Category Archives: Artistic Tradition

Artistic tradition, which is one artist learning from another, is the best way to understand what art is.

Art is an unfolding psychological process both for the creator and the audience. Jorge Luis Borges understood this when he said “The fact is that all writers create their precursors. Their work modifies our conception of the past, just as it is bound to modify the future.”

As an unfolding psychological process, it is an attempt for an artist to solve a pressing problem presented by the artists before them and their own abilities, ideas, values, and curiosity.

Art is a tradition. Problems never stay solved for long. They reappear in new contexts. Each generation solves them within its own historical context.

Like biological evolution, traditions encompass both preservation and innovation.