How to Appreciate Sting, Val Kilmer, C-Murder, and Other Profound Artists

Thu 08/30/07

Advancement is a cultural condition in which an Advanced individual—i.e., a true genius—creates a piece of art that 99 percent of the population perceives to be bad. However, this is not because the work itself is flawed; this is because most consumers are not Advanced.

Now, don’t assume this means that everything terrible is awesome, or vice versa; that contrarianism has no place in Advancement theory. The key to Advancement is that Advanced artists a) do not do what is expected of them but also b) do not do the opposite of what is expected of them.
— Chuck Klosterman, Real Genius: An introduction to the highly advanced theory of Advancement

This is the best article/essay I’ve read on the internet in six months.

2 Comments

  1. Zach McNair

    So, if I read the article correctly, Advancement is still in the eye and ear of the beholder, right? I still don’t think this article clearly defines its statements. Starting the article off with one of the main points being that a true genius is someone who creates art that 99% of the population thinks is bad seems way off to me.

    According to this statement, I would assume he’d still think that Mute Math & Incubus are two in-advanced bands??

    Cool find, Blankenship. Would you mind explaining this in your own perception?
    gracias.
    z

    Fri 08/31/07 at 1:13 am

  2. beth

    I can totally agree that the most misunderstood item in the Lou Reed oeuvre is easily Metal Machine Music. But for the most part I have to take anything Chuck Klosterman says with a grain of salt, because his writing is on par with that of a grumpy teenager. (See Killing Yourself to Live.)

    Fri 08/31/07 at 8:56 am

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