The Story of Three Wrongs

I. John Baldessari Wrong 1966-1968

“Baldessari created this work after looking at an art instruction book about how to properly compose images. He said:

‘The person that did the book had sketches of the scene, of let’s say a landscape-but there would be two. And one would be right, according to him, and one would be wrong. And I loved the idea that somebody would just say that this is right and this is wrong. So I decided I would have a painting that was wrong, a work of art that was wrong-which seemed right to me.’”
(via LACMA)

*By the way, check out “A Brief History of John Baldessari” narrated by Tom Waits – in under 6 mins.

II. On Being Wrong

“The miracle of your mind isn’t that you can see the world as it is,

it’s that you can see the world as it isn’t.

–Kathryn Schulz via Ted.com

Kathryn Schulz: I’m interested in this idea that having your perspective challenged produces anxiety. That comports with something another therapist said to me, which is that our capacity to tolerate being wrong hinges on our capacity to tolerate emotion.

Harville Hendrix: I think that’s right. To entertain the possibility that you’re wrong is to feel anxiety about your inner organization, as well as shame, embarrassment, and even guilt about the erroneous perspective. And shame and guilt are almost intolerable emotions. So in order not to experience that anxiety and shame and guilt, you become rigid in your perceptions.

(via Slate.com)

III. PREPARE TO BE WRONG