27 ms·

I disagree. Craft is skill. Art is expression.

• joshuacc 16y ago
  That is what the word art came to mean post-Romanticism. Pre-Romanticism, the distinction was made between art (craft/skill) and genius (inspiration). See Critical Theory Since Plato if you're interested in reading how past thinkers approached artistic creation.
• bambax 16y ago
  You can't express yourself if your skills are poor. You're right that someone who has nothing to say will create artifacts of low value; but I would argue that expression is a function of one's mastery of the craft. There is a recurring theme in PG's essays about how computer languages affect how you think and therefore, what you can say using them. This is also a common theme in the "suits vs. geeks" debate; if you can't code, how can you imagine what code can do? In general the (philosophical) jury's still out on whether language predates thinking or the other way around; but it's a fact that all great "artists" produce their best work after many many years of practicing and perfecting their craft.
  • BrandonM 16y ago
    > You can't express yourself if your skills are poor. Bob Dylan is not a very skillful singer, and he is far from the best guitar player (especially early on, when he used very few chords). The same can be said of Johnny Cash. Yet they both expressed themselves very well, and their art was good enough to propel them to stardom.
    • grannyg00se 16y ago
      Dylan's art is not guitar playing or singing. His art is songwriting. He expressed himself through songwriting extremely well despite his singing and guitar playing.