The Obstruction of Genius
By: Denerah Erzebet
Tags: Marketing, Publishing, Music, Internet Marketing, Social Media

I will plainly and honestly admit that the reason I have not published here this month is the result of the following Choice: I choose — willingly and wholeheartedly — to focus on work I am inspired to achieve, rather than invest in those transient yet relatively-practical matters expected by today’s society on artists. Relative, in the sense that they are only “required” in a technology-driven culture and often “expected” according to the crude standards imposed by today’s quality-obsessed world (their standard of quality is ignorant, and often based on misconstrued assumptions of what it means to be “an artist”).

I choose to continue writing books, with greater emphasis on musical composition (with the intention to see these works performed by orchestral musicians). This also involves learning German language as a prelude to operatic writing.

Yet, today’s artist is not merely-expected to perfect his own craft, which often assumes the nature of a subconscious impulse Within Himself for the sake of self-satisfaction. This would be the only justified demand from the public, or of fellow artists motivating one another in the fulfillment of a Total-Life-Work. Most artists feel an inexplicable need to go beyond, to refine their enchanting vocabulary of pigments, timbres, tools, and metaphors. Had this remained the only demand, all would be well.

Nowadays, for instance, a writer is not only expected to write a “good story” but also be capable of designing artwork, formatting fonts, layouts, creating internet videos, editing acoustics/sound to such videos, getting the right camera angle, wasting hours upon hours “promoting on social media”, and also on top of all that…design a “professional-looking website”! All of this, might I add, must be done with the same talent and skill as those who specialize in such fields, so that your “cover art” should look like a Rembrandt, or your photography be as good as those with 2000$ cameras, and your website must look like it was designed by an IT specialist!

These demands, only demanded as of say, 1990’s onwards, are unrealistic, ridiculous and most tragically the main reason why artists appear “less prolific”. Most artists are very prolific, or at least, they have the potential to be, but only a handful of “proper” works can be published when all requirements are met. It is sad that Frank Zappa is celebrated for writing over 100 discs worth of music as an “exceptional case”, when every composer from 1600 to 1940 had at least 200 full-works to their name. Mozart had a little over 600 compositions upon his passing at the age of 35. He is considered a “genius”, and the only reason we do not see a Beethoven or Mozart or Bach today is because nobody is allowed to “simply focus on their craft”.

Indeed, today’s philistines sound silly if we translate their clamor in greater times. According to such self-styled critics, Beethoven would have to write beautiful piano sonatas while also being capable of building his own grand piano, or Bach would need to build a full-size pipe organ should he deserve to write a mass or fugue.

I tried, honestly, for a month, to build my own website with one of those many “budget packages”. Then I figured it’s just silly and annoying, and distracting. There is a reason why specialists in all fields exist, and if these cannot be bought with financial compensation, then at least lower your standards when “reviewing” independent artists making ends meet!

For instance, a reasonable attitude to such website I’d create should be as follows: Denerah is an author, so I expect the text to be well-written, but I don’t expect an author to have managed layout and design with the same degree of skill. Linguistic skill doesn’t include “programming widgets” or cropping stock imagery!

I decided to shut down the website. With the current global situation, I can say that there is a strong likelihood another book will be released in 2022 (thereby completing the Trilogy currently-situated at The Eleventh Degree). That said, it may take some time to find a Canadian orchestra to perform work, since many have reduced their performing availability to string quartet or “smaller ensemble”.

Remember well: the works you create come from somewhere or something greater than oneself. Even if your work doesn’t “reach an audience” (i.e. humans) — Someone is always listening. Focus on pleasing the crowd that truly matters, the council that demanded you perfect your skills so that Beauty may reign once again!