> Once upon a time there were two austrian filmmakers: PK and KK. PK was
> highly regarded, lionized even, regarded as "Saint P" by the lords of the A-G
> "establishment" with academic honors galore. He lived in a castle and cooked
> magnificent feasts for his guests. His output: a handful of films, none longer
> than a few minutes, but immensely respected for their elan and precision. KK
> on the other hand produced many many film "experiments" that were funky,
> scroungy, dirty and unkempt. He made his living in the last years of his life
> as a security guard at a museum in Texas.
>
In my estimation PK was a fraud and KK a genuine and courageous explorer, out
on the edge; and an inspiration. But clearly in Bill's sense, he was a
"loser". I predict that as time goes on the work of KK will receive more and more
notice and the work of PK will come to seem arch and irrelevent.
So it goes in the arts...and in how many other fields. When it comes to
peer review, who are the peers that are doing the reviewing. Is it the real
minds, or the small minds, who can take the time from their own work to review the
work of others? Is it the players of the game, or the thinkers on their own?
I believe that there is no easy answer, but that all too often those that
indulge in peer review are those for whom academic tenure is something to latch
on to and for whom teaching is a refuge rather than an adventrure.
Just my prejudice. I have always believed that tenure is the most pernicous
and self serving of institutions, one for which endless rationalizations get
produced. Safe haven, or sinecure?
When I have heard that my work is ahead of its time, I always think, perhaps
it is just beside the point. What, really, is the difference?
dan
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