“Craftman is knowing how to work, art is knowing when to stop.”
My understanding
This quote from a talk about ‟What AI (Artificial Intelligence) can and can’t do?”, really made me think. I don’t fully agree with it, but I like how it separates craft and art.
Craft is about skill and hard work. Knowing the tools. Following the rules. Reach the ‘perfection’.
Art feels more instinctive. It’s about stepping back and knowing when something is done even it is ‘not perfect’.
For me, the two aren’t so separate. A good craftsman knows when to stop, and an artist still needs skill to create. But his words remind me to trust both my effort and my instincts. That balance is where the magic happens.
Reminds me
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From Dieter Rams, “Limit everything to the essential, but do not remove the poetry.”
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And also from Wim Crouwel, “You can’t do better design with a computer, but you can speed up your work enormously.”