Final Blogtastic Reflection (#4)

For my final blog reflection for 4th quarter, I chose "Blagojevich on 'Celebrity Apprentice'" as my favorite blog post. The reason I like this one so much is because I feel very strongly about the subject. This usually characterizes my favorite posts. When you're really passionate about what you're writing about, it just makes it a lot more fun to write. And when I saw that Blagojevich was on a reality t.v. show and not in jail, I was just outraged. I was also able to incorporate a bunch of sources in this post, which I think adds depth and more credibility to a post. And from those sources, I used direct quotes and dissected them to prove my point even more. It just had more substance than some of my other posts.
This year I have really developed as a blogger. Not that I blogged before this class, but my style has changed since the beginning of the year. I started my blogging career by mostly writing about certain issues that I encountered in my everyday life, but didn't necessarily connect to class. But as the year continued, my posts started to become extensions of class discussions, which is what I think Mr. Bolos and Mr. O'Connor intended them to be. And when I could not extend the discussion to my blogging, I wrote about prominent issues in the news. Not always, but I tried to.
I have really enjoyed blogging this year because I do like to write, but essays can often times be laborious and they take a long time to do. On the other hand, a blog post doesn't have to be long. You can write a little about a lot, and that's what I've really liked about blogging this year.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Genius or Insanity?



 "Sometimes, for an artist, the only difference between insanity and genius is success."


     This quote was taken from an episode of "Criminal Minds," a show about FBI profilers from the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU). It was used to describe a comic book writer turned serial killer, but that's beside the point. When you first read the quote, it sounds like just another t.v. show line, but I think it actually holds a lot of truth. There are so many artists that are just plain crazy, but absolute geniuses. And in agreement with the above quote, I believe that the reason many artists are able to achieve genius status is because of their success. An artist that I think foloows this quote to the dot is Van Gogh. Van Gogh is notorius for being the "crazy" artist, I suppose; at least the one who cut off his  ear, and that's pretty insane if you ask me. Furthermore, towards the end of his life, he check himself in to a mental institution. According to the link above about him, while he was at the institution, he completed 150 paintings including one of his most famous: "Starry Night." During his lifetime, I can guess that he was most likely seen as just plain insane, considering he didn't achieve any real success during his life, selling only one painting according to the link above. Now, he is obviously seen in a different light, as one of the best painters to ever live. And I truly believe that his later success after his death played a key role in his transition from insanity to genius in the eyes of society.
     Another artist that this quote made me think of is Andy Warhol. Contrary to what the quote states, Andy Warhol managed to be insane and a genius at the same time, which definitely takes skill. His success did not separate him from the insanity category, but merely added him to the genius category as well. One could also relate Andy Warhol's situation with Michael Jackson's. Both were geniuses, but seen as crazy at the same time, despite their success. 
     In a way, I think that all artists need to be a little crazy, otherwise they don't stand out. I just feel bad for the insane geniuses who never become successful, so they're just stuck being insane. And that's no fun, now is it?
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2 comments:

  1. ShirleyJanuary 23, 2010 at 4:27 PM

    I love Criminal Minds! Great show!

    Now, to your post. I entirely agree with you about all three artists and I agree with the quote, in general. I just wonder, can it be applied beyond artists? What about people like Einstein? Most everyone acknowledges him as a genius, but I wonder how many realize that he was probably off-his-rocker most of his life?
    And what about social-geniuses, the people how understand human beings to a tee? (Some of these people end up con-artists, I think.)

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  2. LizzyJanuary 24, 2010 at 12:39 PM

    I completely agree with you that most artists and geniuses throughout history could be labeled as being insane. However, I personally would take that statement one step further and say that all people are a little bit insane in one way or another. I think that most people just bottle it up, while artists channel it into something else and put it on display.

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