It is a melancholy experience for a professional mathematician to find himself writing about mathematics. The function of a mathematician is to do something, to prove new theorems, to add to mathematics, and not to talk about what he or other mathematicians have done. Statesmen despise publicists, painters despise art-critics, and physiologists, physicists, or mathematicians have usually similar feelings: there is no scorn more profound, or on the whole more justifiable, than that of the men who make for the men who explain. Exposition, criticism, appreciation, is work for second-rate minds. - G.H.Hardy (A Mathematician’s Apology)
Hard slap right there. I hope I remember the last line whenever I critique some work of art in a negative light.
Exposition, criticism, appreciation, is work for second-rate minds.
I’ve been working on this small curation project where I collect and post beautiful logos of online shops (on a marketplace called Etsy). One of the things I’ve been doing is emailing every shop that’s about to be featured and asking them if it’s okay to feature their logo and shop. All the replies I got have been appreciative and supportive except one. And that one reply stands out.
Hi, Actually I would prefer not to have my logo featured. There are way too many people without ideas of their own that would copy logos because of their laziness.
Even though the reply doesn’t call me / my project a non-creative, lazy-ass work piggybacking on other people’s hard work or talent, it hit somewhat hard. Every time you start something that relies on curating / critiquing other people’s work (of art, specifically), you have this nagging feeling of piggybacking on someone else’s work. But that’s what reviewers do all the time.
When I saw the reply, I felt exactly like how G.H.Hardy puts it: “second-rate” mind. I know I’m not being original or creative in this curative pursuit but this is something I love to do. Curation is something I’ve always loved. And this is an intersection of the many things close to my heart: design, logos, minimalism, curation etc.