Apr 2 • General discussion
"Art is long, and time is fleeting."
With very few exceptions, the greatest painters in history share a secret: they didn't become truly great until they were in their 60s, 70s, or 80s. To put it another way, a great visual artist isn't great until they have been working for 50 years.
Art is long.
It is a continuous visual language that has been crafted over thousands of years. That language is renewed by every generation of artists, but usually not until they have spent their entire lives speaking it.
There is a wonderful moment in the 1992 cinematography documentary, Visions of Light (https://youtu.be/RdcvbiEsiUk?si=Rvcwyp2L22jczeEw), where they discuss the DP who shot The Graduate. When the film was released, critics raved about how the cinematography was entirely new, innovative, and groundbreaking.
That DP was 60 years old. He had spent a lifetime shooting films, and in his 60s, he finally broke through to entirely new ground.
In physical arts like dance, acting, or music, you often see young people reach mastery and push boundaries early. But in the visual medium, true mastery is a marathon. You have to give yourself time.
The progression from amateur to master looks something like this:
- The Basics: Roughly 2 years to learn the foundational language of your craft.
- The Influences: 10 to 20 years practicing your craft under the heavy influence of the masters.
- The "Mind Sieve": A period of intentional forgetting. You strip away the superfluous training, remembering only what is deeply important to you, and retaining only the visual tools you actually need.
- The Masterwork: The culmination of a lifetime of seeing.
The hard truth of the visual artist? By all indications, you will never know which piece is your masterwork. You will be long gone before history—if it notices you at all—decides to bring your work forward into the permanent language of the craft.
Mastery requires the appropriation of ages. Give yourself the time to get there.
— Notes from the Director
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"Art is long, and time is fleeting."
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