Perfect

Perfect is the quality of being without defect or blemish; accurate, exact; complete, utter; absolute. Or, completely suited for a particular purpose. Perfection is the condition of being perfect.How to measure or assess it; the degree to which perfection has or hasn't been achieved? This may be possible in the sciences, but in the arts, perfection cannot be objectively judged. Only a subjective judgment can be made.Is perfection a worthy standard for artistic achievement? Embracing perfection as a goal is one of the classic blocks to creativity. Because it is so self-defeating, perfection is not one of the standards a productive artist pursues, and one that art critics, collectors, and educators pursue to their peril!Quote: "Are we to look at cherry blossoms only in full bloom, the moon only when it is cloudless? To long for the moon while looking on the rain, to lower the blinds and be unaware of the passing of the spring -- these are even more deeply moving. Branches about to blossom or gardens strewn with flowers are worthier of our admiration." Yoshida Kenko (14th century), Japanese. Essays in Idleness, c. 1340. "Good painting is nothing else but a copy of the perfections of God and a reminder of His painting. Finally, good painting is a music and a melody which intellect only can appreciate, and with great difficulty." Michelangelo (1475-1564), Italian artist. See appreciation, copy, music, and Renaissance. "Artists who approach perfection do not have many ideas." Odilon Redon (1840-1916), French Symbolist painter. To Myself: Journal. "Have no fear of perfection; you'll never reach it." Salvator Dali (1904-1989), Spanish Surrealist painter. "When I think of art I think of beauty. Beauty is the mystery of life. It is not in the eye, it is in the mind. In our minds there is awareness of perfection." Agnes Martin (1912-2004), American modernist painter. See beauty and mystery. Also see analysis, art criticism, aesthetics, bad art, beauty, craftsmanship, ideal, idealization, idealized, likeness, master, mirror, motivation, mutable, nude, objectivity, obsession, praise, quality, quality control, quality of life, quotations, standards, sublime, subjectivity, unique, and virtual.