Aphorisms for Artists by Walter Darby Bannard

Aphorism #24

Mindless open-mindedness is closed-minded.

People often respond to tough, specific, rational, logical, common sense criticism of art not with a refutation of the argument, but with a retaliatory accusation of closed-mindedness.

Open-minded means that you consider something, not that you accept it.

As Lawrence Ferlinghetti said, if you are too open-minded your brains fall out.

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