(loose thoughts) ON JUDGING THE ARTIST; ON JUDGING THE AUDIENCE

[droqen]

[AB]

[droqen]

1. I have recently read a few pieces -- not all 'art' but it's easier to use that broad term here -- which have found me judging the artist and by extension "the audience" -- there is surely a better term for this but I mean the image of the person for whom the artist creates which the artist creates.

(I'm having a little fun with language. I mean, the artist creates this image. We all create images of each other. Then the artist creates the art for the image. I'm getting lost in this, let's carry on)

[droqen]

2. These are the pieces, in chronological order:

- "Video Game Taxonomy Can Transform Game Development: Here's How"
(please don't click, i don't recommend reading this to anyone on any basis, but link)

- "Fuck Videogames" (link)

- "Bad People" (link)
(I have not finished reading this one yet but I understand the thrust of it.)

[droqen]

3. In each case I have noticed two distinct mental reaction-objects within my self.

The first is the recipient of information.

The second is the judgement of the vehicle which presents the information. By this I do not mean 'the medium' or 'how well the artist uses the medium' (in this case how the authors use text -- or the essay or slideshow or essay format, respectively), but the underlying motivation, the mood of the artist, what transformation they seek to capture.

The most interesting part of a transformation is not what you end up with, but where you start.

What was the whole state of the artist?
What did they believe without thinking?

These transformations are rarely successful and even when they are successful they are never entirely successful. Therefore, asking these questions about where the transformation starts is fundamental to understanding where the transformation ends: Answers what did they believe without thinking? can be carried into the future, answering questions like, Who are they today? What will they continue to be tomorrow?

I would like to note, here, that I am not using -- would not use -- this as a weapon. People do change, but in different ways that you would expect from your vantage point. The things that other people change about themselves are small, piece by piece, and retain much of the existing structure. As much as possible, usually. You will rarely be permitted to perceive this structure, and so any presumed transformation that occurs within another person is likely much smaller than you think, and perhaps impossible for you to understand. Impossible for someone to even explain to you, most of all by the person who has been born within and has lived their life entirely within their own mental structure.

I am seeking to understand this impulse that I have within myself (to judge, or maybe it would be better to say to perceive), and its possible utility to me or to others, if any.

[droqen]

4. AI product.

The first piece, Video Game Taxonomy etc etc etc, is an article written for the sake of selling an AI product. I have a read on the writer's idea of what is going on and what is important based on the examples they give, the nature of their taxonomy, the language they use, etc.

There is the presentation, through all this, of actual information: a classification tool, with its own biases.

When I think about the classification tool, I am not thinking about its use to me as a neutral thing. I want to know who it's for, who it's designed for. Am I the person who would find this tool useful? In trying to discover the answer to this question I have to ask, who is the person who would find this tool useful?

This is where I begin to judge the audience.

The first two sentences of the conclusion makes it very obvious who the (intended) audience is: it's people who are getting others to solve problems for them. The article is presenting not a tool for designers to use to understand their craft better; it is presenting a tool for people 'above' designers (I am neutral about the existence of these people, but let me say - bosses, managers, investors, CEOs - these are the people who are handling higher-level, larger, problems) to simplify what designers do so that they do not have to trouble themselves with the details as much.

This is not a tool that is designed for me. I can safely, therefore, dismiss all the information quite readily. It is not for me, and I do not need to expend mental resources on considering the value of the actual information. I find it much easier to dismiss the artist, to dismiss the audience.