What will last, what won’t last?
Don’t make it too obvious.
My thought —
- when it comes to artwork, what makes it last?
My thought —
- artwork which isn’t too obvious.
Subtle. ‘God is in the details’.
For example, when it comes to photography or cinema, I love it when there are tiny details which make a great frame. When the composition is too obvious, it is boring.
do you have a motivation or incentive to re-watch or re-experience it?
A good film:
The more times you re-watch it, every time is better than you remembered.
Why? Small details. subtle. Like finding ‘where’s Waldo’!
high-concept?
Even with jay-z or Eminem, their raps run deep. You re-listen to their songs and albums, and you can discover the hidden metaphors or the hidden double (or triple) entendres.
Subtle is better?
When you make things more subtle, it requires more effort from the viewer to engage.
For example, subtle rap lyrics can be dissected. They’re more interesting!
Maybe the same with photos–
don’t make the meaning of the photo too obvious.
complexity in morality
This is why I love Miyazaki; complexity in morality. All the good guys are a bit ‘evil’, and all the ‘evil’ guys are a bit good.
This is what makes things interesting:
morality is complex.
For example, human motives are insanely complex. Perhaps this is what makes Trump so interesting to me:
he seems very dumb on the outside, but he is far more complex than people think.
Also same goes with Kanye:
People think Kanye is crazy, but it is far more complex than that.
knowledge is subtle?
Maybe when it comes to knowledge-production and philosophy, this is what makes things very interesting:
the world is infinitely more complex than we can ever understand.
It seems that “basic” minds tend to make the complex of the world over-simplified. The world is 1000000x more complex and humans are 100000000x more complex than basic psychologists think. it is difficult for most humans to think in terms of complexity. And to discover hidden truths in plain sight — is this the joy of the philosopher?
when to make things obvious and in-your-face, and when to make it subtle?
In-your-face ideas:
When it has to deal with life or death.
Subtle ideas:
When it deals with art, aesthetics, or knowledge.
ERIC KIM