Definition of a Genius

According to thefreedictionary.com:

gen-ius
1.
a. Extraordinary intellectual and creative power.
b. A person of extraordinary intellect and talent: "One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius" (Simone de Beauvoir).
c. A person who has an exceptionally high intelligence quotient, typically above 140.
2.
a. A strong natural talent, aptitude, or inclination: has a genius for choosing the right words.
b. One who has such a talent or inclination: a genius at diplomacy.
3. The prevailing spirit or distinctive character, as of a place, a person, or an era: the genius of Elizabethan England.
4. pl. ge·ni·i (jn-) Roman Mythology A tutelary deity or guardian spirit of a person or place.
5. A person who has great influence over another.


I was shocked the other week to learn of the death of Alexander McQueen. I cannot say I was a dedicated fan of his work, but I knew that he was a major talent in the fashion industry, let alone the British field. His passing is a tremendous loss, and we are fortunate that his legacy of creativity will stand for many years.

He was proof positive that the University route into the field is not necessarily the only path towards being a designer, and that apprenticeships are also an option (it is probably a better way considering what is mooted to be the distinct lack of quality teaching in some such establishments throughout the UK at the moment). Why bother spending 3/4 years in education learning a trade when it's virtually impossible to get even a half-decent job at the end of it without any kind of hands-on work experience? And even if you do manage to land employment, you can guarantee that it will be working pretty much from dogsbody upwards (unless you escape abroad where they tend to appreciate more those graduates who have specialised in one area). It seems that an apprenticeship is a much more sensible idea these days; not only do you get paid while you're learning, you are actually acquiring the skills you need to work, rather being taught very little while getting hugely in debt.

The advent of McQueen's demise has brought about a media frenzy of quotes from admirers, fans and friends, which now seems to be habitual in this current world of OTT public mournings since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. But it seems that not everyone agreed with those that chose to label McQueen a 'genius'. Toby Young's blog in The Times was poorly judged as to be seen fit for release only one day after the end of the designer's life and, quite rightly, got the backlash it deserved considering the comments left below the piece, not to mention making himself a trending topic in the twitterverse. Whatever opinions Young has upon his brief association with the late designer, and the fashion industry as a whole, they really did not need to be broadcast when his body was barely cold. Yes, the now routine out-pouring of public emotion is becoming slightly repellent, but to cast aspersions on the talent (or in this case the supposed lack of talent) of a person so very recently deceased was in pretty poor taste.

Young writes that he is skeptical about the term "genius" being used to describe him, and insinuates his death is not important enough to warrant such media coverage. In the greater scheme of the universe it is probably not, yet he starts by saying that the amount of press McQueen's death has received one would have thought that someone like Oscar Wilde or Jimi Hendrix had just left this mortal coil. In doing so, he immediately stated what he considers important and unimportant; momentous = literature and music, trivial = fashion. Unfortunately the fashion industry has been the butt of much derision for some time in the UK - people seem to forget how much money is involved in this field, not to mention the amount of jobs it creates - and so it is passed off as whimsical, fluffy and of no real consequence. And maybe it is to some, just like music, fine art, and literature is to others.

But what is really vexing in his article is this:

"It took a while, but I finally realised that there’s no such thing as talent in fashion — at least, not in the sense in which it’s normally understood. Unlike literature or music, it simply isn’t clear which designer has talent and which hasn’t...But after working in fashion for several years, I realised that “taste” is just a euphemism for the collective wisdom of the fashion elite."

Excuse me? There is 'no such thing as talent in fashion'? Is he joking or just incredibly obtuse when he surmises that it is only in fashion that a self-appointed hierarchy decide who has this 'talent' and who does not? Does this not happen in virtually every other field too? Do the book publishers not decide whose work gets printed and who does not? Do the music labels and magazines not decide is who 'now' and who is past it? Does Young's idea of 'talent' in music only encompass who he believes sounds pleasant to his ears? As there are many 'artists' out there who only sound good because they have been hugely 'tweaked' in the studio, that may be able to hold a note for a few songs while performing live, though who cannot conduct an entire performance with resorting to backing tracks and miming, and do not write the material for which they are famous, yet they are lauded as great talents by the self-appointed gurus of that particular field. How is this so very different to the conjecture that he is laying at the door of the fashion industry? Yes, there are greater and lesser talents in that trade, just as there are in every other. Will he write a similar type of vitriol when someone like Elton John or Madonna passes away, or is it just his perceived personal treatment within the fashion world, at the hand of McQueen in particular it seems, that has sparked this ill-timed outburst?

To go back to the beginning of this blog and read the definitions of a genius (although, to my knowledge, it has never been said what IQ he had), McQueen could easily be illustrated by many of those descriptions for the term. Even if some cannot do it now, in years to come his legacy will be seen for what it is and the phrase rightly utilised in connection with him, as McQueen WILL be sorely missed. Not only by his family for the person he was, but for his creativity as well as his ability to push the boundaries of de rigeur in his ideas and how they were presented to the world.

RIP Lee Alexander McQueen.

Random reasons why I love the UK

Night-time on the Southbank




















Day-time on the Southbank




















The Pretty




















The Old




















The Art




















The Heritage




















The Humour























The Adventurous?




















And the bizarre...

I guess...

this blog is hopefully going to take over from O'rly, and this time I will try to keep posting.

Seeing how I rediscovered that blog and realised I've done nothing on it for a year *oops*

This is an attempt to keep myself writing/thinking and not entirely disappearing into a couch potato physically and mentally.

*Disclaimer: I did say attempt*