You know it when you see it.

I was ruminating about our six year old boy the other evening. I was wondering whether he would be a good photographer. Which got me thinking about the broader issue of talent.

I suppose the word really means doing something well. While a liberal mind set dissociates that from material gain, a capitalist world dictates otherwise. Call me a philistine, but if you cannot make money from your art, you are not talented. Because the best and highest use of talent is to make it public and make it worth paying for.

What?

The greatest pianist? No, not some unknown whom five guests at a country house weekend enjoyed a while back. Horowitz. A supreme performer and an avid self publicist. As famous as they get. The best of the best. Were there better? We will never know because if they hid their light under a bushel we would have never heard them. Or of them.

The greatest photographer? No, not some unknown who showed a print or two at a country house weekend enjoyed a while back. Cartier-Bresson. A rabid self publicist. As famous as they get. The best of the best. Were there better? We will never know because if they hid their light under a bushel we would have never seen their work. Or seen them.

The greatest singer? No, not some unknown who sung a song or two at a palatial mansion weekend enjoyed a while back. Callas. A voracious self publicist. As famous as they get. The best of the best. Were there better? We will never know because if they hid their light under a bushel we would have never heard them. Or seen them.

Well, you get the point. Without publicity there is no talent.

That’s not to say that you cannot succeed without a talent in your chosen avocation.

No one without a tin ear would ever claim that Madonna can sing worth a twig. Yet she is a superb businesswoman and very successful. Money is her talent.

No one who is not blind or deaf would ever claim that Streisand can sing or act. Yet she is a superb businesswoman. Money is her talent.

No one with any aesthetic sense would ever claim that Mick Jagger could sing or dance. Yet his raw sensuality negated all of that. Fame is his talent.

The difference between the first and last three examples is that Horowitz, HCB and Callas will survive their demise. The likes of Madonna, Streisand and Jagger will not. And let us be grateful for that. Because, for the long term, talent is survival, not money.

Talent personified. Cartier-Bresson by Hoyningen-Huene, 1935

Talent personified. Horowitz at Carnegie Hall

Talent personified. Callas