If the Mona Lisa was produced today, will it be remembered tomorrow?
I am comedian and writer. Suffice to say that my mainstay is selling either my talent or ideas.
I still recall, as I was starting out, I wake up every day hoping to create greatness - an original idea so simple and brilliant that my clients can or have reasons to remember me for. This was a time before the democratization of creativity through the use of the Internet via various channels like 9Gag, Imgur, Facebook, Twitter and what have you. Note, I did mention I'm a comedian and these channels are within my own discourse.
Today, we see a constant flow of 'creativity' on these channels. They may not be original but because these channels reach out to so many, authentication and originality suddenly become irrelevant, and sometimes, even unnecessary.
Today, creativity works in tandem with speed - it's not about who says it anymore, it's about who said it first. An idea one might have today, might be someone else's tomorrow - all it takes is to get beaten to posting the idea up on the channels available.
Today, it is much more difficult to judge the quality of one's work. There's almost no cannons, judges or who gets to say whose quality of work is better, not mention whether the work is of quality. Quality is now judged through quantification - the more 'Likes', the more views, the more 'retweets', the better the quality. We can even say that quality is now all about popularity. If an unknown artist's work has more 'Likes', 'retweets' or 'views' than, say, Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, who is to say that this unknown artist's work is not of quality?
If Da Vinci was still alive today and he reveals the Mona Lisa today, will his work be appreciated as much. Will his work even be remembered tomorrow?
Back in the day, creativity, talent and even popularity had a gauge. Does the artist have skillful brush work? Can the singer hit a particular note? Can a bassist play a particular bassline without getting finger cramps?
Today, whether or not an artist knows how to hold a brush, whether or not a singer can even sing... speed of creativity is the KEY. We produce and digest so many ideas everyday that there is no time to truly appreciate one's creations anymore.
Having said that, allow me to return to this blog's title - An everlasting end. In my opinion, within the domain of love songs - we have so many songs about love, whether it's good or bad, there won't be another song album that can be named Everlasting Love Songs anymore.
Creativity will never last as long. It will only get replaced. It's just a matter of speed.
