Ray Sachs
Legend
- Location
- Not too far from Philly
- Name
- you should be able to figure it out...
I really appreciate the comments.
Keep in mind, this thread was not directed at what goes on at DPR. I started the thread as a general discussion toward Art, technique, and whether or not good technique is a requirement of good art.
An artist needs to be a good enough craftsman to get his or her vision into their art. In some cases that requires enormous technical skills and in others it requires only adequate technical skills and in other cases probably less.
For Ansel Adam's lanscapes to come to life the way they did required enormous technical chops. For Cartier Bresson's street shots to work required mostly an amazing eye and competent exposure (and competent processors back at the newspapers darkroom - he didn't do his own processing).
For Segovia to get his classical guitar artistry across, he needed incredible technical proficiency. For Neil Young to play a blazing electric solo over Crazy Horse required only an adequate craftsman but a totally fearless and committed artistic vision. Pete Townsend was once quoted as saying that to the extent his guitar playing was ever considered good it was because of the enormous technical frustration he had trying to get the music from his head out through the guitar. He never felt he succeeded, but the effort more often than not resulted in something pretty great, if not exactly what he was after. Robert Johnson was one of the most primitive guitarists I've ever heard, but his artistic vision was so strong he created an entire genre of acoustic blues, from which electric blues, and later rock and roll, sprung. Al DiMeola is as technically proficient a guitarist as you'd ever find, but I seriously doubt he'll ever be remembered as an artist.
Or compare the piano playing of Thelonious Monk and Oscar Peterson - one a virtuoso who's music probably won't live on all that long - the other a fairly rudimentary pianist who's music will be remembered fondly for a LONG time.
So the art is all that matters in the end. Whether it comes from incredible technical mastery, barely adequate technical proficiency, or even a highly frustrated technician with an artistic vision that couldn't be denied. Art matters. Craft sometimes helps, but occasionally may even hinder. What would Townsend have played if he had the chops to get across what he heard? It might have been as brilliant as Hendrix or it might have been as maudlin as DiMeola or Alvin Lee, who could both play a zillion mph but got so caught up in THAT part of it that they never really got around to the music.
-Ray