Counterexample: Very few great works of literature were written by committee.
Counter counter example: very few great works of literature were created by hermits. And, of those that were written by hermits, most of the time that’s legendary, like with the Tao Te Ching.
It’s true that in any organization, there’s a level where individuals dominate. Organizations are built up of individuals, so that level must exist and it must be significant. But whenever you go up a step, you often find an organization that helps those individuals accomplish a task. Form follows function- and so for creative works, those organizations tend to be loose groups of mutually inspiring people. Good design happens in chunks.
The case for literature seems a bit worse than the case for painting- but my feeling is still the best literature comes out of an organization of great and good people, not from fantastic people working alone. Particularly if you’re only interested in the best literature you’ve heard of, not the best literature that didn’t sell a thousand copies.
Counter counter example: very few great works of literature were created by hermits. And, of those that were written by hermits, most of the time that’s legendary, like with the Tao Te Ching.
It’s true that in any organization, there’s a level where individuals dominate. Organizations are built up of individuals, so that level must exist and it must be significant. But whenever you go up a step, you often find an organization that helps those individuals accomplish a task. Form follows function- and so for creative works, those organizations tend to be loose groups of mutually inspiring people. Good design happens in chunks.
The case for literature seems a bit worse than the case for painting- but my feeling is still the best literature comes out of an organization of great and good people, not from fantastic people working alone. Particularly if you’re only interested in the best literature you’ve heard of, not the best literature that didn’t sell a thousand copies.