Have We Confused Having Good Taste With Being Creative?
From 713 Magazine on Instagram:
In a world where cultural knowledge has become its own form of social currency, knowing the right designers, listening to the right music, and recognizing the right references can make someone appear just as creative as the people actually producing the work.
We’ve reached a point where an entire identity can be built around what someone consumes, collects, wears, and shares. And while developing good taste requires curiosity, knowledge, and an understanding of culture, recognizing something exceptional isn’t necessarily the same as creating something exceptional.
This doesn’t mean curation lacks creative value. Some of the most influential figures in fashion, art, and music have shaped culture through their ability to recognize talent, connect ideas, and introduce people to things they otherwise might never have discovered.
But there’s a difference between being influenced by something and simply reproducing its appearance. Creativity requires more than understanding what has already been accepted. It often means taking risks, developing an independent perspective, and making something that people might not immediately understand.
One of the slides puts it more succinctly:
We live in a time where curation can look like creation. A person can build an entire identity out of taste alone — what they wear, what they repost, what they collect, what they reference — and still never actually make anything that moves culture forward.
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I'd like to offer a counter-point - I think that curation can be an art in its own. I typically think about this in terms of museum curation instead of personal style, but I think it still holds. How pieces of art are arranged in the world can have as much meaning as the individual pieces themselves - how they complement or contradict each other can speak volumes.
The first time I ever saw Dali's The Last Supper was at the National Gallery in DC. It was placed at the top of a rising escalator, giving it the effect of appearing unto you as you rose to meet it. I found it breathtaking.
Definitely felt this as a former advertising creative, where I think it’s especially pronounced. What was really maddening was how the bulk of the output devolved from ads co-opting culture into ads that were mostly just derivative of other ads. Very much amplified by increasing risk aversion and short-term thinking from clients.
But still, it’s like the opposite of pizza — even advertising that’s good is still kinda bad. Glad I’ve moved onto something else and have time to be creative for fun again!
I think you and KevinQ2000 highlight the 2 ends of the spectrum, a gallery or museum reflects the artistic side or curation and the advertising industry and commerce industry is the opposite pole. Unfortunately culture seems to be more influenced or defined by the later these days
This is similar to the notion of being famous for being a celebrity. I work with high schoolers and they often find it funny that I can't understand why someone they are "following" is famous. The kids explain to me, "because they are influencers!"
Are you creative if you are just telling people how to act, how to open a package, what to wear, and how to use slang? Is that an art?
It would be like saying Edna St. Vincent Millay's greatest contribution to humanity is not her poetry but her willingness to wear pants at a dinner party.
This post is so true it hurts. But on the other hand, it empowers me to continue making my small-audience art without wishing for greater reach.
Hard disagree. I’m with Roberto Bolaño on this one:
Our society fetishizes creation while deemphasizing and often actively discouraging the appreciation and contemplation of art. Add to that this admonition to be unique, to generate novelty.
I often find with creative writing students, the best thing I can encourage is that they nurture a deep reading practice. It’s the pathology of our age to think Step 1 is to boldly add your iconoclastic voice. In writing, at least, I’d sooner say it’s the eclecticism of who you read that might lead you to write something interesting yourself.
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