Sometimes I think that the art I love most contains one surprising feeling that is supported, kept in a clear context, by conventions. When the whole array draws our attention to the conventions instead of the surprise, then the art feels conventional. But both the desirable and the undesirable effects are a mix of surprise and familiarity. As Richard Thompson once quipped about his song "Long Dead Love": "It all depends on where you put the comma."
Sometimes I think that the art I love most contains one surprising feeling that is supported, kept in a clear context, by conventions. When the whole array draws our attention to the conventions instead of the surprise, then the art feels conventional. But both the desirable and the undesirable effects are a mix of surprise and familiarity. As Richard Thompson once quipped about his song "Long Dead Love": "It all depends on where you put the comma."