Art vs. Technique
To date, all of my teachers had something in common. Take my piano teachers — initially, they focused on the techniques of how to phrase a song, practice the piano, hold my hands, memorize the music, and understand the harmonies.
Later, my business mentors taught me how to build a financial model and create a marketing plan and my yoga teachers showed me breathing techniques for mindfulness and meditation.
Piano, business, or yoga, all of my teachers eventually told me, that in order to advance in the subject matter: “Toby, it’s not a technique, it’s an art.”
In a world full of techniques, technologies, and “best practices” preached by anyone — and soon, thanks to AI and IoT, any "thing" — we have the unique opportunity to focus on the art of how we do things.
The only reason for mastering technique is to make sure the body does not prevent the soul from expressing itself. - La Meri
Art is an individualized expression of our innermost purpose. Only we can master the art of our work, our lives, and our being. We are the creators of our artistic masterpieces, ourselves.
We can perfect the techniques (e.g., dancing, painting, etc.) and while the discipline to do so is necessary, technique alone is not sufficient. Even if creation itself would depend on techniques that defined the underlying rules of nature and science, it would be the art in them that made it beautiful and cater towards a life worth living.
At a moment in time when the monumental advancements in science and technology are hailed as the key to humanity’s future, it’s worth considering that what makes this future human is art.
Art only begins where Imitation ends. - Oscar Wilde
