académie des Beaux-Arts. You can now find framed posters of their work on Amazon and most shopping malls. Same thing with the radical art of Jackson Pollock’s “splatter paintings” and Andy Warhol’s Campbell Soup Cans.
Conceptualism has a comforting rigidity to it that absolves the creator from feeling too deeply – it’s more of a methodology. This is freeing in many ways and can lead to great works as seen in works from John Cage’s musical compositions, like Music of Changes wherein he uses the i-Ching to inform his notations to the use of cut-up book passages to help stir creative language as used by the Dadaists to William Burroughs to David Bowie.
On the other hand, Experimentalists require moving into the jungle of the unknown with no map –– every movement could end in disaster and the heart is deeply involved in the process. The lack of structure can cause both elation and despair, often at the same time. But when it works, it works. Francis Bacon would sometimes throw a pot of oil paint at one of this paintings in process to “activate it” and then work with what was expressed through the controlled randomness of the act (and in some ways, this is similar to the manner in which the i-Ching is used).
"But in trying to do a portrait, my ideal would really be just to pick up a handful of paint and throw it at the canvas and hope that the portrait was there."
Francis Bacon, Interviews with Francis Bacon, David Sylvester, Thames & Hudson: 1975
Every new UX design I’ve launched in my career has been met with resistance initially and then when we launch a new feature or update, there’s generally some consternation...for a bit. And then, again, it settles down. We, humans, in spite of our initial resistance to change, also have a great capacity for adaptability. One of the main reasons we evolved so well as a species.
So my advice to you, whether you are young or, shall we say, an elder, embrace both sides of the equation: be conceptual AND experimental. Where I diverge from the thesis of Old Masters and Young Geniuses is that I believe that you do not have to be relegated into one camp or the other. As demonstrated by the example of product design above, you can use both conceptual thinking (hypothesis and ideas) as well as experimentation.
To create, you need the yin-yang of certainty (confidence) AND doubt (questioning).
Whatever the case, just start the process.
John
What I’m watching:
The New One – latest standup by Mike Birbiglia. This is pure brilliance. Raw and tender reflections on what it means to become a father and a family. Highly recommend.
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