Cool Continuum: Make Your Mark in the Arts
medium.com The Cool Continuum is a perspective shift, a new lens by which to study art and the artists that make it. Its strength lies in its subjectivity, which means you are invited to contribute your perspective to shape our collective understanding of what it takes to make art.
Hi, author and creator here. The Cool Continuum shouldn't be the final word on whether, for example, Billy Idol is a Rebel or an Innovator. But I think ChatGPT gives the most unbiased perspective. I also leaned on ChatGPT to analyze artists like Beyoncé, who I knew nothing about (but I was curious where she fit on the continuum).
ChatGPT provides the "even hand" to be able to evaluate fairly, and more broadly, in less time. I think it's an ideal project for AI assistance.
But they assigned numbers to the levels, so it isn't entirely subjective.
I'm not sure how I'd use this. I think of someone like Bob Dylan, who has arguably fit into all of those categories at various points in his career. Where would I put him? Does it just depend on what era you're talking about? But there's no concept of evolution within that model, no way to use it to predict whether someone will change categories, or how that could be done.
I'm also not sure what "cool" has to do with artistic contributions. Many great artists aren't cool, as I understand the word, and many cool people aren't artists, as I understand the word. And the thing it's tracking doesn't seem to be coolness, but artistic... prominence... or something along those lines.
Finally, it's not a continuum, it's a set of discrete categories. There's nothing in that model that talks about (for example) being mostly a rebel, shading a little bit into innovator. So the name is confusing as well.
There's a "natural state" where an artist's dominant traits stand out and their impact is most felt. Frank Black of the Pixies is one example of an artist who started as a Level 4 Innovator but settled into being an Artisan later in his solo career. But ChatGPT and I both agreed he's primarily an innovator. That's where his impact is felt most, is his work with the Pixies.
I don't like the idea proposed in this article of labelling artists. Art is too subjective to adhere to these labels. It also pushes a 'us/them' narrative, "The Rest of Us." For better or worse, artists are just regular people. Maybe applying this to pieces of art, like a song, painting, essay, play, video game, etc, could work.
The practical guide (only included in the book version) helps you identify what your strengths are and what artists you most likely will identify with. Personally, I could probably never be an Artisan like Bill Evans or BB King because my dominant traits aren't dedication, discipline, meticulousness, etc. However, if I develop those traits I have a chance.
As an interdisciplinary artist, my projects are usually spontaneous, empathetic, and largely go unnoticed (except for Rejection Therapy). I embark on projects without any formal training, learning on the way. I fit best as a Level 1 Outsider.
How does this crap make its way to the front page?
+100 to that, is this a high school newspaper??
This looks more like a dartboard than a continuum.