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- Aug 12, 2014
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Well, this thread did go a bit off-topic ... but then, not really. A very interesting read.
The thing that bothers me the most about all this is that so often, the conversation comes down to Jason Brown versus "the quadsters." I don't see the men who do jump beautiful quads as being in an opposition category from Jason's brand of artistry. Or in a category from another brand of artistry that's uniquely their own, and maybe even on the other side of the spectrum from Jason's skating.
It narrows the very interesting topics of artistry and technical prowess as they co-exist in the (fabulous
) sport of figure skating down to an argument.
I'm very much in favor of the subjective side of figure skating, and I'm another who wouldn't be watching if it weren't a performance sport. But I believe artistry and expression happen in more than just one direction and with various qualities and emotions involved. Not just one set of criteria or values.
To take just one example from this competition, I find Roman Sadovsky's artistry and expression as exquisite, as moving, and as valuable. It's very different from Jason's, and I'd say as much as I love Jason's (I've been his fan since Riverdance), it's an extrovert's style. While Roman's style is less attention-getting, but it can reach me on an entirely different level, even more of a subtle soul level, maybe because I'm an introvert. Either style of course isn't easy to see or experience when there are several mistakes in a program.
Actually, that's one way I think Tracy and Brian have lifted Jason's talent to a higher level. Because he can make a mistake in a program and not have it really disrupt the program at all. Another man who could always do that is Adam Rippon; he could fall on his usual quad lutz and then I'd completely forget the fall because his artistry was poetry, and I lived inside it.
The thing that bothers me the most about all this is that so often, the conversation comes down to Jason Brown versus "the quadsters." I don't see the men who do jump beautiful quads as being in an opposition category from Jason's brand of artistry. Or in a category from another brand of artistry that's uniquely their own, and maybe even on the other side of the spectrum from Jason's skating.
It narrows the very interesting topics of artistry and technical prowess as they co-exist in the (fabulous
) sport of figure skating down to an argument. I'm very much in favor of the subjective side of figure skating, and I'm another who wouldn't be watching if it weren't a performance sport. But I believe artistry and expression happen in more than just one direction and with various qualities and emotions involved. Not just one set of criteria or values.
To take just one example from this competition, I find Roman Sadovsky's artistry and expression as exquisite, as moving, and as valuable. It's very different from Jason's, and I'd say as much as I love Jason's (I've been his fan since Riverdance), it's an extrovert's style. While Roman's style is less attention-getting, but it can reach me on an entirely different level, even more of a subtle soul level, maybe because I'm an introvert. Either style of course isn't easy to see or experience when there are several mistakes in a program.
Actually, that's one way I think Tracy and Brian have lifted Jason's talent to a higher level. Because he can make a mistake in a program and not have it really disrupt the program at all. Another man who could always do that is Adam Rippon; he could fall on his usual quad lutz and then I'd completely forget the fall because his artistry was poetry, and I lived inside it.
please, be more right than I am.
I've rarely seen the hated (by me) Roxanne music skated with such attack and commitment.
