Another great piece. I think we have lost/are losing the art of disagreement with tolerance. Have you read 'The Coddling of the American Mind'? It was written decades ago but it outlines how this 'everyone is a winner and we're all ok' mentality is hurting kids. This is really apparent in our (very much failing) education system. When my son does his homework and I try to point out (the very obvious) errors, in spelling, word formation etc.... he says 'don't judge me'! I have heard similar stories from other parents. It's as if me pointing out something that is clearly wrong is creating some sort of moral doom loop that is reflecting on him as a person. And what they are being taught is being a 'good person' is the most important thing. Now of course I am raising my son to be a good person and to make good choices, but to make this the primary objective of education is doomed to create followers and not thinkers. I can see how the space between friend and arts critic could fall into the same space in this climate. And yes most of our arts world in very small Scotland continues to be shaped by friend/familiar groups regardless of how much diversity is preached and the Instagram optic fits this (ironically) narrowly defined paradigm. I do wonder however if this will change and how?
Thank you, Kate. I am a big fan of Jonathan Haidt's earlier books and need to read that one, but did read the article it is based on and it really does seem like there has been a generational shift. It is so easy to make whole groups either friends/enemies. I guess until a new dominant value system comes in place there will be a lot of squabbling.
I don't know. I used to be horrified by what I saw as smart-alec journalists writing in Sunday papers, being caustic and cynical about things they had tried once, in order to pronounce on a trend... I kind of felt the same about art critics, who I saw as enjoying stabbing things from a distance, without being artists themselves. Being a critic always seemed a thin, mercenary kind of occupation. Can't for the life of me with a tired brain think about how this links to self-surveillance on social media! But an interesting read.
Ha, you might be right that they were ill informed mercenaries but it was entertaining and at least you learnt what their values were, so could adjust expectations accordingly. Now there is no criticism, at least none so entertaining.
It was definitely a clever kind of sport, and yes, often perhaps entertaining! But also very powerful effects on people's lives. I'm certainly not for saying things are great if they aren't, but I guess I feel there are ways to provide feedback which are not destructive....probably just hit a raw nerve for me!
I think the lines between “just posting” and “official criticism” are blurred. That is notable if you consider that, until not long ago, “just posting,” the low effort but thoughtful thing that so many people do, wasn’t really a force to be reckoned with, and now it is.
Anecdotally, chatting amongst my older peers, we started to notice a trend amongst the younger designers we were mentoring over the years. They weren't being taught formal critique anymore, the result (as we saw it) being a refusal to accept constructive criticism. All criticism was treated as destructive, all critical voices were 'negging' them.
An early career designer of jobs past once demanded, apropos of nothing, to be promoted to senior, then screamed in my face that I 'couldn't speak to them like this' when I gave a critical appraisal of their work and behaviour within the team.
When pushed as to *why* they should be promoted, they tried to diminish the work and experience of their more senior colleagues (unironically), AND, when pushed to be *objective*, they couldn't.
Any attempt to recover that relationship was rebutted and they clung on righteously to the belief that they were being maligned. A few short months later they resigned, leaving an exit interview peppered with vitriol and spite.
I found that same attitude across my last organisation.
You weren't allowed to be critical of the work of others, even if it had a negative effect on you, even if it was objectively terrible. You had to be nice and supportive at all times, no matter what. Trying to explain that this was ruinous empathy and toxic positivity would be met with a stunned silence, sometimes broken with a 'wow that's harsh' or a 'how can positivity be bad tho...'.
I haven't really thought about the whole subject long enough to know why or to have a well formed opinion on it, but share the observation.
I see a blog brewing and would love to read more! But yeah toxic positivity and thin skins is a PROBLEM. As Kate says above, the coddling of the mind seems to be a cause. We all need lessons in humility occasionally.
Another great piece. I think we have lost/are losing the art of disagreement with tolerance. Have you read 'The Coddling of the American Mind'? It was written decades ago but it outlines how this 'everyone is a winner and we're all ok' mentality is hurting kids. This is really apparent in our (very much failing) education system. When my son does his homework and I try to point out (the very obvious) errors, in spelling, word formation etc.... he says 'don't judge me'! I have heard similar stories from other parents. It's as if me pointing out something that is clearly wrong is creating some sort of moral doom loop that is reflecting on him as a person. And what they are being taught is being a 'good person' is the most important thing. Now of course I am raising my son to be a good person and to make good choices, but to make this the primary objective of education is doomed to create followers and not thinkers. I can see how the space between friend and arts critic could fall into the same space in this climate. And yes most of our arts world in very small Scotland continues to be shaped by friend/familiar groups regardless of how much diversity is preached and the Instagram optic fits this (ironically) narrowly defined paradigm. I do wonder however if this will change and how?
Thank you, Kate. I am a big fan of Jonathan Haidt's earlier books and need to read that one, but did read the article it is based on and it really does seem like there has been a generational shift. It is so easy to make whole groups either friends/enemies. I guess until a new dominant value system comes in place there will be a lot of squabbling.
I don't know. I used to be horrified by what I saw as smart-alec journalists writing in Sunday papers, being caustic and cynical about things they had tried once, in order to pronounce on a trend... I kind of felt the same about art critics, who I saw as enjoying stabbing things from a distance, without being artists themselves. Being a critic always seemed a thin, mercenary kind of occupation. Can't for the life of me with a tired brain think about how this links to self-surveillance on social media! But an interesting read.
Ha, you might be right that they were ill informed mercenaries but it was entertaining and at least you learnt what their values were, so could adjust expectations accordingly. Now there is no criticism, at least none so entertaining.
It was definitely a clever kind of sport, and yes, often perhaps entertaining! But also very powerful effects on people's lives. I'm certainly not for saying things are great if they aren't, but I guess I feel there are ways to provide feedback which are not destructive....probably just hit a raw nerve for me!
You’re right of course and there is no need to be cruel for the sake of it. As with Richard Prince, the only effective way to criticise is to ignore.
I think the lines between “just posting” and “official criticism” are blurred. That is notable if you consider that, until not long ago, “just posting,” the low effort but thoughtful thing that so many people do, wasn’t really a force to be reckoned with, and now it is.
Anecdotally, chatting amongst my older peers, we started to notice a trend amongst the younger designers we were mentoring over the years. They weren't being taught formal critique anymore, the result (as we saw it) being a refusal to accept constructive criticism. All criticism was treated as destructive, all critical voices were 'negging' them.
An early career designer of jobs past once demanded, apropos of nothing, to be promoted to senior, then screamed in my face that I 'couldn't speak to them like this' when I gave a critical appraisal of their work and behaviour within the team.
When pushed as to *why* they should be promoted, they tried to diminish the work and experience of their more senior colleagues (unironically), AND, when pushed to be *objective*, they couldn't.
Any attempt to recover that relationship was rebutted and they clung on righteously to the belief that they were being maligned. A few short months later they resigned, leaving an exit interview peppered with vitriol and spite.
I found that same attitude across my last organisation.
You weren't allowed to be critical of the work of others, even if it had a negative effect on you, even if it was objectively terrible. You had to be nice and supportive at all times, no matter what. Trying to explain that this was ruinous empathy and toxic positivity would be met with a stunned silence, sometimes broken with a 'wow that's harsh' or a 'how can positivity be bad tho...'.
I haven't really thought about the whole subject long enough to know why or to have a well formed opinion on it, but share the observation.
:|
I see a blog brewing and would love to read more! But yeah toxic positivity and thin skins is a PROBLEM. As Kate says above, the coddling of the mind seems to be a cause. We all need lessons in humility occasionally.