Mediocre and even good artists are people of vanity.
They think they are “artists”. That’s the first problem.
Then, they work hard to showcase their talent. Artists of every kind — writers, painters, musicians, movie makers, photographers — want to flaunt their talent. Their special power. That’s the second problem.
Think about this:
The best acting is where you didn’t see the actor. You saw the character that the actor played. You saw “the character come alive”.
The actor disappeared. He became the character so much, that he disappeared.
He made himself invisible.
The best writing is where you got lost in a sea of ideas and imagery. You didn’t think about the writer or the style of writing. You were too engrossed in what was being said to you by the writing.
The writer disappeared. She wrote so well that the “writer” disappeared.
She made herself, the artist, invisible.
All art is a tool, a medium of reaching out. The technicalities and nuances of the art are to be used, not flaunted. I’m not saying this because it’s an act of vanity. I’m saying this because when an artist flaunts his technicalities, his nuances, his command, he creates an aberration in the process of reaching out.
Great artists become great when they become invisible in their art.
Just as great design becomes great when only it’s invisible.