ABSTRACT
As I believe no man a real poet or genius of any sort who does not go on improving till eighty and over, I shall begin again and again as often as you set me right.
You know, the great mystery that requires 20 years doesn’t exist in any field. Orson Welles, 19602
The purpose of this chapter is to sharpen our understanding of the analysis of conceptual and experimental artists by examining a series of extreme examples of both types of creativity. These are drawn both from the artistic disciplines that have already been considered in this regard and from others that have not previously been studied. Examining extreme cases – of important innovations made very early or very late in artists’ careers – can serve to spotlight the most basic differences between the conceptual and experimental approaches. Doing this in a wide variety of activities can furthermore underscore the most basic elements that are common to each of the two types of innovation.
