No, Art Doesn’t Have to Be Complex to Be Good
A challenge to our collective bias towards complexity.
When it comes to art, we tend to over-praise complexity.
Let me explain.
Have you ever sat in wonder seeing a realistic painting with visibly several layers?
You look at it and say,
“Wow, that is so good. It must have taken time to do this. The artist is talented.”
We all have done so, including myself. It’s reasonable and good to do so.
It’s a great act to praise and applaud creatives who have dedicated their time, energy, and creativity to create a piece of work.
However, the problem resides in how it impacts our view of all creative work. We start to unconsciously compare every work with that type of work.
When a piece is not as complex as the realistic painting, it is not as good or even good.
Complexity becomes our compass and measurement to determine quality.
The more complex something seems to be, the higher the quality we accredit to it.
It even goes vice versa.
When we consider a creative work to be good, we strive to describe it in the most complex way. (I’m looking at you all English teachers.)
This sadly affects all creative work that has existed, exists, and will exist.
I’m not claiming a complex piece is bad and should not be recognized.
The issue is in its over-praise and in basing its quality mainly on its complexity. This kind of praise indirectly shrinks the goodness of simplicity. It makes simplicity seem less brilliant and admirable.
To the point where some have in their mind that a master’s work should look complicated or complex.
When it looks ‘simple’ or ‘easy’, we doubt how good, skillful, and experienced the craftsperson is. The level of mastery needed to complete the task is neglected due to its simplicity.
This leads many creatives to strive hard to make work that is complex even when in the process, it hurts them and their work.
They now seek complexity for the sake of complexity.
And when the creatives present their complex work to the world, people do not react as well as they expected.
“It’s too noisy. It’s too crowded. You did too much. It’s taking my breath away, not in a good way.”
Some grow resentful and do not see the experience as an opportunity to change and improve.
Honestly, it’s not their fault, but our collective fault.
We have let complexity be regarded as the highest form of work.
Simplicity? It is for the ones incapable of producing something complex.
But in reality, there is beauty and goodness in simplicity.
One example, the example that pushed and encouraged me to write this article, is the song Big Jet Plane by Angus & Julia Stone.
From the start, you can feel this song will be a smooth ride.
A simple and sweet melody from the guitar is accompanied by soft and soothing violin chords with another guitar playing the main chords in the background.
And Julia opens the song with the lines:
“She said, hello mister
Pleased to meet you”
What a simple opening. There is no fluff. It just conveys things as they are.
It opens the story to the mind of the listener.
The following lines are similar.
They express the thoughts and feelings of the mister as simply as possible.
The first verse has 4 words in each line. Nothing complicated, but just enough for the message to be expressed.
And the chorus, the part that drives me crazy, contains simple and repetitive lines.
“Gonna take her for a ride on a big jet plane
Gonna take her for a ride on a big jet plane
Hey, hey
Hey, hey”
The second verse is even more straightforward compared to the first verse and chorus. It reveals what the mister desires from the lady.
Again, the chorus takes these words home and highlights the emotions from them. Then there is a bridge to express other actions the mister is ready to take. And the chorus closes the song.
The whole song is simple, not complex, but surely good.
The songwriting and musical production in the song are brilliant. Not anyone would have written and composed this song.
Several critics habitually bash such songs with simple melodies and words, especially when they are from genres such as hip-hop & pop. They often disregard the positive sides and qualities of those songs.
Not to say all simple pieces are amazing. They are those that are poor in quality. This applies to complex work as well.
But these simple songs, and simple creative work in general, have strengths that shine better in them than in complex work.
These simple works are brilliant at expressing the message at its core, the sensations behind it, but leaving space for the audience’s reflections and emotions to breathe in it.
The viewer, listener, reader, etc. have the chance to make the message their own and filter it through their own lived experiences.
Moreover, they have been given a universe with the right atmosphere for their imagination to link the expressions from these works to their current state of being.
This is how wonderful these simple creative works can be.
Here experience beats any explanation I can give. You have to interact with such works to understand that art does not have to be complex to be good.
And yes, art can be simple and be good.
But you would never arrive at this realization if you cling to the idea that complexity equals quality.
The idea that attributes anything complex with mastery.
And you would miss all the beauty that abides in simplicity.
So, I encourage you to let go of that notion and embrace open-mindedness.
I exhort you to not be quick to neglect and undermine anything because of its simplicity in art and everything else in life.
Thanks for reading! I hope you found one thing or two [or three] to be helpful, useful, or valuable.
To read more content about creativity, artistic expression, and my life as a creative, follow me Richard the Mutts.
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