Inherited Gifts

[poliphilo]

Judy and I like to argue about whether artistic talent can be inherited. She says it can and I say it can't.

Yesterday I stumbled upon a family tree that supports her position.

John Doyle- Irish cartoonist- begat Richard and Charles Doyle- both of them distinuguished graphic artists- and Charles Doyle begat Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes.

What I'd say to her, if she ever found out about the Doyles, is that instances of artistic gifts manifesting in three generations of the same family are vanishingly rare. Can you think of another? I can't.

Comments

[w. lotus (from livejournal.com)]

It's more likely it's nurtured, not inherited. An artistic person who has kids or nieces/nephews with an interest in the arts is likely to nurture that by passing their connections and knowledge on to that family member. As a result the kid will know the arts are a viable option for them and will know how to get the training/exposure they need to make it in the arts.

[w. lotus (from livejournal.com)]

Also, the rest of the world is more likely to take that kids' aspirations seriously due to their family member's reputation in the arts. That is true whether the kid has any true talent or not.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

That's true.

An artist's children gets a head start in the arts- and may well follow in the parent's footsteps- but real talent can't be taught- only competence.

[w. lotus (from livejournal.com)]

I believe much of the mediocrity in today's "entertainment" is because of people having more connections than talent.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I hadn't considered that, but I suspect you have a point.

When I was a kid- back in the 60s- there was a huge influx of working class talent into the entertainment industry. I'm talking about the UK here, but I think it was much the same in the USA. I don't see anything similar happening today.