Blog #2

The term "genius" is thrown around often, and in the art world, and most people hand it out to those who they consider the best. However no one can be labeled the best in anything, especially art. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and to try and dictate a general frame for something as complex as beauty is fruitless. There are individuals who do go above and beyond others and are not only skilled in their craft, but are highly innovative. For example, in the guitar world, you have many different branches in playing. There are hot-shot, fast-as-hell, music-theory bookworm guitarists, who to many, are "genius." (Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, etc.) However there are men going back to the 1920's, who with nothing but an acoustic guitar and three chords, created an entire wave of new music. (Robert Johnson, Blind Boy Fuller, etc.) Which one was more of a "Genius," the more technically talented one, or the innovator? Genius is such a vague word, and in the end, an individual can only be considered a "genius" in opinion.