"As soon as a grower says something along the lines of “I only drink my own wines, I don’t like anyone else’s” this is a kind of death. Where there is no longer curiosity, there can be no evolution, no process of refinement or continuous improvement." This is interesting. Do we want the constant search for "improvement" or the certainty that this is as good as it gets? There is an assumption in your statement that those who stick to their own lack insight or inquisitiveness. What I am wondering is do we need to reinvent the wheel? What are we discovering when we find what is old and traditional? That is that, or it just needs a little "improvement". The consensus is for "improvement" but I wonder if indeed that is better or simply justification for getting paid.
I think if you look at any truly great artist, winemaker, filmmaker, whatever, they never stand still. There is a constant process of reinvention, questioning, the desire to move forward. That to me is truly part of greatness as an artist. To be static is to be ordinary. Dynamism is a sign of exceptonality.
Take Beethoven, Kandinsky, Hitchcock, David Bowie.
You ask a question. Tentatively, I would give the example of Shakespeare and aver that his plays were simply vessels for his genius: not dynamism but output. And on your last sentence, what is 'great' in artistic terms, is great for all time. The art may go out of fashion (that is relative) but it remains great. In terms of wine, take Georgian production under the Soviets, when several hundred grape varieties were reduced to four and then sent to all corners of the Soviet Union. Dynamic? Yes. Progressive? Apparatchiks at the time would have had the arguments. Now the search is on for the 500 plus varieties and qvervi are back. Agreed production under the Soviets was static but now there isn't a desire to 'move forward' but to go back.
"As soon as a grower says something along the lines of “I only drink my own wines, I don’t like anyone else’s” this is a kind of death. Where there is no longer curiosity, there can be no evolution, no process of refinement or continuous improvement." This is interesting. Do we want the constant search for "improvement" or the certainty that this is as good as it gets? There is an assumption in your statement that those who stick to their own lack insight or inquisitiveness. What I am wondering is do we need to reinvent the wheel? What are we discovering when we find what is old and traditional? That is that, or it just needs a little "improvement". The consensus is for "improvement" but I wonder if indeed that is better or simply justification for getting paid.
I think if you look at any truly great artist, winemaker, filmmaker, whatever, they never stand still. There is a constant process of reinvention, questioning, the desire to move forward. That to me is truly part of greatness as an artist. To be static is to be ordinary. Dynamism is a sign of exceptonality.
Take Beethoven, Kandinsky, Hitchcock, David Bowie.
Is there an example where this isn't the case?
What is great today might be ordinary tomorrow.
You ask a question. Tentatively, I would give the example of Shakespeare and aver that his plays were simply vessels for his genius: not dynamism but output. And on your last sentence, what is 'great' in artistic terms, is great for all time. The art may go out of fashion (that is relative) but it remains great. In terms of wine, take Georgian production under the Soviets, when several hundred grape varieties were reduced to four and then sent to all corners of the Soviet Union. Dynamic? Yes. Progressive? Apparatchiks at the time would have had the arguments. Now the search is on for the 500 plus varieties and qvervi are back. Agreed production under the Soviets was static but now there isn't a desire to 'move forward' but to go back.