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ACCIDENT

  I once picked up Eric Fromm's
  _The Art Of Loving_, and after
  realizing that it wasn't
  another sex manual, I discovered
  he had some interesting stuff
  to say.  The popular idea that
  love is an accident is
  ridiculous ("falling" in love,
  like tripping over a rock).
  Really it takes effort to do
  it right, and since it sure as       But what does this
  hell isn't a science, it must        get you?  So it's an art...
  be an art.                           How do you learn to create
                                       successful artwork?

 Another, older, idea...               Isn't art characterized
 The romantic/mystical idea of         by mystery?  The difference
 love being fated, an accident         between what works and what
 that only seems like an               doesn't often seems to be
 accident. When Jimmy Stewart          hard to pin down.
 is excised, Donna Reed goes
 spinster.                             If it's all so subtle,
                                       as to be ineffable,
    Just about any random pairing      then what can you do
    of people can fall in love         but blunder around and hope
    with each other if they want       to trip over the right log?
    to work at it.
                                            But the ineffable is only
                                            part of the story, perhaps
                                            responsible for the
                                            distinction between the
                                            good and the great.

                                            But before art can be good,
                                            there must be a certain
        Before one can demonstrate          level of technical competence.
        talent, one must demonstrate
        skill.                              And technical competence is
                                            achieved by hard work.
    Though, I believe                       Studying other's methods.
    that there is such                      Learning standard proceedures.
    a thing as art that                     Practicing simple exercises.
    requires talent but    I sometimes
    little skill.          call it
                           "trash" art.

                           Collages.
                           Finger painting.         How about photography?
                           Playing DJ.              Requires simpler skills
                                                    than, say, painting,
                                                    but still they're there...
                      I like to think
                      I'm pretty good                   Then there are
                      at trash art.                     degrees of
                                                        trashiness.

                                                        How trashy
                                                        is love?





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